Peter Fribbins
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Peter Fribbins (born 4 June 1969) is a British composer. He studied music at the
Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
,
Royal Holloway Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...
and
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
universities, and composition with
Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...
in London and
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.


Work

A number of his key works are literary-inspired, and much of his music is for strings, notable exceptions being the early wind quintet 'In Xanadu' from 1992 (after Coleridge), 'Porphyria's Lover' (1999) for
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
and
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
(after Browning), and the
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
and piano '...That Which Echoes in Eternity' (after lines from Dante's
Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
). Of his two
string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
s, the first is subtitled 'I Have the Serpent Brought' after lines by
John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
from his poem 'Twicknam Garden', and the second (2006) commissioned by the Chilingirian Quartet ( Levon Chilingirian), subtitled 'After Cromer' since much of the thematic material is derived from the English hymn of the same name. Other chamber works for strings include two
piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...
s – the first, more substantial one premiered in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
in 2004, and the latter, an evocative single-movement piece (2007) entitled 'Softly, in the Dusk...' after the poem 'Piano' by D. H. Lawrence – a
Cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
Sonata commissioned by Raphael Wallfisch and John York (2005) and the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (2002). Larger scale works include the Piano Concerto (2010), which is subtitled 'The Moving Finger Writes'; a quotation from FitzGerald's translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, and the Violin Concerto (2015) commissioned by the French violinist Philippe Graffin. There are also songs and various smaller instrumental works. Peter Fribbins is also Director of Music at
Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...
, London (since 2004) and Artistic Director of the long-established series of Sunday London Chamber Music Society Concerts, formerly at
Conway Hall Conway Hall in Red Lion Square, London, is the headquarters of the Conway Hall Ethical Society. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned by the South Place Ethical Society, which had previously been accommodated ...
and resident at
Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London's King's Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the form ...
since 2008. His concert work is often linked with a group of British composers called 'Music Haven', not a school as such, but a collection of composers (cf. the French '
Les Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name has its origins in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' Comœdia'' (see Bibliography). Their mu ...
' or the British ' Manchester School', from the early and late twentieth-century respectively), mostly London-based and with broadly similar interests and aesthetic outlook, reflecting sympathies for British masters such as Britten and Tippett and the music of the First Viennese School, especially
Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
and
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
, as well as the
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n influences of Sibelius and Nielsen. The group includes James Francis Brown,
Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...
-born Alan Mills, Matthew Taylor, John Hawkins, Geoff Palmer, and more peripherally two older British composers, David Matthews and by association, John McCabe CBE. The set of piano pieces 'Seven Haydn Fantasies for John McCabe' – each composed by a different composer and published in 2009 on the occasion of the latter's 70th birthday – is in many ways typical of the group's work.


Recordings

Sources: *''Dances, Elegies & Epitaphs'' – Resonus (RES 10193). Capriccio: Abide with Me, Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, 'In Xanadu' for Wind Quintet, Soliloquies for Trumpet & Strings. Performed by Philippe Graffin (violin), Christopher Hart (trumpet) and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Robertas Šervenikas *''Dances & Laments'' – Guild (GMCD 7397). The Zong Affair, Dances & Laments, '...that which echoes in eternity' Porphyria's Lover, 'Softly, in the Dusk' , Chorale Prelude and fugue on the Hymn Tune 'Cromer'. Performed by the Turner Ensemble; Philippe Graffin (violin) and Henri Demarquette; Pál Banda (cello) & Mine Dogantan-Dack (piano), Nancy Ruffer (flute) and Helen Crayford (piano); Rosamunde Piano Trio; Michael Frith *''The Moving Finger Writes'' – Guild (GMCD 7381). String Quartet No.2 'After Cromer', A Haydn Prelude, Piano Concerto, Fantasias for Viola and Piano Nos. 1–2. Performed by the Chilingirian Quartet; Anthony Hewitt; Diana Brekalo, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Robertas Šervenikas; Sarah-Jane Bradley and Anthony Hewitt *''I Have the Serpent Brought'' – Guild (GMCD 7343). String Quartet No.1 'I Have the Serpent Brought', Piano Trio, Clarinet Quintet, Cello Sonata. Performed by the Allegri Quartet, Angell Piano Trio, Raphael Wallfisch (cello), John York (piano) and James Campbell (clarinets).


Notable works


Orchestral

* Cappriccio for Orchestra (2005–7) * Piano Concerto (2010) * Violin Concerto (2015) * Soliloquies for Trumpet & Strings (2016) * Cello Concerto (2019)


Chamber

* Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (2002) * String Quartet No. 1 – ''I Have the Serpent Brought'' (1990–98, revised 2002-4) * Concertino for Seven (2002–3) * ''That which echoes in eternity'' for violin and piano; also version for 'cello and piano (2002–3) * Piano Trio (2003–4) * Sonata for Cello and Piano (2004–5) * String Quartet No. 2 ''After Cromer'' (2006) * ''Softly, in the Dusk'' for Piano Trio (2006–7) * ''Dances & Laments'' for Violin and Cello (2007–10) * Fantasias for Viola and Piano (2007 & 2011) * ''Variation on a Burns Air'' for piano quartet (2009) * ''The Zong Affair'' for Septet (2011) * Sonata for solo Violin (2011–12)


Wind / vocal

* ''Inferno'' for Clarinet and Piano (1990–91) * ''In Xanadu'' for Wind Quintet (1991) * Three Songs for Soprano and Piano (1991–98) * ''Porphyria's Lover'' for Flute and Piano (1994–96) * ''I Travelled Among Unknown Men'' for Soprano and Piano (2012) * Brass Quintet (2017)


Piano / keyboard

* Nocturne (1994) * Prelude and Fugue ''On Cromer'' for Organ / Piano (2011) * ''A Haydn Prelude for John McCabe'' (2009) * ''L'extase des jets d'eau'' – an ''Aquarelle'' for Solo Piano (2012)Wayback Machine Link
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Further reading

Dromey, Christopher.
Prospects for Neomodernism in the Music of Matthew Taylor and Peter Fribbins
. ''International Journal of Contemporary Composition (IJCC)'' Volume 7 (2013): pp 01–19. Print and Online


References


External links


Official websiteResonus ClassicsGuild RecordsMusic Haven, publisherLondon Chamber Music Society at Kings Place
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fribbins, Peter 1969 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British male composers Academics of Middlesex University Writers from London Alumni of the University of Nottingham People associated with Conway Hall Ethical Society English male writers