Harrison Birtwistle

The greatest living composer accepts the Gramophone award for best contemporary album of 2010, Night’s Black Bird. It is fantastic (you can download it here) and Birtwistle is typically blunt (he’s from Lancashire) in what he says about the relative importance of composer and performer:

 In other contemporary classical news, Concert FM is replaying its series on Wellington composer Ross Harris on Tuesday nights. I’ve been a fan since I first heard his music in the 70s, and I’ve been privileged to hear some not-yet-released recordings of his latest compositions, some of them settings of lyrics by Vincent O’Sullivan. It’s all magnificent music – don’t miss it.