Canon
Where to start with Birtwistle
Essential works to know this composer by — spread across their styles-
ChamberSecret Theatre, for 14 instruments
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Vocal3 Settings of Celan, for soprano and 5 instruments
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KeyboardBerceuse de Jeanne
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OrchestralCarmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum, for orchestra
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StagePunch and Judy — Opera
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Chamber5 Distances for 5 Instruments, for wind quintet
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Chamber9 Movements, for string quartet
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ChamberAn Interrupted Endless Melody, for oboe and piano, "To the Memory of Janet Craxton"
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VocalBogenstrich, for voice and piano
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ChamberChorale from a Toy-Shop, for 5 instruments
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ChamberDuets for Storab, for 2 flutes
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OrchestralEarth Dances
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OrchestralEndless Parade, for trumpet, vibraphone, and strings
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OrchestralGawain's Journey, for orchestra
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KeyboardHector's Dawn
Listening guide
Hand-curated paths into Birtwistle's catalogueMost Popular
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Earth Dances
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Secret Theatre
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Silbury Air
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Harrison\’s Clockspiano — five layers of independent time
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Gawainopera
Most Acclaimed
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Earth Dances
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Triumph of Time
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Pulse Shadowsstring quartet + soprano — Celan poems
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Exody
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The Mask of Orpheusopera — three simultaneous Orpheus myths
Most Weird
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Tragoediasmall ensemble — structured as Greek tragedy acts
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Verses for Ensemblesmusicians move between platforms on stage
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Panicsaxophone + drumkit + orchestra + chorus — premiered at BBC Proms Last Night; audience hated it
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The Mask of Orpheusthree Orpheuses and three Eurydices on stage simultaneously; the myth is told six different ways
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Secret Theatreplayers stand and sit to demarcate two streams of time simultaneously
Similar composers
Same era, overlapping styles — by genre & period affinityWorks 38
- Chamber
- Secret Theatre, for 14 instruments
- 5 Distances for 5 Instruments, for wind quintet
- 9 Movements, for string quartet
- An Interrupted Endless Melody, for oboe and piano, "To the Memory of Janet Craxton"
- Chorale from a Toy-Shop, for 5 instruments
- Duets for Storab, for 2 flutes
- Hoquetus Petrus, for 2 flutes and piccolo trumpet
- Linoi, for clarinet and piano
- Refrains and Choruses, for wind quintet
- String Quartet, "The Tree of Strings"
- Tragoedia, for chamber ensemble
- Trio, for violin, cello and piano
- Verses for Ensembles, for 5 winds, 5 brass, and 3 percussion
- Verses for Ensembles, for wind quintet
- Vocal
- 3 Settings of Celan, for soprano and 5 instruments
- Bogenstrich, for voice and piano
- Meridian, for mezzo-soprano, horn, cello, chorus or 6 sopranos, and instrumental ensemble
- Nenia: the Death of Orpheus, for soprano and ensemble
- Nine Settings Of Lorine Niedecker, for soprano and cello
- Three Settings Of Lorine Niedecker, for soprano and cello
- White and Light, for soprano and 5 instruments
- Keyboard
- Berceuse de Jeanne
- Hector's Dawn
- Oockooing Bird
- Sad Song
- Orchestral
- Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum, for orchestra
- Earth Dances
- Endless Parade, for trumpet, vibraphone, and strings
- Gawain's Journey, for orchestra
- Melancolia 1, for clarinet, harp, 2 string orchestras
- Night's Black Bird, for orchestra
- Panic, for saxophone, drum kit, and orchestra
- Silbury Air, for chamber orchestra
- The Cry of Anubis, for tuba and orchestra
- The Shadow of Night, for orchestra
- The Triumph of Time
- Stage
- Punch and Judy — Opera
- The Mask of Orpheus — Opera