Michael Finnissy, born in London in 1946, was a Foundation Scholar at the Royal College of Music and has been associated with many British dance companies as a composer.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Michael Finnissy's music is autobiographical, reflecting political and social issues, particularly the experiences of the oppressed, outsider, and alien.
Performer Biography
Philip Thomas, the pianist on this recording, specializes in performing experimental notated and improvised music and is a Professor of Performance at the University of Huddersfield.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Michael Finnissy, the composer, continually expands his musical references, forms, and notational practices, often challenging stylistic expectations.
Compositional Technique
Finnissy's music often disrupts traditional continuities, using a 'cut-up' method more common in other art forms, though the fifth movement of Beat Generation Ballads is singularly organic.
Composition History
The work Beat Generation Ballads was commissioned for a program honoring American composer Christian Wolff's 80th birthday.
