Anthony Payne
Encyclopedia
Anthony Payne is an English
composer
, most famous for the work published as Edward Elgar: The Sketches for Symphony No. 3 Elaborated by Anthony Payne
. His career as a composer might be described as a continuous attempt to reconcile his personal affinity with British composers of the early 20th Century (especially Vaughan Williams, Delius
, Elgar and Bridge
) with the stylistic innovations of post-war contemporary music.
, Payne was interested in composing music from an early age. After studying at St Cuthbert's Society
, Durham University
, he spent a period as a freelance musicologist
. Since the mid-1960s, when he composed his Phoenix Mass, he has received commissions for new works from several important ensembles, including the English Chamber Orchestra
and the Nash Ensemble
. Three major orchestral works: The Spirit's Harvest (1985), Time's Arrow (1990) and Visions and Journeys (2002) were all premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
at The Proms
in London. He has also composed a Concerto for Orchestra (1974) and other orchestral pieces, as well as chamber, instrumental and choral works.
In 1988 he co-founded the "questing young ensemble" Jane's Minstrels
with his wife, the soprano Jane Manning
. Amongst his ensemble pieces, A Day in the Life of a Mayfly and Symphonies of Wind and Rain (composed for and recorded by Jane's Minstrels
) are considered particularly effective. Although Payne's realisations of several works by Elgar have brought him considerable notice and acclaim, he has also composed a Delius paraphrase entitled Spring's Shining Wake (1981) and has transcribed songs by Peter Warlock
for Jane's Minstrels
.
and Frank Bridge
and also as a well regarded music critic for the Daily Telegraph, The Independent
and Country Life
. He has been a visiting lecturer at a number of universities in Britain, Australia and the U.S.A.
Payne's famous realisation of the sketches to Elgar's third Symphony took several years to complete. When Elgar died in 1934, he left more than 130 pages of incomplete score for a third symphony. Although initially reluctant to allow anyone to use this material (Elgar himself had expressed a wish that no-one should "tinker" with the sketches), the Elgar family realised that in 2005 they would come out of copyright. They therefore approved Payne's elaboration of the sketches, on which he had been working and lecturing intermittently since 1993, and he subsequently completed the piece. Payne's version of the symphony was first performed in 1998 to immediate acclaim, and has received numerous subsequent performances and several recordings.
Payne has subsequently also composed a version of Pomp and Circumstance March No. 6 from Elgar's incomplete sketches for the work, which received its first performance under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis
at a Prom concert on 2 August 2006 - Payne's 70th birthday. In a radio interview on the BBC
's Today programme
on 28 April 2006 when he was asked about the March, Payne said that he had composed about 43% of the music and carried out all of the orchestration, amounting to well over half the piece. In the same interview he said that to carry out his completions he felt that he had to try to "become" Elgar, in much the same way that an actor would assume a stage role.
Payne is married to the distinguished soprano Jane Manning
for whom he has composed a number of striking vocal works including the song cycle Evening Land. In 2007, the couple were jointly awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Durham.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, most famous for the work published as Edward Elgar: The Sketches for Symphony No. 3 Elaborated by Anthony Payne
Symphony No. 3 (Elgar)
Edward Elgar's Third Symphony was incomplete at the time of his death in 1934. Elgar left 130 pages of sketches which the British composer Anthony Payne worked on for many years, producing a complete symphony in 1997, officially known as "Edward Elgar: the sketches for Symphony No 3 elaborated by...
. His career as a composer might be described as a continuous attempt to reconcile his personal affinity with British composers of the early 20th Century (especially Vaughan Williams, Delius
Delius
Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius - English composer* Nicolaus Delius - German philologist* Tobias Delius Delius is a surname. It may refer to:* Ernst von Delius (1912–1937) - German racing car driver* Frederick Delius...
, Elgar and Bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
) with the stylistic innovations of post-war contemporary music.
Career
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Payne was interested in composing music from an early age. After studying at St Cuthbert's Society
St Cuthbert's Society
St Cuthbert's Society, colloquially known as Cuth's, is one of sixteen collegiate bodies within the University of Durham. It was founded in 1888 for students who were not attached to the existing colleges...
, Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
, he spent a period as a freelance musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
. Since the mid-1960s, when he composed his Phoenix Mass, he has received commissions for new works from several important ensembles, including the English Chamber Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
and the Nash Ensemble
Nash Ensemble
The Nash Ensemble of London is an acclaimed English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman in 1964, while she was a student at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around the Academy...
. Three major orchestral works: The Spirit's Harvest (1985), Time's Arrow (1990) and Visions and Journeys (2002) were all premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
at The Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
in London. He has also composed a Concerto for Orchestra (1974) and other orchestral pieces, as well as chamber, instrumental and choral works.
In 1988 he co-founded the "questing young ensemble" Jane's Minstrels
Jane's Minstrels
Jane's Minstrels is a virtuoso British new music ensemble set up in 1988 by the English soprano Jane Manning and her husband, the composer Anthony Payne...
with his wife, the soprano Jane Manning
Jane Manning
Jane Manning OBE is an English concert and opera soprano, writer on music, and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music. She has been described by one critic as "the irrepressible, incomparable, unstoppable Ms...
. Amongst his ensemble pieces, A Day in the Life of a Mayfly and Symphonies of Wind and Rain (composed for and recorded by Jane's Minstrels
Jane's Minstrels
Jane's Minstrels is a virtuoso British new music ensemble set up in 1988 by the English soprano Jane Manning and her husband, the composer Anthony Payne...
) are considered particularly effective. Although Payne's realisations of several works by Elgar have brought him considerable notice and acclaim, he has also composed a Delius paraphrase entitled Spring's Shining Wake (1981) and has transcribed songs by Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
for Jane's Minstrels
Jane's Minstrels
Jane's Minstrels is a virtuoso British new music ensemble set up in 1988 by the English soprano Jane Manning and her husband, the composer Anthony Payne...
.
Author
Alongside his distinguished career as a composer, Payne has simultaneously built up a substantial reputation as a writer on music, both as an author of books about Arnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge was an English composer and violist.-Life:Bridge was born in Brighton and studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903 under Charles Villiers Stanford and others...
and also as a well regarded music critic for the Daily Telegraph, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
. He has been a visiting lecturer at a number of universities in Britain, Australia and the U.S.A.
Payne's famous realisation of the sketches to Elgar's third Symphony took several years to complete. When Elgar died in 1934, he left more than 130 pages of incomplete score for a third symphony. Although initially reluctant to allow anyone to use this material (Elgar himself had expressed a wish that no-one should "tinker" with the sketches), the Elgar family realised that in 2005 they would come out of copyright. They therefore approved Payne's elaboration of the sketches, on which he had been working and lecturing intermittently since 1993, and he subsequently completed the piece. Payne's version of the symphony was first performed in 1998 to immediate acclaim, and has received numerous subsequent performances and several recordings.
Payne has subsequently also composed a version of Pomp and Circumstance March No. 6 from Elgar's incomplete sketches for the work, which received its first performance under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis (conductor)
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
at a Prom concert on 2 August 2006 - Payne's 70th birthday. In a radio interview on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Today programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
on 28 April 2006 when he was asked about the March, Payne said that he had composed about 43% of the music and carried out all of the orchestration, amounting to well over half the piece. In the same interview he said that to carry out his completions he felt that he had to try to "become" Elgar, in much the same way that an actor would assume a stage role.
Payne is married to the distinguished soprano Jane Manning
Jane Manning
Jane Manning OBE is an English concert and opera soprano, writer on music, and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music. She has been described by one critic as "the irrepressible, incomparable, unstoppable Ms...
for whom he has composed a number of striking vocal works including the song cycle Evening Land. In 2007, the couple were jointly awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Durham.