From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nicholas Maw
Nicholas Maw
with his companion Maija Hay, a ceramic artist, until his
death in 2009.[1] He died at home on May 19, 2009, at age
73, as a result of heart failure with complications from di-
abetes.[1]
On Sunday 6 November 2011, BBC Radio 3 broadcast a
2-hour tribute called, "Nicholas Maw: A Celebration". The
program featured performances of Maw’s Violin Concer-
to, an orchestral suite drawn from his opera, Sophie’s
Choice, and two choral works (One foot in Eden still, I stand
and Hymnus).[3]
Compositions
Maw is best known for the orchestral pieces Odyssey
(1987) and The World in the Evening (1988), the guitar work
Music of Memory (1989) and a violin concerto (1993) writ-
ten for Joshua Bell. His music has been described as neo-
romantic but also as modernist and non-tonal (for in-
stance Personæ, his ongoing cycle of piano pieces).[1]
In 2002 an opera, Sophie’s Choice (based on William
Styron’s novel), was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and
the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It was premièred
at the Royal Opera House under the direction of Sir Si-
Nicholas Maw
mon Rattle, and afterwards received a new production by
stage director Markus Bothe at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
John Nicholas Maw (5 November 1935 – 19 May 2009) and the Volksoper Wien, which had its North American
was a British composer. premiere by the Washington National Opera in October
2006. Mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager, who sang
Biography Sophie in London, reprised the title role at the National
Opera, joined by American baritone Rod Gilfry as Nathan
Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Maw was the son of
Landau, the schizophrenic man who initially rescues So-
Clarence Frederick Maw and Hilda Ellen Chambers. He
phie and then persuades her to join him in a suicide pact.
attended the Wennington School, a boarding school, in
Maw also prepared a concert suite for orchestra based on
Wetherby in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His mother
the music.[1]
died of tuberculosis when he was 14. He attended the
A performance of Odyssey took place in BBC’s Maida
Royal Academy of Music on Marylebone Road in London
Vale Studios on 9 December 2005, and was broadcast on
where his teachers were Paul Steinitz and Lennox Berke-
BBC Radio 3 two days later. Simon Rattle has also con-
ley. He then studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and
ducted a recording of the work by the City of Birming-
Max Deutsch.[1]
ham Symphony Orchestra.[1]
From 1998 until 2008, Maw served on the faculty of
the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where
he taught music composition.[2] He had previously Chronological list of composi-
served on the faculties of Yale University, Bard College,
Boston University, the Royal Academy of Music, Cam-
tions
bridge University, and Exeter University. • Eight Chinese Lyrics (1956) for mezzo-soprano
• Requiem (1956-7) for voices & orchestra
Personal life • Flute Sonatina (1957)
In 1960, Maw married Karen Graham, and they had a son • Nocturne (1957) for mezzo-soprano & chamber
and a daughter. Their marriage was dissolved in 1976. He orchestra
took up residence in Washington, DC in 1984, living there • Six Chinese Songs (1959) for contralto & piano
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nicholas Maw
• Five Epigrams (1960) for chorus •Five American Folksongs (1989) for voice & piano
• Our Lady’s song (1961), carol for chorus •Music of Memory (1989, rev. 1991) for solo guitar
• Chamber Music (1962) for oboe, clarinet, horn, •Three Hymns (1989), for SATB chorus and organ
bassoon & piano •Roman Canticle (1989, rev. 1991) for baritone, flute,
• Scenes and Arias (1962, rev. 1966) for soprano, mezzo- viola & harp
soprano, contralto and orchestra • One Foot in Eden Still, I Stand (1990) for mixed chorus
• Round (1963) for children’s voices, SATB chorus and and optional organ
piano • Piano Trio (1990-1)
• The Angel Gabriel (1963), choral arrangement of • American Games (1991) for wind orchestra
Basque melody • Shahnama (1992) for chamber orchestra
• Bulalow (1964), carol for chorus • The Head of Orpheus (1992) for soprano & two
• One Man Show (1964, rev. 1966 & 1970), opera clarinets
• Arrangement of Corpus Christi Carol (1964) for • Swetė Jesu (1992) for chorus
sopranos and piano • Violin Concerto (1993)
• String Quartet No. 1 (1965) • String Quartet No. 3 (1994)
• Severn Bridge Variation (1966) for a composite work • Dance Scenes (1994-5) for orchestra
with Malcolm Arnold, Michael Tippett, Alun • Voices of Memory (1995) for orchestra
Hoddinott, Grace Williams and Daniel Jones • Hymnus (1995-6) for SATB chorus and orchestra
• Sinfonia (1966) for chamber orchestra • Solo Violin Sonata (1996-7)
• Six Interiors (1966) for tenor and guitar • Stanza (1997) for solo violin
• Sonata (1966) for strings and two horns • Narration (2001) for solo cello
• The Voice of Love, Eight Peter Porter songs (1966) for • Intrada (2001) for string quartet
mezzo-soprano & piano • Sophie’s Choice (1999-2002), four act opera based on
• Double Canon for Igor Stravinsky on his 85th the William Styron novel
Birthday (1967) • Concert Suite from Sophie’s Choice (2003) for
• The Rising of the Moon (1967-70), three act opera orchestra with optional mezzo-soprano
• Concert Music from The Rising of the Moon (arr. • Tango from Sophie’s Choice (2004) for solo guitar
1972) for orchestra • Fanfare (2004) for brass ensemble
• Epitaph-Canon in Memory of Igor Stravinsky (1971) • Concerto for Cor Anglais and Orchestra (2004)
for flute, clarinet & harp • String Quartet No. 4 (2005)
• Five Irish Songs (1972) for chorus • String Sextet (2007)
• Personae I, II & III (1973) for piano Works lists may be found online.[4]
• Serenade for orchestra (1973, rev. 1977)
• Life Studies (1973-6) for fifteen strings
• Te Deum (1975) for treble or soprano, tenor, SATB
References
chorus, congregation and organ [1] ^ Allan Kozinn (May 19, 2009). "Nicholas Maw,
• Reverdie (1975), five songs for male voices British Composer, Is Dead at 73". The New York
• Annes! (1976) for unaccompanied SATB chorus Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/arts/
• Nonsense Rhymes for Children (1976), 20 songs with music/20maw.htm?_r=1. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
piano accompaniment [2] "Obituaries: Composer Nicholas Maw dies at
• La Vita Nuova (1979), five songs for soprano and seventy-three; voice teacher Richard Miller;
chamber ensemble scholar William Ashbrook; veteran singers Eric
• The Ruin (1980) for SSAATTBB chorus and solo horn Garrett and Robert Nagy.". Opera News. August
• Flute Quartet (1981) 2009, vol 74, no. 2.
• Summer Dances (1981) for orchestra http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/
• Night Thoughts (1982) for solo flute issue/article.aspx?id=5286&issueID=336. Retrieved
• String Quartet No. 2 (1982) July 30, 2009.
• The Old King’s Lament (1982) for solo double-bass [3] "Sunday Concert: Nicholas Maw: A Celebratio". BBC
• Spring Music (1982-3) for orchestra Radio 3. 6 November 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
• Little Suite (1984) for solo guitar programmes/b016vl51.
• Sonata Notturna (1985) for cello & strings [4] (pdf) Nicholas Maw: List of works, Faber Music, March
• Personae IV, V & VI (1985-6) for piano 2010, http://works-files.s3.amazonaws.com/
• Little Concert (1987) for oboe, two horns & strings aaac3980-e5d2-4154-9a9e-7fb18eae8dec, retrieved
• Odyssey (1972-5, 1979, 1985-7) for orchestra 10 January 2012
• Ghost Dances (1988), imaginary ballet for five players
• The World in the Evening (1988) for orchestra
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nicholas Maw
External links Name Maw, Nicholas
Alternative names
• Extended biography
• Nicholas Maw: A Recent Discography and Music Short description
Review Date of birth 5 November 1935
• Guardian December 2002 article Place of birth
• Nicholas Maw - Daily Telegraph obituary
Date of death 19 May 2009
• "British Composer Brought ’Sophie’s Choice’ to
Opera Stage", The Washington Post, May 20, 2009 Place of death
Persondata
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicholas_Maw&oldid=470779382"
Categories:
• 1935 births
• 2009 deaths
• 20th-century classical composers
• Deaths from heart failure
• Disease-related deaths in Washington, D.C.
• English composers
• English emigrants to the United States
• Johns Hopkins University faculty
• People from Grantham
• People from Washington, D.C.
• Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
• Peabody Institute faculty
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