Jonathan Harvey

 '... ecstatic, inspired, filled now with contemplative rapture, then suddenly with exuberant, joyful dance, and always beautiful ...' - Andrew Porter

English composer Jonathan Harvey, born in Sutton Coldfield on 3 May 1939, was a chorister at St Michael's College, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire. He studied with Erwin Stein and Hans Keller, and received doctorates from Cambridge and Glasgow Universities. He combined postgraduate study at Glasgow University with playing cello with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. A Harkness Fellowship at Princeton University introduced him to Milton Babbitt. He was invited by Pierre Boulez to work at IRCAM in Paris, and produced several works there. There are about one hundred recordings of Harvey works on CD, and his music receives nearly two hundred performances and broadcasts per year. His various academic appointments included Oxford, Imperial College, Stanford and Sussex.

Jonathan Harvey died in Lewes on 4 December 2012, aged seventy-three, following a long terminal illness.

 

A selection of articles about Jonathan Harvey

CD Spotlight. The Sound Frontier - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to music for orchestra and electronics by Nicola Sani. '... of undoubted interest to all those who explore the new frontiers of sound.'

CD Spotlight. Trailblazing Scores - Sacred music by Jonathan Harvey inspires Gerald Fenech. '... beautifully executed and recorded ...'

Ensemble. Two Worlds - Malcolm Miller looks forward to the Wagner bicentenary and back to a semi-staged performance of Jonathan Harvey's 'Wagner Dream'

CD Spotlight. Soundscapes and Ornithology - Music by Jonathan Harvey, heard by Jennifer Paull. '... spiritual mind and fertile imagination ...'

CD Spotlight. Ambiguous Alchemy - Choral music by Jonathan Harvey, explored by Jennifer Paull. '... truly spellbinding ...'

CD Spotlight. Surrealist in Language - The homogeny of Jonathan Harvey, investigated by Jennifer Paull. '... superbly interpreted ...'

Ensemble. A Fascinating Anthology - Music on the theme of angels, heard by Mike Wheeler

CD Spotlight. Other Trumpets - Fascinating electro-acoustic collaborations, reviewed by Malcolm Tattersall. '... individual works are challenging listening but stunningly achieved.'

Ensemble. Ravishing Beauty - Malcolm Miller enjoys Jonathan Harvey's 'Wagner Dream' at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam

Ensemble. Pervasive influence - A return visit to London by the Verdehr Trio, reviewed by Peter Dickinson

Driving force - Visits to Cambridge, with Basil Ramsey