New Directions
Donald Macleod focuses on Judith Weir's appointment as associate composer to the 大象传媒 Singers. And Weir discusses how a building's fabric can be captured in musical form.
This week Donald Macleod talks to Judith Weir about her life and her music. One of our most distinguished composers, in July 2014 she succeeded Sir Peter Maxwell Davies as Master of the Queen's Music. It's an honour that joins an already impressive collection of awards, which include a CBE and the Queen's Medal for Music. Born in 1954 into a musical Scottish family, Weir grew up near London. A member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Weir studied composition with John Tavener during her school holidays. More formal studies followed at Cambridge University, including composition with Robin Holloway, and at Tanglewood summer school, where she worked with Gunther Schuller. The possessor of a rich, fertile imagination, Weir draws on a wide variety of sources, notably dark fairytales, folk stories, Chinese philosophy, Indian music and culture, distilling their essence in music of luminous clarity. Her fundamental concern is to tell stories. An articulate communicator, Weir's writing about her music encapsulates the process brilliantly. In this series, Weir offers a personal insight into some of the musical projects which have occupied her since the beginning of the noughties.
On January 1st 2015 Judith Weir took up a new position as Associate Composer to the 大象传媒 Singers. In the first of this series of five programmes, Donald Macleod discovers where this new choral direction will be leading and how a building's fabric can be captured in musical form.
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Judith Weir
Stars, Night, Music And Light For Chorus And Orchestra
Choir: 大象传媒 Symphony Chorus. Conductor: Ji艡铆 B臎lohl谩vek. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra. -
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Judith Weir
The Wild Reeds For Organ
Performer: Thomas Trotter. -
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Judith Weir
The Song Sung True For Double Chorus
Choir: 大象传媒 Singers. Conductor: David Hill. -
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Judith Weir
The Vanishing Bridegroom - Opera In 3 Acts
Singer: Ailish Tynan. Orchestra: 大象传媒 S O.. Choir: 大象传媒 Singers. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins. Singer: Jonathan Lemalu. Singer: Andrew Tortise.- NMC D196.
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Judith Weir
Concrete For Orchestra
Choir: 大象传媒 Symphony Chorus. Orchestra: 大象传媒 Symphony Orchestra. Narrator: Samuel West. Conductor: Martyn Brabbins.
Broadcasts
- Mon 30 Mar 2015 12:00大象传媒 Radio 3
- Mon 30 Mar 2015 18:30大象传媒 Radio 3
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