Harrison Birtwistle
Harrison Birtwistle
Sir Harrison Birtwistleis a British composer...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth15 July 1934
kids age
When I was a kid, I wrote music - from the age of 11 until the age of 18.
writing sea tuition
When I was confronted with official tuition, the academic thing, I could see no relationship whatever between that and the music I'd been writing since I was 11.
names giving influence
The thing about influence is that any composer worth anything will give you the same names.
irrational interest
It's the irrational things that interest me.
writing want pieces
I always write the pieces I want to write.
player records record-players
I didn't have a record player.
writing ideas pages
There are rhythmic ideas which sometimes only work up to a point. In writing there are moments when it just comes off the page, it's not just a collection of notes.
attitude writing littles
My attitude to writing is like when you do wallpapering, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet. And then your friends say: It's terrific!
attitude alaska looks
I'm not a music lover in the sense that I look for something to have on. I've never had that attitude to music.
ideas layers things-change
I don't have ideas so much as there are things which constantly evolve... there are various threads or layers, if you like, which change.
I wrote music as soon as I knew notation.
pieces influence
The piece that had a large influence on me was Turangalila.
stories opera different
The opera tells the story with all the built-in contradictions and from many different angles.
writing people becoming
People say my music is English. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's not me writing English music, but that English music is becoming more like me.