Professor Judith Weir
Overview
Position:
Visiting Distinguished Professor
Email:
Telephone: +44 (0)29 208 74816 (School Office)
Fax: +44(0)29 208 74379
Extension: N/A
Location: 33 Corbett Road (Annexe), CEMRC Room
Judith Weir is one of the most distinguished British composers. Her music has been performed, broadcast and recorded by artists of international renown. She is the recipent of honorary doctorates from the Universities of Aberdeen (1995) and Glasgow (2005), Queen's University, Belfast (2001) and King's College, London (2007). She was appointed a CBE in 1995. She has received many prizes and awards for her compositions including the South Bank Show Classical Music Award (2001) for We Are Shadows and the British Composer Award in the vocal category (2004) for The Voice of Desire. She has also received numerous major commissions, of which the most recent include from the Minnesota Orchestra (2001: The welcome arrival of rain), the London Sinfonietta (2003: Tiger under the table), the BBC Proms (2003: The Voice of Desire), the Spitalfields Festival (2004: Piano Trio Two; 2005: Vertue), Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (2005: Psyche), Channel 4 TV (2005: Armida) and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (2007: Winter Song). The broadcast of Armida was preceded by a documentary on Weir and her music is broadcast frequently on BBC Radio 3 (including being Composer of the Week in June 2004). Among the commercial recordings of her music is a CD of her songs On Buying a Horse (2006). She has been featured at a number of music festivals, including in recent years 'Aboa musica' in Turku, Finland, the Oregon Bach Festival and the Cheltenham Festival. Judith Weir is also a noted teacher in masterclasses, workshops and summer schools and has held a number of composer residencies and visiting professorships, including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1995-98), Oxford University (1999), the Princeton University (2000-01) and Harvard University (2004). She was appointed Distinguished Visiting Research Professor at Cardiff University in 2006.
The BBC paid Judith Weir the honour of devoting its January weekend festival in 2008 to her music. Called Judith Weir: Telling the Tale, the festival took place between 18-20 January at the Barbican Centre in London.
Further details: Telling the Tale pages on the BBC Symphony Orchestra website.
Judith Weir is published by Chester Novello. For a full biography, list of works, programme notes and discography, visit her web pages at Chester Novello.
See also:
- Wright, David C. H., 'Judith Weir', The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition (London: Macmillan, 2001), vol.27, 246-7
- Clements, Andrew, 'Judith Weir', The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (London: Macmillan, 1992)
Publications
Selected Compositions
* UK Premiere
** World Premiere
CONCRETE for chorus and orchestra (2007); **BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Singers, conducted by Martyn Brabbins, Barbican Centre, London, 20 January 2008
Winter Song for chamber orchestra (17') (2007); **Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Oliver Knussen, Glasgow, 14 December 2007
Blond Eckbert (pocket version), opera (60') (2006); **The Opera Group, conducted by Patrick Bailey, Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, London, 14 June 2007
Armida, opera (50') (2005); **Talise Trevigne, Kenneth Tarver, Continuum Ensemble, conducted by Philip Headlam, Channel 4 Television, 25 December 2005
Vertue for SATB chorus (7') (2005); **The Cardinall's Musick, conducted by Andrew Carwood, Spitalfields Festival, Christ Church, London, 13 June 2005
Psyche for narrator and ensemble (30') (2005); **Vaya Naidu, Sarvar Sabri (tabla), BCMG, Birmingham, 29 April 2005
Piano Trio Two (15') (2004); **Florestan Trio, London, 8 June 2004
The Voice of Desire for mezzo soprano and piano (12') (2003); **Alice Coote, Julius Drake, BBC Proms, RAH, London, 11 August 2003
Tiger under the Table for large ensemble (15') (2002); **Nicholas Hodges (piano), London Sinfonietta, conducted by Thomas Ades, QEH, London, 15 March 2003
Variation 'Thou Tun'st' in Bright Cecilia: Variations on a Theme by Purcell for orchestra (with other composers) (16') (2002): **BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin, BBC Proms, RAH, London, 14 September 2002
The welcome arrival of rain for orchestra (16') (2001); **Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Osmo Vänskä, Minneapolis, 22 January 2003
Piano Quartet (17') (2000); **Schubert Ensemble, Cheltenham Festival, 30 July 2000
woman.life.song for soprano and orchestra (45') (2000); **Jessye Norman (soprano), Orchestra of St Luke's, conducted by David Robertson, Carnegie Hall, New York, 22 March 2000
Natural History for orchestra (17') (1998); **Dawn Upshaw (soprano), Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, Boston, 14 January 1999
Blond Eckbert, opera (75') (1993); **English National Opera, conducted by Siân Edwards, London Coliseum, 20 April 1994
Heroic Strokes of the Bow for chamber orchestra (15') (1992); **Westdeutsche Sinfonie, conducted by Dirk Joeres, Leverkusen, 1992
Music, Untangled for orchestra (7') (1991); **Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival, 3 August, 1991
The Vanishing Bridegroom, opera (90') (1990); **Scottish Opera, Glasgow, 17 October 1990
A Night at the Chinese Opera, opera (110') (1987); **Kent Opera, Cheltenham Festival, 8 July 1987
The Consolations of Scholarship for soprano and ensemble (25') (198); **Linda Hirst (soprano), Lontano, conducted by Odaline de la Martinez, Durham, 5 May 1985
The Art of Touching the Keyboard for piano (10') (1983); **William Howard (piano), 1983
Music for 247 Strings for violin and piano (10') (1981); **Paul Barritt (violin), William Howard (piano), 1981
King Harald's Saga for soprano, singing eight roles (10') (1979); **Jane Manning, Dumfries, 17 May 1979
Selected Recordings
King Harald's Saga, On Buying a Horse,Ox Mountain was Covered by Trees, Scotch Minstrelsy, Songs from the Exotic, A Spanish Liederbooklet, Ständchen, The Voice of Desire: Susan Bickley, Andrew Kennedy, Ailish Tynan, Iain Burnside, on Signum Classics SIG CD 087 (2006)
King Harald's Saga, The Consolations of Scholarship, Musicians Wrestle Everywhere, Piano Concerto: Ensemble X, directed by Steven Stucky and Mark Davis Scatterday, on Albany TROY 803 (2006)
Ardnamurchan Point, Arise! Arise! You Slumbering Sleepers, The Art of Touching the Keyboard, The Bagpiper's String Trio, Distance and Enchantment, El Rey De Francia, I Broke Off a Golden Branch, The King of France, Music for 247 Strings, Piano Concerto, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio: Schubert Ensemble, William Howard, Susan Tomes, Petra Casen, on NMC D090
Blond Eckbert: English National Opera, conducted by Siân Edwards, on Collins Classics CD 14612
King Harald's Saga, The Consolations of Scholarship, Missa del Cid: Linda Hirst, Lontona, conducted by Odaline de la Martinez, on United 88040 CD and Novello Records NVLCD 109
Research
Judith Weir has recently completed CONCRETE, a commission for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, which will be premiered on Sunday 20 January 2008 during the BBC Telling the Tale Festival at London's Barbican.
Selected Performances
* UK Premiere
** World Premiere
Recent
A Night at the Chinese Opera, Scottish Opera, Glasgow 11, 19 April, 20, 22 May 2008 (then touring)
Judith Weir: Telling the Tale, Barbican Centre, London, 18-20 January 2008
Winter Song**; Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Knussen, Glasgow, 14 December 2007 (Edinburgh, 15 December 2007)
The Voice of Desire; Alice Coote and Graham Johnson, BBC Proms, Cadogan Hall, London, 16 July 2007
Music, Untangled; Melbourne SO, conducted by James MacMillan, Melbourne, 9 May 2007
Heroic Strokes of the Bow; Tapiola Sinfonietta, Espoo, Finland, 9 March 2007
Songs from the Exotic and The Voice of Desire*; Leslie Leon and Ramina Lampsatis, 'Unerhörte Musik', Berlin, 5 December 2006
Blond Eckbert (pocket version)**; The Opera Group, conducted by Patrick Bailey, Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, London, 14-15, 17 June 2006 (then touring)