Works performed by Earplay:
Lotuses
Nataraja
The Riot
String Trio
Tombeau de Messiaen
Jonathan Harvey (b. 1939, England) was a major music scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge. He gained doctorates from the universities of Glasgow and Cambridge and also studied privately (on the advice of Benjamin Britten) with Erwin Stein and Hans Keller. He was a Harkness Fellow at Princeton (1969-70). In the 1980’s he was invited to work at IRCAM in Paris and led to his interest in electronic music where he composed eight major works. Harvey has also composed for most other genres: orchestra, chamber, as well as works for solo instruments. He has produced a large output of choral works, including the large cantata with electronics Mothers shall not Cry (2000). His music has been extensively played and toured by Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and Ictus Ensemble of Brussels. About 50 recordings are available on CD. He is regularly performed at all the major international contemporary music festivals, and is one of the most skilled and imaginative composers working in electronic music.
[from program for May 20, 2009 concert]