Andy Scott

Graham Fitkin was born in Cornwall in 1963, studied at Nottingham University with Peter Nelson and Nigel Osborne and then travelled to The Netherlands to study with Louis Andriessen at Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague.

Composing for solo or multiple pianos has been central to his work. He works regularly with pianist Kathryn Stott, founded the four-pianist group ‘Nanquidno’ and worked closely with six piano ensemble Piano Circus.

A ‘Composer for Dance Award’ in 1990 led to a new work for David Massingham Dance. Ever since then Graham has worked frequently with choreographers around the world with recent performances being given by Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Wayne MacGregor's Random Dance, Pacific Northwest Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Bi-Ma, Sidonie Rochon, Munich Ballet and the National Ballet of Portugal. Fitkin won the International Grand Prix Music for Dance Video Award in 1994.

Graham has collaborated with many of today's foremost performers of new music including the Nederlands Blazersensemble, Apollo Saxophone Quartet, Smith Quartet, Ensemble Bash, Combustion Chamber and the London Chamber Orchestra.

Graham was resident composer with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra between 1994-96 and since then several new works have been commissioned and composed for orchestra, and performances include those by the Halle, BBC Philharmonic, English Northern Philharmonia, RSNO, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bournemouth Symphony, Ulster, Nederlands Radio Orchestra, and Uster Festival (Switzerland).

Performing has always been an important aspect of Graham’s work and the Fitkin Group was founded in 1996 to perform the composer's work alongside other contemporary composers (e.g. Bryars, Poppy, Feldman) and has given performances throughout the UK and EU.

Over the past 10 years Graham has directed many educational and community projects including 3 UK PRS Composer in Education residencies, 7 regional community projects, a number of university seminars, composition masterclasses and also directed workshops in UK, Japan and Soweto.

Recent works include Graham’s Double Concerto for two Pianos and Orchestra - CIRCUIT, commissioned by the BBC and featuring soloists Kathyrn Stott and Noriko Ogawa, and KAPLAN, a sixty minute piece for keyboards based on the central character from Hitchcock’s North By Northwest. This seven movement work also uses video and live webcams and is concerned with mistaken identity.

Other recent collaborations include LENS a piano trio commissioned by the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, a new BBC commission for the Duke Quartet - PAWN, a solo for the new organ at Birmingham Symphony Hall and new interactive work GEOGRAPHY. Graham is touring KAPLAN in 2004 in UK, Japan and Holland. 2005 sees the start of a new multi location work for computers and video starting in New York.

Press

Il Giornale Della Musica		Italia		“..e uno dei compositori inglesi piu interessanti della nuova generazione.”
Classic CD on FLAK		UK		“Fitkin’s majesterial debut simply has no equal”
De Volkskrant on LOG		Nederland		“The real discovery of this year’s festival.”
Daily Telegraph on HENRY		UK		“strong rhythmic shapes, sharp melodic profiles, lush orchestral overtones and rich harmonic underpinning.”
Musicweb.com on KAPLAN		US		“This disc must be one of the most enigmatic ever issued. Ignore the title and enjoy the extraordinary imaginative sound tapestries.”
The Independent on AGNOSTIC		UK		“one of the most important pieces of the age... achingly romantic, British pastoral updated to an edgy, utterly contemporary, urban landscape”
Seattle Post on FERVENT		US		“a superb ballet score. It has ripeness and rigor, structure and a seeming lack of it.”
The Guardian on LOUD		UK		“a delight that defied all fashionable labels and simply conjured its own whirlygig of ideas with such spontaneity and control.”
Ritmo on HUOAH		Espana		“musica para accompanar una escena de Burger King.”
Washington Herald on ARACT		US		“driven by the suspenseful Hitchockian score”

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