Graham Fitkin

Graham Fitkin (born 19 April 1963) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. His compositions fall broadly into the minimalist and postminimalist genres. Described by The Independent in 1998 as "one of the most important of our younger composers", he is particularly known for his works for solo and multiple pianos, as well as for music accompanying dance.

Biography Fitkin was born at Crows-an-Wra in west Cornwall on 19 April 1963. His mother, a piano teacher, encouraged his early studies on that instrument. He participated in numerous local ensembles during his childhood, and recalls starting to compose at the piano aged around 8. He later went to the Netherlands to study with the minimalist composer and pianist Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. His partner is harpist Ruth Wall, with whom he collaborates in Fitkin Wall.

Music Fitkin's work is broadly classified as minimalist and postminimalist. His works are tonal and frequently complex. Much of his writing is for the piano, including solo and multiple player works. Several of his early works, including Log, Line and Loud, were composed for the six-piano ensemble, Piano Circus. A more recent work for electronic instruments is the album Kaplan, which was inspired by the character George Kaplan from Alfred Hitchcock's film, North by Northwest. In 1994–96, Fitkin was the composer-in-residence at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and during the mid-to-late 1990s he composed twelve orchestral pieces including a clarinet concerto.

Recent projects include Still Warm, a work for multiple harps, which was composed for the Eden Project in 2006. The sextet Sinew, written for the Fibonacci Sequence, was first performed in 2009. For Yo Yo Ma, he has written a cello concerto which was premiered at the 2011 BBC Proms, as well as a work for cello and piano, titled L, composed for the performer's fiftieth birthday (2005). A BBC commission for orchestra and chorus, titled PK, was also premiered at the Proms in 2010. In a recent project called Fitkin, a group comprising 9 virtuoso musicians has been touring the UK since early 2010. In December 2010, it was announced that Fitkin had been selected as one of twenty composers to participate in the New Music 20x12 project as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Fitkin will compose a new work for the London Chamber Orchestra to be premiered in 2012.

In 1996, he formed the Graham Fitkin Group. Sanctuary's Black Box label, BIS Records and Factory Classical. He founded a personal label, GFR, to release Still Warm. in 2011, PK won the Outreach category.

Selected works Solo and multiple pianos From Yellow to Yellow (1985) The Cone Gatherers (1987) Loud (1989), for six pianos Flak (1989), for two pianos/eight hands Log (1990), for six pianos Line (1991), for six pianos Fervent (1992–94) Piano Pieces 93 (1993) Relent (1998)

Piano and orchestra Granite (1995) Circuit (2002) Ruse (2009)

Orchestral Cud (1988) Length (1994) Bebeto (1995) Henry (1995) Metal (1995) Clarinet Concerto (1998) Reel (2008) PK (2010), with choir Cello Concerto (2011) Recorder Concerto (2017)

Ensemble Ironic (1997) Bed (1998) Beethoven 7 (2000)

String Quartets Servant (1992) A Small Quartet (1993) Another Small Quartet (1994) Pawn (2004) Inside (2006) String (2007)

Other Huoah (1988), for brass band; rewritten as ballet score (1995) Slow (1990), for string quartet and two keyboards Hook (1991), for percussion quartet Skirting (2001), for solo guitar Lens (2003), for piano trio Geography (2004), for computers and video Kaplan (2004), multimedia L (2005), for cello and piano Touch (2005), piano quintet Still Warm (2006), for electronically manipulated harps Sinew (2009), sextet for violin, viola, cello, clarinet, horn and piano Distil (2014), string quartet and percussion Recur (2016), string quartet and harp Loosening (2021), string quartet and soprano saxophone

Partial discography Skirting, Jim and Pam and Pam and Jim on The Uncommon Harp (compilation) – Ruth Wall Ironic, and other ensemble works – Graham Fitkin Group Granite – Peter Donohoe (piano), Petr Altrichter and Graham Fitkin (conductors), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Flak, and other piano works – various (Factory Classical; 1991) Slow, Huoah, Frame – Smith Quartet (Argo; 1992) Log, Line, Loud – Piano Circus (Argo; 1992) Hook, Mesh, Stub, Cud – various (Argo; 1993) Kaplan – Graham Fitkin and Ruth Wall (Black Box; 2003) Hook, Mesh, Stub, Cud, Log, Line, Loud, Hard Fairy – various (Decca; 2004) Still Warm – Fitkin Wall (GFR; 2007) Circuit, Relent, Carnal, and other piano works – Noriko Ogawa and Kathryn Stott (piano), Naoto Otomo (conductor), Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (BIS Records; 2010) String Quartets – Sacconi Quartet, Signum Classics SIGCD518 (2017) Loosening, Slow, Distil, Touch, Recur – Sacconi Quartet and soloists, Signum Classics SIGCD792 (2024)