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Patric Standford |
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photo: Sophie Standford |
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| Biography |
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PATRIC STANDFORD (b. 1939)
Patric Standford's musical activities have always reflected a broad
field of interest. He has a facility for creating music of
energy or
lyrical sensitivity, appropriate whatever the occasion and in an idiom
that may challenge but remains accessible. He takes a pride in
the structural skills he learned as a pupil of Edmund Rubbra whilst at the
Guildhall School of Music in London, and later with Gianfrancesco
Malipiero with whom he studied in Venice on the proceeds of the
Mendelssohn Scholarship award. He is a craftsman who values the
craftsmanship.
It is with the art of orchestration that he has found most pleasure, and his orchestral works have received many international awards. His first Symphony The Seasons, written in 1972, gained for him his first major prize, the Premio Cittá di Trieste, and that was followed by the Oscar Espla Prize in Spain for his Symphony No 2; the Yugoslavian Government's 1974 award for his oratorio Christus Requiem, and in 1983 the Ernst Ansermet Prize of the City of Geneva in 1983 for his choral symphony Toward Paradise. Most recently he has been awarded the first prize in the 1997 International Composers' Competition in Budapest for a choral and orchestral 'masque in four scenes', The Prayer of Saint Francis. His 5th Symphony was commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and a 6th Symphony is currently in the making along with his haunting opera about the 15th century poet Francois Villon. Whilst Standford's symphonic output has received such wide international recognition, he has also devoted much time and care to the production of lighter music, both as composer, orchestral conductor and arranger. His practical skill in orchestration was largely acquired in the field of rapidly produced commercial arrangements for West End shows and television during the 1960s and 1970s. He worked for a time with the instrumental rock group Continuum for whom he wrote an album recorded by RCA in 1972, and he was even employed as a 'ghost writer' of music for symphonic recordings and films - one such piece was the Rod McKuen Cello Concerto, written and recorded in just ten days! All this, together with a constant curiosity for old music and the musical folklore of Eastern Europe and Asia, combine to make a unique musical personality who is able to call upon the widest variety of sources with confident understanding, and turn them to serve the magical world from which he draws his own fascinating musical ideas and creations. Standford is well known in Britain as a university lecturer and teacher with eloquence, energy and great insight. He has been an occasional lecturer at universities and colleges in Europe and USA, where he has also supervised composition workshops for students. He has served on many international juries, especially for choral festivals in Hungary, France and Estonia. And in addition to his work as a composer, he is an active music journalist, writer, critic and broadcaster. |
| Review |
| Fantasy Quintet for clarinet and strings: |
| 'A work that thoroughly justifies its selection from 128 scores to receive the International ClarinetFest's 1999 Chamber Music Prize in Ostend last week.' |
| Belgisch Staatsblaad |
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'Rhythmically exhilarating, harmonically
exciting . . .'
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| Het Volk, Ghent |
| 'A superbly crafted addition to a repertoire that needs its modern masterpiece. . .' |
| Oostende-Echo |
| A Christmas Carol Symphony: (CD Naxos 8.557099) |
| 'Here is the hand of a true symphonic craftsman off duty, with colour, wit and imagination in his veins . . . a masterly blending of a galaxy of carols.' |
| Donald Webster - Yorkshire Post |
| The ballet suite 'Celestial Fire' included on the CD British Light Music - Discoveries 3' (ASV WHL 2128) |
| 'A charming ballet suite you should place at the top of your shopping list . . . with a saucy Waltz and an enchanting Doll's Dance.' |
| David Denton, Classical CDs |
| Recording | |
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Listen to
excerpts from Patric Standford's recordings as streamed RealAudio files.
To download the RealAudio player Click on the CD image to stream the sound file
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1. Prayer of St. Francis
Hungarian Radio Orchestra & Chorus cond. Tamás Vásáry CD BR0156 (from the Kodály Institute, Budapest) |
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2. Symphony No
5/BBC Philharmonic/Joan Rodgers (soprano) |
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3. 'Doll's Dance' from
'Celestial Fire' |
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4. No 1 of
'Folksongs for string orchestra |
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5. Taikyoku: symphony
for two pianos and percussion |
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| STOP PRESS |
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The
largest undertaking has been the revision of CHRISTUS-REQUIEM, an Easter oratorio originally commissioned by the
Guildhall School of Music and the Lord Mayor, Court of Aldermen and City
of |
| Other New Works: |
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Six
Preludes
for guitar is a revision and extension for Neil Darwent of an earlier
set. The
original pieces are reworked and the additional Preludes explore more of
the guitar's potential than did the original. Neil
gave the first performance of the new pieces in a recital at |
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A
Sonata for violin and piano
was completed in 2008 in honour of a long neglected promise made back in
1958 to a school friend, Anne Park (née |
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Improvisations
for
piano was written later in 2008 in honour of the 90th
birthday of James Gibb, a distinguished colleague and former head of
keyboard studies at the Guildhall School.
The Improvisations are based on 'an irritating tune' (in
Standford's view) – an Italian folkdance used by both Liszt (Canzonetta
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To mark his 70th birthday
year, the British Music Society
have kindly invited Patric Standford to deliver one of their
Lecture-Recitals, taking an honoured place among many distinguished
former lecturers. The
event will be held in the Jubilee Room of the New Cavendish Club, |
| Work continues on the opera VILLON, and on settings of the complete cycle of Tenebrć Responsories for unaccompanied mixed voices. This will be designed for both concert and liturgical performance. |
Commercial recordings currently available:
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| Articles |
| Read articles and reviews by Patric Standford: |
| Choir & Organ (www.choirandorgan.com) |
| recent articles include: |
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‘Animated
Individuality’: a profile of |
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‘Reflecting the
Man’: an appreciation of composer |
| Finnish Treasure: the Tapiola Chamber Choir (2004: Vol 12 No 2) |
| Edward Cowie and the BBC Singers at Huddersfield (2003: Vol 11 No 2) |
| A James Wood profile: Meeting the challenge (2002: Vol 10 No 3) |
| Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins: Strength from heritage (2002: Vol 10 No 1) |
| Constant Lambert: Wayward Genius (2001: Vol 9 No 2) |
| The Orlando Consort: Exhilarating Explorations (2001: Vol 9 No 2) |
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| Provocative Thoughts is an ongoing series on Music & Vision with many CD reviews (www.mvdaily.com) |
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| Standford is also Music Critic for the Yorkshire Post (www.ypn.co.uk) |
| Contact and Links |
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PETERS
EDITION Ltd |