Brian Elias

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Brian Elias (born 30 August 1948, Bombay, India) is a British composer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Brian Elias studied at London’s Royal College of Music with Humphrey Searle and Bernard Stevens and privately with Elisabeth Lutyens. After five years working at a finance company in New York, he returned to London to re-establish his musical career. The development of his language can betraced through his major orchestral works. The Webernesque Le Chevelure (1967) was followed twelve years later by Somnia; the intensity of L’Eylah (1983) is built upon in the exquisite FiveSongs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya (1989) and the powerfully expressionist ballet The Judas Tree (1991), leads to the playful but dark The House that Jack Built (2001).

[edit] Career highlights

  • 1965 - commenced informal composition studies with Elisabeth Lutyens.
  • 1984 - L’Eylah premiered at the BBC Proms.
  • 1989 - premiere of Five Songs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya.
  • 1993 - Olivier Award for Best New Dance Work for The Judas Tree.
  • 1999 - NVC video of The Judas Tree wins International Emmy Award for Performing Arts.
  • 2001 - The House that Jack Built premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

[edit] Key works

  • L’Eylah (1983; orchestra)
  • Geranos (1984; chamber ensemble)
  • Pythikos Nomos (1987-8; saxophone, piano)
  • Five Songs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya (1989; mezzo-soprano, orchestra)
  • The Judas Tree (1991; ballet)
  • Laments(1998; mezzo-soprano, semi-chorus, orchestra)

[edit] Selected recordings

[edit] External links

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