Antoinette Kirkwood (26 February 1930 - 28 January 2014) was an

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composer born in

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. She studied piano and composition with Dorothy Howell at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in London and often accompanied her mother, who was a

lieder In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French sp ...

singer. For four years beginning in 1969, she was a member of the Executive Committee of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain, now the British Association of Composers and Songwriters.

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broadcast her Symphony, op 8, composed in 1953. This “very notable achievement” established that Kirkwood “can write a memorable tune in a definite key” that will captivate the listener Kirkwood married writer Richard Phibbs in 1961. Caring for her mother and husband through their terminal illnesses led to a complete cessation in her composition activity between 1961 and 1979. She died on 28 January 2014, aged 84.

Works

Kirkwood composed for ballet, symphony, ensembles and for solo instruments. She composed two ballets, symphonic and orchestral works,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

and instrumental works. Selected works include: *''Symphony No. 1 op. 8'' (1953, recording at the

British Music Collection Sound and Music is the UK's national agency for new music, established on 1 October 2008 from the merger of four existing bodies working in the contemporary music field: the Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), the British Music Informa ...

*''Alessandro op. 12'' - (Music Drama after the book by Gerard McLarnon) *''Musa the Saint op. 16'' - (Ballet after the book by Antoinette Kirkwood) *''Fantasia No. 1 op. 13'' *''Fantasia No. 2 op. 14'' *''Fantasia No. 3 op. 18'' *''Suite for Strings op. 5'' *''The Empty Stable op. 10'' - Incidental Music *''Unhallowed op. 4'' - Incidental Music *''Sonata op. 6'' for Violoncello and Piano *''Petite Suite op. 20 No. 2'' for Guitar *''Rapsodie No. 1 op. 21 No. 4'' for Viola and Guitar *''Soliloquy op. 19 No. 3'' for Guitar *''Largo op. 17 No. 1'' for Flute and Piano *''Rapsodie op. 19 No. 2'' for Harp solo *''Sleepy Waters in the Moonlight'' for 2 Violins and Violoncello *''Sonatina op. 2 No. 1'', piano *''Nocturne op. 2 No. 2'', piano *''Carol'' SATB and piano *''The Fly op. 7 No. 1'' (William Blake) *''The Barrel Organ op. 7 No. 5'' (Michael Ashe) *''Must she go? op. 9 No. 1'' (James Forsyth) *''Morning in Bengal op. 9 No. 2'' (Anthony Hayward) *''The Tourney op. 9 No. 3'' (Anthony Hayward) *''Remorse op. 9 No. 4'' (Michael O'Hagan) *''The Song of the Fisherman of Cacru op. 11 No. 3'' (James Forsyth) *''The Oyster-Catcher’s Song op. 11 No. 4'' (James Forsyth) *''Der Schiffbrüchige op. 15'' (Heinrich Heine) *''Krönung op. 17 No. 2'' (Heinrich Heine) High Voice and Strings Her works have been recorded and issued on media, including: *''Six Intermezzi - A Potpourri of Piano Music'' *''Sonata for Violoncello and Piano'' *''Women Composers - Vol. I'' CD *''Women Composers - Vol. II'' CD

References

1930 births 2014 deaths 20th-century classical composers Women classical composers English classical composers Musicians from London 20th-century English composers 20th-century English women musicians 20th-century women composers {{UK-composer-stub