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

Biography

Brian Elias was born in Bombay, India, and has lived in the U.K. since he was thirteen years old. After studying at the Royal College of Music he undertook private studies with

Elisabeth Lutyens Agnes Elisabeth Lutyens, CBE (9 July 190614 April 1983) was an English composer. Early life and education Elisabeth Lutyens was born in London on 9 July 1906. She was one of the five children of Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874–1964), a me ...

. His first major orchestral work ''L'Eylah'' was premiered at the BBC Proms in 1984. He has since had his works performed and recorded extensively by leading orchestras and soloists including the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

, the Britten Sinfonia, Jane Manning,

Roderick Williams Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE (born 1965) is a British baritone and composer. Biography Williams was born in North London to a Welsh father and a Jamaican mother. He attended Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and Haberdashers' ...

Natalie Clein Natalie Clein (born Poole, Dorset) is a British classical cellist. Her mother is a professional violinist. Her sister is the actress Louisa Clein. Early life and education Clein started playing the cello at the age of six, and attended Ta ...

, and the Jerusalem Quartet. Elias collaborated with

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. E ...

on his final ballet ''The Judas Tree'', premiered in 1992 at the Royal Opera House. He has won two British Composer Awards - the first for his 2010 work ''Doubles'', and the second for his 2013 work ''Electra Mourns.'' Elias was featured in a

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

retrospective in April 2021. He has taught composition at the Royal Academy of Music and the Purcell School, and his students have included

Joby Talbot Joby Talbot (born 25 August 1971) is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes and an accordingly broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and wor ...

and Darren Bloom. His works are published by Chester Music.

Compositions

Orchestral

* L’Eylah: commissioned by the BBC for the 1984 Proms. The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edward Downes gave the first performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 30 August 1984. * The House That Jack Built: Commissioned by the BBC for performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra during the 2001/2002 winter season. * Doubles: commissioned by BBC Radio 3 for performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It was completed in February 2009, and lasts approximately 26 minutes. ** ''"Brian Elias’ Doubles was one of the most impressive pieces of orchestral music I have heard in a long time..."'' Martin Anderson, Tempo

Orchestra with soloist

* Five Songs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya (1989): for mezzo soprano soloist and orchestra. Commissioned by the BBC for their 1988/89 season. The texts for the songs were written by Irina Ratushinskaya, a Russian dissident poet. Many of these poems were published while she was still imprisoned. **''"Brian Elias is not a composer to play for safety. His latest work...takes just about every possible risk, facing technical hazards in setting Russian words and putting them into the most rarely successful of musical forms, the orchestral song cycle and also going for moral danger in taking its texts from Prison poetry....Elias handles her verse with tact and care..there is such abundant inventiveness in this half-hour score. Amply gifted as an orchestral composer....the music responds directly to the mood and image, but finds a great deal else to do as well.....purified intensity, immediacy and unrestrained lyricism".'' Paul Griffiths, The Sunday Times * Laments (1998): for mezzo soprano soloist and orchestra. The text is written in Grico, and based on folk tunes from Salento. ''Laments'' was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and was completed in June 1998. * Talisman (2004): for bass-baritone and orchestra. The text is in Hebrew and Aramaic based on the writings found on a rare amulet passed down in the composer's family. ''A Talisman'' was completed in February 2004. * Electra Mourns: Winner of the British Composer Award 2013 Vocal Category. The work, a scena set in the original ancient Greek, was completed in January 2011. It is scored for Mezzo Soprano, solo Cor Anglais and String Orchestra, and lasts approximately 17 minutes. *Cello Concerto: Premiered at the 2017 BBC Proms by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth, with Leonard Elschenbroich as the soloist. The work is dedicated to

Solo and chamber works

* Geranos ''(''1984): for chamber ensemble. * Pythikos Nomos (1987-8): for

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and piano. Commissioned by John-Edward Kelly. * But When I Sleep... (1987): for solo viola. * Birds Practise Songs in Dreams (2002): for solo clarinet. Premiered by Mark van de Wiel. * String Quartet (2012): premiered by the Jerusalem Quartet. * Oboe Quintet (2016): written for

Nicholas Daniel Nicholas Daniel (born 9 January 1962) is a British oboe, oboist and conductor. In 2003 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Leicester International Music Festival. Education He was educated at Salisbury Cathedral School and the Purcell S ...

and members of the Britten Sinfonia. * Three Duets (2017): for violin and violoncello. * L’ innominata (2018): for violoncello and piano. Commissioned by the Purbeck International Chamber Music Festival and premiered by Natalie Clein (cello) and Vadym Kholodenko (piano).

Career highlights

*1965 - commenced informal composition studies with

*1984 - ''L'Eylah'' premiered at the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

*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

*2010 - Awarded a British Composer Award for ''Doubles'' *2013 - Awarded a British Composer Award for ''Electra Mourns''

Discography

''Laments; Five Songs to Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya''
- NMC D064 * ''Pythikos Nomos'' - Col Legno AU31817
''Fantasia''
- NMC D09
''Meet Me in the Green Glen''
- NMC DL3032 (featuring Roderick Williams & Susan Bickley). *
Electra Mourns
-'' NMC D235 (featuring Roderick Williams, Psappha Ensemble, and the Britten Sinfonia,) *
The House That Jack Built
' - NMC D173 (featuring the BBC Symphony Orchestra)

References

External links

Brian Elias' homepage at Chester Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elias, Brian 1948 births Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Music British classical composers British male classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers British ballet composers People from Mumbai 20th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom British people of Indian-Jewish descent Baghdadi Jews