David Earl (born 1951) is a South African composer and pianist. He was educated at

Rondebosch Boys' High School Rondebosch Boys' High School is a public English medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the topmost academic schools in South Africa and one of th ...

. He made his professional debut at the age of sixteen when he broadcast

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, Chopin and

Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

on the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

. In 1968, he performed

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

's Piano Concerto No 1 with the

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Symphony Orchestra. In 1971, he moved to London where he studied at

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

. He studied under Jacob Kaletsky and

Richard Arnell Richard Anthony Sayer Arnell (15 September 191710 April 2009) was an English composer of classical music. Arnell composed in all the established genres for the concert stage, and his list of works includes six completed symphonies (a seventh w ...

. After a live début broadcast recital on BBC Radio 3 in 1974, his first recital at

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 leadin ...

was reported as "stylish and powerful" by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. In 1975, he was selected as one of the Young Musicians of the Year by the Greater London Arts Association. He also won first prize in the 1976 SABC Piano Competition. He was described by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' as having "remarkable gifts of style, technical mastery and artistry". He made his début as a composer in the 1977 when he premiered his own Piano Suite No 1 Mosaics at Wigmore Hall. His concerto repertoire includes the Viennese classics, many from the nineteenth century, and amongst those from the 20th, the piano concertos of

Arthur Bliss Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (2 August 189127 March 1975) was an English composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he qu ...

and John Joubert, both of which he studied with the composers. Conductors he has appeared with include

Hugo Rignold Hugo Henry Rignold (15 May 1905 – 30 May 1976) was an English conductor and violinist, who is best remembered as musical director of the Royal Ballet (1957–1960) and conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1960–1968). Aft ...

, Maurice Handford, Piero Gamba and Christian Badea.

Career

His professional career as a composer began in 1980 with the premiere of ' Chéri' an hour-long ballet commissioned by

Peter Darrell Peter Darrell (''né'' Skinner; 16 September 1929 – 2 December 1987) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and founder of the Scottish Ballet. For almost four decades Darrell was one of the most productive and imaginative talents in Br ...

for The Scottish Ballet, given at that year's

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

, and frequently revived, with a new production by The Hong Kong Ballet in 1989. To date there have been six more ballet commissions, including two for CAPAB Ballet – 'The Return of the Soldier' (1982) and 'Abelard and Heloise' (1985), both choreographed by Veronica Paeper, and a full-evening 'Macbeth' (1991) for

Ballet de Santiago Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

in Chile, choreographed by Andre Prokovsky. David had recently collaborated with the Royal Ballet choreographer Vanessa Fenton on two smaller works mounted in Cambridge in 2009. Piano Concerto No 1 appeared in 1980, followed by a Two-Piano Concerto (1986), concertos for Violin (1991), Cello (1996), Trumpet (2005), Piano Concerto No 2 (2007) and a Double Violin Concerto (2011). Among choral compositions is a symphonic setting of

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

's ' Intimations of Immortality', a cyclic setting of

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

'Mans' Medley', and 'Island Owl' for soloists, children's chorus and orchestra. Chamber works include two sonatas each for violin and cello, a Clarinet Trio, Piano Quintet, String Quartet, and for solo piano, three Suites: 'Mosaics', 'Gargoyles' and 'Mandalas', as well as 'Oxymorons: 24 Preludes'. He was introduced to the world of writing film music by the producer

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which wo ...

and wrote for a number of productions between 1982 and 1987, in particular ' P'Tang Yang Kipperbang' (directed by

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

), and 'Arthur's Hallowed Ground' (directed by the veteran cinematographer

Freddie Young Frederick A. Young (9 October 1902 – 1 December 1998) was a British cinematographer. He is probably best known for his work on David Lean's films ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965) and ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), all th ...

). David has been fortunate in collaborating with young musicians at the start of their careers –

Tasmin Little Tasmin Little (born 13 May 1965) is an English classical violinist. She is a concerto soloist and also performs as a recitalist and chamber musician. She has released numerous albums, winning the Critics Award at the Classic Brit Awards in 2011 ...

Martin Roscoe Martin Roscoe (born 3 August 1952) is an English classical pianist. He performs as a concerto soloist, as a recitalist and as a chamber musician. Early life Martin Roscoe was born in Halton, Runcorn, Cheshire. He first became serious about mus ...

, Alexander Chaushian and Jamie Campbell gave the first performances of, respectively, the Violin Concerto, Violin Sonata No 1, the Cello Concerto, and Violin Sonata No2. The CD of the Cello Sonata and 'Mandalas' Piano Suite received a Gramophone Editor's recommendation rossette, and was nominated by International Piano magazine for best new music recording 2007. In June 2012 his setting of

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...

's ' The Old Vicarage, Grantchester' for baritone chorus and orchestra, commissioned by Dame Mary Archer to mark the poem's centenary, was given its first performance at the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

, Cambridge, with the Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, members of the choirs of Clare and Gonville and Caius College, and Nicholas Mogg as baritone soloist. Recent first performances include a new Clarinet Concerto, premiered in October 2013 in Durban, South Africa, with Maria du Toit, clarinet, and the KwaZuluNatal Philharmonic Orchestra under Arjan Tien. Within the last few years David has completed two full length operas: Mary and the Conqueror in which

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

and

Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was an English writer best ...

meet in the afterlife; and 'Strange Ghost', composed to mark the centenary of the death of the iconic poet

. The latter was premiered in Cambridge in December 2015, directed by Dionysios Kyropoulos, and conducted by Dominic Peckham with James Schouten in the title role. David teaches piano performing to undergraduates at Cambridge University, and is a supervisor for Tripos Composition students. In 2001 he was ordained into the then Western Buddhist Order (now

Triratna Buddhist Order The Triratna ( pi, or ; sa, or ) is a Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha). Symbol The Triratna symbol is composed of: * A lotus flower within a circle. * A di ...

) and given the Order name of Akashadeva ('deity of etheric space'). Some of his musical compositions show influences from this immersion in Buddhist thinking, in particular the piano suite ''Mandalas'', whose four movements are inspired among others by the

vajra The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shape ...

s of Indian mythology, the lotus symbol and the

Five Dhyani Buddhas 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

that represent the five key qualities of the Buddha. In 2017 two new works were premiered: Piano Suite No 4 Darshanas, and a Duo Sonata for Viola and Double Bass, the latter a commission from the South African double bass virtuoso Leon Bosch, for whom David has also written Nocturne: Old Nectar for Bass and Piano. A setting of Stephen Spender's poem The Truly Great was composed for Anglia Ruskin University's 25th Anniversary Songbook in 2017. A song cycle for baritone and piano, Sangharakshita Songs, was premiered in Cambridge in October 2018. Recent compositions include a Piano Sextet, and ''A Carbon Symphony''. The latter work was recorded by The Royal Scottish National Orchestral in October 2019, in collaboration with The Deep Carbon Observatory in Washington DC. In 2019 a piano piece ''Metta Bhavana'' was commissioned for the second Triennial Olga Kern International Piano Competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Recently completed is a new opera Lawrence of Arabia (2021).

Filmography

* P'Tang Yang Kipperbang, 1984 * The Price, 1985 * Arthur's Hallowed Ground, 1986British_Film_Institute
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Ballets

* Ballet in one act: Chéri (novel)">Chéri (1978) * Ballet in one act: Return of the Soldier (1980–81) * Ballet in one act: Abelard and Heloise (1983) * Ballet in one act: The Nightingale and the Rose (ballet)">The Nightingale and the Rose (1983) * Ballet in two acts: Macbeth (1991) * Dance theatre: Highland Journal (1995) * Ballet: Wind and Wings (2009) * Ballet: Ode to Memory (2009)

Operas

* Opera in two acts: ''Hamlet'' (1984) * Opera in two acts: ''

The Go-Between ''The Go-Between'' is a novel by L. P. Hartley published in 1953. His best-known work, it has been adapted several times for stage and screen. The book gives a critical view of society at the end of the Victorian era through the eyes of a naïv ...

'' (1991) * ''Mary and the Conqueror'' (2013) * ''Strange Ghost'' (2015) * ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (2021)

Other works

* Piano Suite No 1 Mosaics (1977) * Piano Concerto No 1 (1977–78) * Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace – setting of St Francis of Assisi for SATB (1979) * Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1983) * Incidental music for Dance of the Defectors (Lot's Wife) (1983–84) * I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills – Psalm 121 for soprano and piano (1984) * Violin Concerto (1985) * Piano Suite No 2 Gargoyles (1986–89) * Choral Symphony Trumpets from the Steep (1987) * 3 Intermezzi for Piano Caryatids (1991) * Sonata No 1 for Violin and Piano (1991) * 24 Preludes for Piano Oxymorons (1993) * Man's Medley – choral and orchestral settings of George Herbert (1993) * Cello Concerto (1994) * Highland Journal – dance/theatre score with piano, tenor roles (1995) * Piano Suite No 3 Mandalas (1996) * To a Nobleman in Kyoto – settings of Kukai for baritone and piano (1997) * Sonata No 2 for Violin and Piano (1997) * Sonata for Cello and Piano (1998) * Invocation to Manjughosa – Violin and Piano (2002) * Theme and Variations – transcription for piano of the 4th movement from Tchaikovsky's Suite No 3 Op 55 (2002) * Trumpet Concerto (2005) * Piano Concerto No 2 (2006) * Praise the Lord for all our parents (SATB with organ; also SATB with orchestra) (2008) * Old Roses for solo piano (2008) * Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano (2008) * Quintet for Piano and Strings (2008) * Wind and Wings for Wind Trio and Harp (2009) * Sonata for Oboe and Piano (2009) * Sonatina for Piano (2009) * Ode to Memory for string quartet, clarinet, flute and harp (2009) * Island Owl – Songs for children of all ages for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra (2010) * String Quartet (2010) * Nocturne for Cello and Piano (2010) * Chios Rhapsody for solo piano (2010) * Jonathan's Grace Notes – four easy pieces for piano (2010) * Ode on a Grecian Urn (Keats) – for soprano and piano (2010) * The Fairy Garden – five easy pieces for flute and piano (2011) * Double Violin Concerto (2011) * The Ungathered Blossom of Quiet – a

song cycle for tenor and piano (2011) * Sonata for Cello and Piano No 2 (2011) * The Old Vicarage, Grantchester (2012) for baritone, chorus and orchestra * Encore – piano variations on Chopsticks (2012) * From hearts that live in grace – waltzes for piano (2012) * Scenes from Childhood – 9 pieces for piano solo (2012) * Clarinet Concerto (2013) * Scenes from a South African Childhood - 9 pieces for solo piano (2013) * Sonata for Viola and Piano (2014) * The Wineland Suite - versions for orchestra and brass/woodwind (2014) * Quintet for Cor Anglais and Strings (2014) * Barcarolle - solo piano (2014) * Song without Words - solo piano (2014) * Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra (2015) * Viola Concerto (2015) * Duo Sonata for Viola and Double Bass (2016) * Piano Suite No 4 Darshanas (2016) * The Truly Great (Stephen Spender setting for tenor and piano/chorus and orchestra 2018) * Sangharakshita Poems - a cycle of 8 songs for baritone and piano (2018) * Symphony in C - a Carbon Symphony (2019) * ''Metta Bhavana'' for solo piano (2019) * Piano Concerto No 3 (2020) * 15 Bagatelles for Cello, Clarinet and Piano (2020)

External links

*
Cape Town International Summer Music Festival: Festival Symphony Concert 2
*

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earl, David 1951 births Living people South African composers South African male composers Alumni of Rondebosch Boys' High School 20th-century South African musicians 21st-century South African musicians 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians