Justin Connolly

Justin Riveagh Connolly (11 August 1933 – 29 September 2020) was a British composer and teacher.

Life

Justin Connolly was born on 11 August 1933 in London. He was the son of John D'Arcy-Dawson, a journalist and author, and his wife Barbara (née Little). He changed his surname from D'Arcy-Dawson to that of his father's biological father in his early 20s.

He was educated at Westminster School, went on to national service in the Army, and briefly studied law at the Middle Temple before deciding on a career in music. From 1958 he studied at the Royal College of Music – composition with Peter Racine Fricker, piano with Lamar Crowson and conducting with Sir Adrian Boult – graduating with a BMus degree. At the same time he had informal contact with Roberto Gerhard. From 1963 to 1965 he attended Yale University on a Harkness Fellowship, where he studied with Mel Powell. He subsequently taught at Yale for 18 months before returning to the UK in 1967. He taught for many years at the Royal College of Music, later moving to the Royal Academy of Music, retiring from teaching in 1995.

Justin Connolly died on 29 September 2020, in London.

Compositional career

His music is published by Novello & Co (Wise Music Group).

Performers of his music have included conductors David Atherton, Pierre Boulez, who premiered one of his orchestra works, Norman Del Mar, Sir Charles Groves, Roger Norrington, David Porcelijn, soloists Ronald K. Anderson, Jane Manning, Gillian Weir, Ralph Kirshbaum, Frederick Riddle, Bertram Turetzky, Harry Sparnaay, John Wallace, Susan Bradshaw, Stephen Savage, Nicolas Hodges, Marilyn Nonken, Chisato Kusunoki, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, the Nash Ensemble and the Pierrot Players.

Connolly was highly regarded as a teacher. His students included Minna Keal, Geoffrey King, Andrew McBirnie, Alwynne Pritchard and Kevin Raftery.

Style

Of Connolly's early music, Anthony Payne wrote (in 1971):

On arrival in the US, Connolly's development was swift, such that Anthony Gilbert (writing in 2012) could describe the premieres of ''Antiphonies'' and ''Poems of Wallace Stevens I'' in the late 60s both as "electrifying". His subsequent music continues the outwardly modernist idiom, rigorously crafted: glittering, sometimes pointillist, often concerned with the interplay of complex and detailed textures. Some works refer to dance forms, and often a dance-like energy contributes to the forward propulsion (''Cinquepaces'', ''Antiphonies'', ''Ceilidh'', ''Canaries''); at the same time his music often explores ideas related to philosophy, literature and history, with even non-vocal works sometimes having their roots in poetry (''Sestina'' A and B, ''Sonatina II: Ennead'', ''Tesserae F''). Others yet refer to the composer's strong affinity with the music of the nineteenth century, such as the ''Tesserae'' series of works, all based on a hymn-tune by Parry,Tesserae F
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Connolly mature output has been described as "characterized by clear groupings, by massive overall integrity, and by movement upwards, inwards and outwards towards the op. 42 Piano Concerto of 2001-3". He composed works in all genres apart from opera. His purely orchestral works are limited to earlier works (''Antiphonies'', op. 4, ''Obbligati for orchestra'' (1966)), but both incorporate spatialise orchestras. Anthony Gilbert described ''Antiphonies'' thus:

After these works, Connolly's orchestral output concentrated on the dramatic possibilities inherent in the concerto form: ''Anima'' written for violist Frederick Riddle, ''Diaphony'' for organ and orchestra written for Gillian Weir, and the aforementioned Piano Concerto written for Nicolas Hodges (the result of a BBC
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