Michael Zev Gordon (born 1963, London) is a British composer of Jewish descent. A past oboe player, Gordon studied composition at King's College, Cambridge with

Robin Holloway Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October 1943) is an English composer, academic and writer. Early life Holloway was born in Leamington Spa. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral and was educated at King's College School, ...

, and subsequently with

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

and John Woolrich, and in Italy with

Franco Donatoni Franco Donatoni (9 June 1927 – 17 August 2000) was an Italian composer. Biography Born in Verona, Donatoni started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local music academy. Later, he studied at the Milan Conservatory ...

. He was a composition pupil of

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

from 1989 to 1990. His work has often involved a deep engagement with the subject of memory, with the use of quotation of, or allusion to, other music, sometimes explicit, sometimes more buried. He has himself also spoken of his work in terms of 'turbulence seeking serenity'. Stylistically, this could be seen in the relationship between tonal and more dissonant materials in his music. Key works include the oboe concerto ''The Fabric of Dreams'' (2006), premiered by Nicholas Daniel and the Britten Sinfonia, ''The Impermanence of Things'' for piano, ensemble and electronics (2009), a London Sinfonietta commission, ''Allele'' for 40 voices (2010), a project involving the science of genetics, ''Bohortha'' for large orchestra (2012), a BBC Symphony Orchestra commission, ''Seize the Day'' (2016), a Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Sound Investment commission, his ''Violin Concerto'' (2017), a BBC Symphony Orchestra commission, and ''Raising Icarus'' (2022), a chamber opera for six singers and eight instrumentalists, premiered at the Birmingham Rep. Gordon was the recipient of the Prix Italia 2004 for his composition for radio ''A Pebble in the Pond'', and two British Composer Awards, for ''Allele'' and for ''This Night'' for choir and solo cello (2009), a commission for the choir of King's College, Cambridge. He has taught at the universities of Durham, Southampton and at the Royal College of Music. Since 2012 he has been Professor of Composition at the University of Birmingham. His music is published by Wise Music and Composer's Edition.

Worklist

References

External links

Official Website

Publisher's Website

SoundCloud page with recordings of Gordon's compositions

NMC Recordings biography of GordonBCMG commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Michael Zev British classical composers British male classical composers Living people 1963 births British Jews 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Jewish composers Musicians from London Academics of the University of Southampton Pupils of Louis Andriessen Academics of the University of Birmingham 20th-century British composers 21st-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century British male musicians British oboists