Guto Puw
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Guto Pryderi Puw (born 1971) is a Welsh composer, university lecturer and conductor. He is considered to be one of the most prominent Welsh composers of his generation and a key figure in current Welsh music. Puw's music has been broadcast on
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
and been featured on television programmes for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
and S4C. He has twice been awarded the Composer's Medal at the
National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...
. Puw's works include pieces for unusual combinations of instruments, such as a
tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
quartet or a trio consisting of
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
, cello and
double-bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
, as well as more traditional forces such as solo
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
and piano,
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
or orchestra. He was associated with the
BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...
as its Resident Composer, the first holder of this title, from 2006 to 2010. Puw's own Welsh identity is a recurrent theme in his music: some of his pieces set Welsh-language poetry to music and one of his pieces, ''Reservoirs'', is written about the flooding of Welsh valleys to provide water for England.


Biography

Born in Parc (a village in
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
near Bala), Puw studied music composition at
Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...
with John Pickard,
Andrew Lewis Andrew Lewis may refer to: Law and politics * Sir Andrew J. W. Lewis (1875-1952), Scottish businessman and politician; Lord Provost of Aberdeen * Andrew L. Lewis Jr. (1931–2016), American railroad executive and US Secretary of Transportation *And ...
and Pwyll ap Siôn. Puw was awarded with a MMus degree in 1996 and a PhD degree in 2002. He was then awarded an
Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...
bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awa ...
and studied with the composer John Metcalf. Puw was appointed as a Lecturer in Music at Bangor University in 2006, having previously been a Teaching Fellow in Music from 2004. A Welsh speaker, he has been the Welsh Medium Teaching Fellow for the School of Music. He was the founding member and conductor for , a Welsh-language choir based in
Y Felinheli Y Felinheli (), formerly known in English as Port Dinorwic, is a village and community beside the Menai Strait ( cy, Y Fenai or ''Afon Menai'') between Bangor and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, northwest Wales. History Toponymy Etymologically, its ...
near Bangor. Puw has received commissions from (amongst others)
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
, the Welsh
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
Jeremy Huw Williams, the Bangor New Music Festival and the
North Wales International Music Festival The North Wales International Music Festival is a classical music festival founded by William Mathias William James Mathias CBE (1 November 1934 – 29 July 1992) was a Welsh composer noted for choral works. Biography Mathias was born in ...
. He was appointed the first Resident Composer with BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) in 2006 and held this position until 2010. During this time, Puw wrote a concerto for
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...
(premiered in 2006) and an orchestral piece, '' ... onyt agoraf y drws ...'', which was first performed to critical acclaim at the 2007
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 ...
. He has been active in the promotion of new music in north Wales through his involvement with th
Bangor Music Festival
being its Artistic Director and founding member since 2000. In 2014 he received the Sir Geraint Evans Award by th
Welsh Music Guild
for his ‘significant contribution to Welsh music.’


Music


Welsh links

Puw's music is rooted in the language and literature of Wales, with a particular affinity to the poetry of
R. S. Thomas Ronald Stuart Thomas (29 March 1913 – 25 September 2000), published as R. S. Thomas, was a Welsh poet and Anglican priest ( Church of Wales) noted for nationalism, spirituality and dislike of the anglicisation of Wales. John Betjeman, introduc ...
. Welsh titles and settings of poetry in Welsh, such as ''Mecanwaith'', ''Dawns y Sêr'', and '' ... onyt agoraf y drws ...'', feature in his work. He has won the Composer's Medal at the
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...
twice, winning it first in 1995 for a
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
piece, ''Ffantasia II''. In 1997, when the Eisteddfod was held in Bala, he won the Medal for a
string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...
, ("Mechanism") – this piece was later featured in S4C's television series ("The Composers"). has also been performed by the
Duke Quartet The Duke Quartet is a contemporary string quartet based in Europe. Its members are Louisa Fuller (violin), Rick Koster (violin), John Metcalfe (viola), and Sophie Harris (cello). This quartet specialises in contemporary music, and its repertoir ...
at the 1998
Bath International Music Festival The Bath International Music Festival was held late each spring in Bath, South West England between 1948 and 2016. The festival included many genres such as Jazz, Classical, World and Folk and merged with the Bath Literature Festival in 2017 to ...
and the 1999
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featured ...
.


Orchestral works

Puw's oboe concerto was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and was premiered by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and their principal oboist David Cowley at ,
Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...
, on 27 April 2006. It takes its inspiration from different qualities of the human voice, including stutters and chatterboxes. Puw has said that "The second movement is inspired by talkative people who won't let you contribute to a conversation", represented by a repeated row of 13 notes played until "it gets rather unbearable". It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 1 March 2007 as part of a programme of music by Welsh composers to celebrate
St David's Day Saint David's Day ( cy, Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant or ; ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. The feast has been regularly celebr ...
. The concerto won Puw the 2007
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
Listeners Award at the British Composer Awards. His orchestral piece ''Reservoirs'' was inspired by a 1968 poem by R. S. Thomas about the drowning of Welsh valleys such as
Tryweryn The Tryweryn is a river in the north of Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. One of the main tributaries of the Dee, it was dammed in 1965 to form Llyn Celyn, drowning the ...
(a few miles from where Puw grew up) and Clywedog to provide water for England. Puw had a particular affinity with the topic as his grandfather lost farmland in the Tryweryn flooding. Nevertheless, he has said that he "decided not to take the poem too literally because as a composer you can be subject to criticism for doing that." It was nominated in 2005 in the Large-Scale Composition category of the
Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...
Music Awards. The music was used in a BBC2 Wales documentary, "Drowning a Village", broadcast on 9 March 2006. A performance by BBC NOW was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of the 2005
Vale of Glamorgan Festival The Vale of Glamorgan Festival is a contemporary music festival based in and around the county of Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and held annually during May (formerly September). The festival was founded in 1969 by Welsh composer John Metcalf (composer ...
. As part of his association with BBC NOW, Puw was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 to compose for the 2007
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 ...
. His orchestral piece, ("... unless I open the door ...") was premiered on 9 August 2007, conducted by
David Atherton David Atherton (born 3 January 1944) is an English conductor and founder of the London Sinfonietta. Background Atherton was born in Blackpool, Lancashire into a musical family. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School. His father, Robert ...
.BBC Proms Guide 2007 It is based on a story from the
Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...
, a collection of medieval Welsh tales, in which a group of warriors, lately returned from Ireland, feast in
Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 197 ...
for seven years with the severed head of their leader at the head of the table. They then feast in Penfro for eighty years in a hall with three doors, and only remember the dreadful events that happened in Ireland when the third door opens. Each of the three doors in Penfro was represented by an instrument in a
box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...
in the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
. In recent years, each movement of his lyrical ''Violin Concerto - Soft Stillness'' (2012–14) uses quotations from the 5th Act of Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice'' as inspiration. The orchestral work ''Camouflage'' (2017–18) is constructed from different layers of textures created by various instrumental combinations. The repeated two-note motif introduced at the beginning and later the ascending scales are gradually concealed within thick blocks of orchestral textures. Often these blocks have been constructed from layers of identical ideas that are repeated within a passage, similar to a pattern found in a typical camouflage.


Opera and music theatre

In 2009 ''Hadau'' was commissioned by the
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...
to be performed alongside an installation by artist Christine Mills at the Lle Celf pavilion. Scored for soprano, harp and narrator, the work was inspired by the strong
Cerdd Dant ' (, or ') is the art of vocal improvisation over a given melody in Welsh musical tradition. It is an important competition in . The singer or (small) choir sings a counter melody over a harp melody. History is a unique tradition of singing ly ...
tradition particularly found in rural communities of Meirionnydd and other parts of the country. Earlier in 2017 Puw completed his first chamber opera ''Y Tŵr'' based on the play by the Welsh playwright, Gwenlyn Parry and to libretto by
Gwyneth Glyn Gwyneth Glyn (born Gwyneth Glyn Evans, 14 December 1979) is a Welsh language poet and musician. Biography Gwyneth Glyn was born in St David's Hospital in Bangor, Gwynedd, and grew up at her family home in Llanarmon. She was educated at Ysgol G ...
. It was premiered b
Music Theatre Wales
and Richard Baker on 18 May 2017 at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff during the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. The opera in three acts explores the relationship and emotions between two characters during three specific periods in their lives, during youth, middle age and finally, old age. The composer's use of atonal musical language,
octatonic An octatonic scale is any eight-Musical note, note musical scale. However, the term most often refers to the symmetric scale composed of alternating major second, whole and semitone, half steps, as shown at right. In classical theory (in contras ...
scales and the occasional tonal passage are directly linked with the various emotions of the characters and the unfolding of the drama.


Other works

Unusual instrumentation and unusual performance techniques, including elements of improvisation, are also important features of his work. In 1998 he composed ''X-ist'', a piece for IST (the Improvising String Trio, consisting of
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
, cello and
double-bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
). It was described by reviewers as a "frighteningly frantic" and "challenging" piece. ''X-ist'' uses a graphic score and includes written directions to the players that act as "creative stimuli", containing notes and motifs to be followed. The piece also requires the cellist and double-bassist to tap their instruments, as well as use normal playing methods. Another piece requiring improvisation by performers was his commission for the 2001 Bangor New Music Festival, , which was written for ensemble (saxophone, guitar, harp, keyboard, cello, piano) and optional dancer. In his performing notes, Puw describes the pieces as a "stimulus for musical improvisation" in which any notes, normal or extended musical techniques and/or percussive effects may be applied. has two contrasting sub-sections, a and b, arranged in the form a-b-a-a-a-b-a-b to match the Welsh poetic measure of the same name, with the strings playing calmly in the "a" sections, and saxophone and keyboard (gradually joined by the other instruments) playing in a more lively manner in the "b" sections. The musicians and the dancer are required to react to each other's contributions in each section to create a "multi-media" experience. ''Visages'', his 1999 piece for 2
tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
s and 2
euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" ...
s, was described as "astringent, often whimsical but well written for these instruments". Puw said that in the piece "Freedom is granted to the performers to make any subtle facial expressions that add to the musical interpretation". Puw describes (a piece for solo piano, composed for the 2000 Bangor New Music Festival) as an "intimate reflection" upon the music of, and a tribute to,
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
, his "intricate compositional style" and "world of delicate expression". The music becomes "simpler and softer" throughout the piece, moving from the "rhythmic complexity" of the opening bars through to slow quavers transforming into triplets. An ensemble piece, ''different light'' (for
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
, violin, cello and piano) was "inspired by the idea of moving a picture from one place to another, be it to another house, or from one room to the next, or even from one wall to another." As the picture is moved, it looks the same but is perceived in a different light. Puw attempts to convey this in musical terms by having each instrument enter separately with its own musical phrase in the first part of the piece. Then, in the second part of the piece, all the thematic material is repeated with the instruments playing simultaneously, so that the music is similarly perceived in a different light. ''different light'' was featured at the 2001 ''UKwithNY'' festival at the
Angel Orensanz Center The Angel Orensanz Center is an art and performance space on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was originally built as a synagogue, running through a succession of congregations and continues to be used as one occasionally. The ...
in New York City. His 2005 composition for the Bangor New Music Festival, '' Stereo Type'', was written for amplified
typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...
s and tape. It was premiered by School of Music students from Bangor University in the Deiniol Shopping Centre, Bangor, on 5 March 2005. In 2017 he composed ''Sustained Clusters (March)'' for brass quintet and fairground organ, which was first performed by Onyx Brass at the Eastern Shelter, Barry during the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. The work features a series of chordal clusters, repeated descending modal scales and a playful tune, creating a humorous dialogue between the brass ensemble and the fairground organ. His latest piece for street organ was ''Ffantasia V'' and was premiere at th
Vale of Glamorgan Festival
in May 2019.


List of compositions

A list of Puw's major compositions.


Awards and nominations

*1995 – Winner of the Composer's Medal at the
National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...
for (harp) *1997 – Winner of the Composer's Medal at the National Eisteddfod of Wales for (string quartet) *2005 – ''Reservoirs'' (orchestral) nominated in the Large-Scale Composition category of the
Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...
Music Awards *2007 – Winner of the
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
Listeners Award at the British Composer Awards for his Oboe Concerto *2013 – Sir Geraint Evans Award presented by th
Welsh Music Guild
"for his significant contribution to Welsh music" *2015 – '' '…onyt agoraf y drws…' '' was chosen as the 2nd finest orchestral work by a Welsh composer, Gramophone magazine


Recordings

*''Reservoirs – Orchestral Works by Guto Pryderi Puw''

(May 2014). Tracks includes ''...onyt agoraf y drws...'', ''Concerto for Oboe'', ''Reservoirs'', ''Hologram'' and Break the Stone' Overture''. *''Violin Concerto – Soft Stillness'', included on the CD ''Violin Muse'' performed by violinis
Madeleine Mitchell
and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Edwin Outwater
Divine Art
(October 2017). *''Visages'', included on the CD ''Earth and Moon'' performed b


References


External links


A page from the score of A page from the score of
which inspired Puw's orchestral work of the same name {{DEFAULTSORT:Puw, Guto 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Welsh classical composers Welsh male classical composers Academics of Bangor University Alumni of Bangor University 1971 births Living people 20th-century British composers 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century British composers People from Merionethshire