Martin Suckling (born 23 November 1981) is a British composer. He is also a violinist and teacher.

Education

Suckling was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and attended

Bearsden Academy Bearsden Academy is a non-denominational, state school, state secondary school in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. History Bearsden Cross site (1911–1958) In 1911, the school was situated on the corner of A808 road (Great Britain), R ...

. He read music at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...

and went on to study composition with George Benjamin at King's College London. He was a Paul Mellon Fellow at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he studied with

Ezra Laderman Ezra Laderman (29 June 1924 – 28 February 2015) was an American composer of classical music. He was born in Brooklyn. Biography Laderman was of Jewish heritage. His parents, Isidor and Leah, both emigrated to the United States from Poland. Thou ...

and Martin Bresnick in the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a join ...

. On returning to the UK he undertook doctoral research at the Royal Academy of Music, supervised by

Simon Bainbridge Simon Bainbridge (30 August 1952 – 2 April 2021) was a British composer. He was also a professor and head of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and visiting professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in the United ...

Career

While still a student, Suckling received commissions from the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra performs its concerts principally in the Philharmonie Berlin. The orchestra is administratively based at the ''Rundfunk Berlin-Branden ...

(''Play'', 2005) and the London Symphony Orchestra (''The Moon, the Moon!'', 2007). He won 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 ...

Composition Prize in 2008, leading to a commission from the Wigmore Hall for the Aronowitz Ensemble (''To See the Dark Between'', 2010). In 2011, the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

commission and premiere of ''Candlebird'', a song cycle to texts by

Don Paterson Donald Paterson (born 1963) is a Scottish poet, writer and musician. Background Don Paterson was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1963. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 1990 and his poem "A Private Bottling" won the Arvon Foundation International ...

, led to critical acclaim. Subsequent commissions have come from ensembles such as the London Contemporary Orchestra,

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional r ...

, Scottish Ensemble and the

Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and S ...

, with whom Suckling was appointed Associate Composer in 2014. Previously Stipendiary Lecturer in Music at Somerville College, Oxford, since 2012 Suckling has been a lecturer in the Music Department at the University of York, where he teaches courses in Composition, Orchestration, and

Spectral Music Spectral music uses the acoustic properties of sound – or sound spectra – as a basis for composition. Definition Defined in technical language, spectral music is an acoustic musical practice where compositional decisions are often inform ...

. Suckling's music often explores aspects of microtonality, and he has acknowledged his debt in this regard to composers associated with spectral music. Other influences include Scottish folk music – Suckling was a fiddle player in several ceilidh bands in his teens – and literature, especially poetry.

Key works

* ''The Moon, the Moon!'' (2007; symphony orchestra) * ''To See the Dark Between'' (2010; string sextet and piano) * ''Lieder ohne Worte'' (2010; piano solo) * ''Candlebird'' (2011; baritone and large ensemble) * ''de sol y grana'' (2011; violin and ensemble) * ''storm, rose, tiger'' (2011; chamber orchestra) * ''Postcards'' (2012–13; string ensemble) * ''Release'' (2013; symphony orchestra) * Nocturne (2013; violin and cello) * ''Six Speechless Songs'' (2013; chamber orchestra) * ''Songs from a Bright September'' (2014; baritone and piano trio) * ''Visiones (after Goya)'' (2015; clarinet, cello, piano) * ''Psalm (after Celan)'' (2015; harp and three groups of four instruments) * Piano Concerto (2014–16; piano and chamber orchestra) * ''The White Road (after Edmund de Waal)'' (2016; flute and symphony orchestra) * ''Emily's Electrical Absence'' (2017; string quintet) * ''Meditation (after Donne)'' (2018; chamber orchestra and live electronics) * ''This Departing Landscape'' (2019; symphony orchestra) * ''The Tuning'' (2019; mezzo soprano and piano, texts by Michael Donaghy) * ''Her Lullaby'' (2019; solo viola (or violin or cello))

Discography

* ''Candlebird'' – London Sinfonietta, Leigh Melrose, Nicholas Collon
SINF CD1-2012
* ''Fanfare for a Newborn Child'' – London Symphony Orchestra, François Xavier Roth
LSO Live LSO5061
* Piano Concerto; ''The White Road'' for flute & orchestra - BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Katherine Bryan (flute), Tamara Stefanovich (piano), Ilan Volkov (conductor). NMC Recordings, due to be released February 2021.
BBC broadcast, September 2020
* ''The Moon, the Moon!'' – London Symphony Orchestra, François Xavier Roth, LSO Live LSO5032 * ''To See the Dark Between'' – Aronowitz Ensemble

* ''Visiones (after Goya)'' - 'From Score to Sound'
Dark Inventions CD 1702

References

External links

Martin Suckling's homepage

Martin Suckling's page at Faber Music Ltd.

Faber Music Online Score Perusal Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suckling, Martin 1981 births Living people Scottish composers Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British composers Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford