Peter Fribbins (born 4 June 1969) is a British composer. He studied music at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

Royal Holloway Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

universities, and composition with

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as t ...

in London and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Work

A number of his key works are literary-inspired, and much of his music is for

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, notable exceptions being the early

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the in ...

'In Xanadu' from 1992 (after

Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

), 'Porphyria's Lover' (1999) for

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(after Browning), and the

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 ...

and piano '...That Which Echoes in Eternity' (after lines from

Dante's Dante's is a nightclub and live music venue in Portland, Oregon. The venue, located along West Burnside Street and owned by Frank Faillace, hosts a variety of acts ranging from burlesque to rock music. Dante's is housed in an unreinforced masonr ...

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

). Of his two

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 ...

s, the first is subtitled 'I Have the Serpent Brought' after lines by

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

from his poem 'Twicknam Garden', and the second (2006) commissioned by the

Chilingirian Quartet The Chilingirian Quartet is a British string quartet. It gave its first public concert in Cambridge in 1972. By the time the quartet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, there had been various changes in the line-up. However, it has continued t ...

(

Levon Chilingirian Levon Chilingirian OBE (Լևոն Չիլինկիրեան born 28 May 1948) is a UK-based violinist of Armenian origin. The founder of the Chilingirian Quartet, he is also a professor and Chamber Music Artist in Residence at the Royal Academy of ...

), subtitled 'After Cromer' since much of the thematic material is derived from the English hymn of the same name. Other chamber works for strings include two

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

s – the first, more substantial one premiered in

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in 2004, and the latter, an evocative single-movement piece (2007) entitled 'Softly, in the Dusk...' after the poem 'Piano' by

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

– a

Cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

Sonata commissioned by

Raphael Wallfisch Raphael Wallfisch (born 15 June 1953 in London) is a British cellist and professor of cello. As a soloist he performs regularly with leading orchestras around the world, as well as together with duo partner John York (piano), or as member of the ...

and John York (2005) and the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (2002). Larger scale works include the Piano Concerto (2010), which is subtitled 'The Moving Finger Writes'; a quotation from FitzGerald's translation of

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia". Alth ...

, and the Violin Concerto (2015) commissioned by the French violinist Philippe Graffin. There are also songs and various smaller instrumental works. Peter Fribbins is also Director of Music at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

, London (since 2004) and Artistic Director of the long-established series of Sunday London Chamber Music Society Concerts, formerly at

Conway Hall The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United Kin ...

and resident at

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

since 2008. His concert work is often linked with a group of British composers called 'Music Haven', not a school as such, but a collection of composers (c.f. the French '

Les Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name, inspired by Mily Balakirev's '' The Five'', originates in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' ...

' or the British ' Manchester School', from the early and late twentieth-century respectively), mostly London-based and with broadly similar interests and aesthetic outlook, reflecting sympathies for British masters such as

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

and Tippett and the music of the

First Viennese School The First Viennese School is a name mostly used to refer to three composers of the Classical period in Western art music in late-18th-century to early-19th-century Vienna: Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Sometimes, ...

, especially

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, as well as the

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n influences of

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

and Nielsen. The group includes

James Francis Brown James Francis Brown (born 7 December 1969) is an English composer. He studied composition with the Viennese émigré Hans Heimler (a pupil of Alban Berg) and then at the Royal Academy of Music, London. Career Francis Brown's significant ch ...

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

-born Alan Mills, Matthew Taylor, John Hawkins, Geoff Palmer, and more peripherally two older British composers, David Matthews and by association,

John McCabe John McCabe may refer to: *John McCabe (composer) (1939–2015), British composer and classical pianist *John McCabe (writer) (1920–2005), Shakespearean scholar and biographer *Christopher John McCabe Christopher John McCabe (born 20 Oc ...

CBE. The set of piano pieces 'Seven Haydn Fantasies for John McCabe' – each composed by a different composer and published in 2009 on the occasion of the latter's 70th birthday – is in many ways typical of the group's work.

Recordings

Sources: *''Dances, Elegies & Epitaphs'' – Resonus (RES 10193). Capriccio: Abide with Me, Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, 'In Xanadu' for Wind Quintet, Soliloquies for Trumpet & Strings. Performed by Philippe Graffin (violin), Christopher Hart (trumpet) and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Robertas Šervenikas *''Dances & Laments'' – Guild (GMCD 7397). The Zong Affair, Dances & Laments, '...that which echoes in eternity' Porphyria's Lover, 'Softly, in the Dusk' , Chorale Prelude and fugue on the Hymn Tune 'Cromer'. Performed by the Turner Ensemble; Philippe Graffin (violin) and

Henri Demarquette Henri Demarquette (born 1970) is a French contemporary classical cellist. Life ''"An enthusiastic musician with a multi-faceted personality, Henri Demarquette plays the cello as if setting a deep forest ablaze; not a single stroke of his bow le ...

; Pál Banda (cello) & Mine Dogantan-Dack (piano), Nancy Ruffer (flute) and Helen Crayford (piano); Rosamunde Piano Trio; Michael Frith *''The Moving Finger Writes'' – Guild (GMCD 7381). String Quartet No.2 'After Cromer', A Haydn Prelude, Piano Concerto, Fantasias for Viola and Piano Nos. 1–2. Performed by the Chilingirian Quartet; Anthony Hewitt; Diana Brekalo, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Robertas Šervenikas; Sarah-Jane Bradley and Anthony Hewitt *''I Have the Serpent Brought'' – Guild (GMCD 7343). String Quartet No.1 'I Have the Serpent Brought', Piano Trio, Clarinet Quintet, Cello Sonata. Performed by the

Allegri Quartet The Allegri Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1953 by Eli Goren and William Pleeth. It is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of performers. A commitment to refre ...

, Angell Piano Trio,

(cello), John York (piano) and James Campbell (clarinets).

Notable works

Orchestral

* Cappriccio for Orchestra (2005–7) * Piano Concerto (2010) * Violin Concerto (2015) * Soliloquies for Trumpet & Strings (2016) * Cello Concerto (2019)

Chamber

* Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (2002) * String Quartet No. 1 – ''I Have the Serpent Brought'' (1990–98, revised 2002-4) * Concertino for Seven (2002–3) * ''That which echoes in eternity'' for violin and piano; also version for 'cello and piano (2002–3) * Piano Trio (2003–4) * Sonata for Cello and Piano (2004–5) * String Quartet No. 2 ''After Cromer'' (2006) * ''Softly, in the Dusk'' for Piano Trio (2006–7) * ''Dances & Laments'' for Violin and Cello (2007–10) * Fantasias for Viola and Piano (2007 & 2011) * ''Variation on a Burns Air'' for piano quartet (2009) * ''The Zong Affair'' for Septet (2011) * Sonata for solo Violin (2011–12)

Wind / vocal

* ''Inferno'' for Clarinet and Piano (1990–91) * ''In Xanadu'' for Wind Quintet (1991) * Three Songs for Soprano and Piano (1991–98) * ''Porphyria's Lover'' for Flute and Piano (1994–96) * ''I Travelled Among Unknown Men'' for Soprano and Piano (2012) * Brass Quintet (2017)

Piano / keyboard

* Nocturne (1994) * Prelude and Fugue ''On Cromer'' for Organ / Piano (2011) * ''A Haydn Prelude for John McCabe'' (2009) * ''L'extase des jets d'eau'' – an ''Aquarelle'' for Solo Piano (2012)Wayback Machine Link
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References

External links

Official websiteResonus ClassicsGuild RecordsMusic Haven, publisherLondon Chamber Music Society at Kings Place
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fribbins, Peter 1969 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music British male composers Academics of Middlesex University Writers from London Alumni of the University of Nottingham People associated with Conway Hall Ethical Society English male writers