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• Biography/ Background

  Stephen Whittington (b.1953) is a composer, pianist, writer and music critic. Born in Adelaide, he studied at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, and has performed and lectured in Asia, Europe and the Americas. He is head of Sonic Arts at the Elder Conservatorium of Music and teaches composition, music theory and sonic arts. As a pianist he enjoys an international reputation as an interpreter of  the music of John Cage, Morton Feldman, Erik Satie and many contemporary composers. His interest in the relationship between music and other art forms has led to the creation of a series of multimedia performances, beginning with the Last Meeting of the Satie Society at the Adelaide Festival in March 2000. This was followed in 2003 by Mad Dogs and Surrealists, incorporating music, poetry and film, and in 2006 Interior Voice: Music and Rodin. In June 2006 he appeared at the Sydney Opera House with Ensemble Offspring for the Sydney International Film Festival, presenting a program of live music for four classic silent movies. In 2007 The Wire (London) listed his performance of Triadic Memories by Morton Feldman as one of 60 Performances That Shook the World over the last 40 years. He performed the music of Morton Feldman and John Cage in China in 2008. He has presented performances at the 2009 and 2011 Adelaide International Film Festivals, at the Vienna International Dance Festival in 2009 and at the Printemps Musical d'Annecy (France) in 2010.

  His string quartet  ...from a thatched hut, commissioned by and dedicated to furniture designer Khai Liew, was premiered in August 2010. A 4-CD set Journey to the Surface of the Earth with Domenico di Clario (piano) and Stephen Whittington (piano, prepared piano, toy piano, gong) was released in September 2010. Music for Airport Furniture, for string quartet, was premiered in September 2011 and was released on CD by Cold Blue Records in 2013, to widespread critical acclaim. In September 2012 he directed John Cage Day, a 10-hour long performance which included his own performance of ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible) on the Elder Hall organ, lasting 8 hours, and a Musicircus incorporating many works by John Cage, including Concert for Piano and Orchestra. With the assistance of a grant from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, he spent May-July 2012 in Kyoto, Japan, studying the relationship between Japanese garden design and music.  In December 2012 he appeared as pianist and composer at the Turbulences sonores festival in Montpellier, France.

  His string quartet Windmill has been frequently performed and has been described as 'the classic work of Australian musical minimalism.' Stephen toured China with the Australian String Quartet in 2014, where Windmill was played multiple times, including concerts at Shanghai Conservatory, Central Conservatory (Beijing), Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Shenyang Conservatory. Stephen's string quartet Music for Airport Furniture was released by the Cold Blue label (Los Angeles) in 2013, and received widespread critical acclaim. Other recent works include  Fake Gallants (2015) for Baroque ensemble, Autumn Thoughts (莽搂聥忙聙聺) for piano (2015) - premiered by the composer at a recital in Beijing in November 2015- A la maniere de M.R. for piano trio (2016), and Fragments for P.B. for chamber ensemble and electronics. He is known for his great interest in Chinese culture; a recording of his string quartet, ...from a thatched hut, based on poetry of Li Bai () and Du Fu (), was released by Cold Blue (Los Angeles) in 2017. In November 2024 Mountains, Clouds, Streams, a work for symphony orchestra with soloists on traditional Chinese instruments (erhu, guzheng, sheng) was premiered as part of the 2024 OzAsia Festival.

  Stephen has also worked with computer-controlled sound and video installations, including Hallett Cove - One Million Years, a project commissioned by the City of Marion for the Hallett Cove Community Centre (2015). The project uses continuously evolving video footage (shot with high-speed camera) and sound controlled by uniquely designed software, exploring the unique geological landscape of the local environment.

  Stephen has lectured, performed, and held masterclasses at universities in France (Montpellier), South Korea (Seoul National University), United Kingdom (University of London), and China (Shenyang Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, Fuzhou Normal University, Guangzhou University, Xiamen Normal University).

  Sample recordings available online:

  Journey to the Surface of the Earth. (Excerpt). Two pianos toy piano, prepared piano, gong.

  ... from a thatched hut. String quartet. (5^th Movement).

   

  (excerpt)

   

  Acid Test. Bassoon and piano.

   

  Music for Airport Furniture. String quartet.

   

  Fallacies of Hope. String quartet and piano;

   

  Nazaretheana. Clarinet and guitar.

  
  Homage to Frida Kahlo. String quartet

   

   La Sandunga. Violin and two guitars.

   

  A Suite of Furniture. (arrangements of music by Erik Satie). String quartet and piano.

   

  Made in Korea. Two guitars. (1^st Movement).

   

  Karawane. Voice and piano.

   

  Autumn Thoughts. Solo piano.

   

  Mountains, Clouds, Streams. guzheng, erhu, sheng, symphony orchestra. 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBxvLFN21-k

   

   

  Sample Reviews of Compositions

   

  Windmill: “But the highlight of the evening is the second half, with works by George Crumb and Stephen Whittington. Whittington’s Windmill opens with the interplay of bowed harmonics, recalling the rhythmic creaking and whining of the eponymous symbol of outback settlement. While in places rasping and ragged (yet elegant throughout), its simple understatement eschews the maximalist complexity of other contemporary composers. Only about 10 minutes long, it is clean, light and delightful.” (Jana Perkovic, The Guardian.)

  Music for Airport Furniture:  “Within these twenty-three minutes, the music is a slow-moving melodic piece in minor chords, revolving without evolving. A sad and desolate song, perhaps as desolate as airport lounges are. So let’s forget those notions as ‘sweet’ and ‘romantic’ here, it’s just sad but utterly beautiful. One to put on repeat.” (Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly, Netherlands).

  “Music for Airport Furniture is a masterful realization of the bitter-sweet sadness of farewell.” (Paul Muller, Sequenza 21)

  “Music for Airport Furniture is open and airy, contrails elegantly criss-crossing a sky-blue background. Ever elevating, the viola sighs, the cello is occasionally plucked, an impatient passenger shuffling his feet. A beautiful piece, far too attention-getting to be considered ambiently unobtrusive.” (Avant Music News)

  From a thatched hut:  “The playing of the Zephyr Quartet is as miraculous as the recording is superb. No strangers to Whittington’s music, the group is immersed in every detail, every hairpin dynamic shift and every overtonal unison. They embody perfectly the unity and diversity so important to Whittington’s compositions. This is one of the finest string quartet discs I’ve heard since the Kronos Quartet waxed Terry Riley’s Salome Dances for Peace, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. (Marc Medwin, Fanfare Magazine.)

  “Poetry and instrumental expression turn out to be a perfect match, in that each seeks to express something beyond words.  Poetry needs precision in order to be effective, a precision imitated here through the careful placement of notes.” (Richard Allen, A Closer Listen)

  The constructive use of silence, the reference to Asian culture, the relationship to visual arts, and the poetic ambience, recall composers like Peter Garland, Peter Sculthorpe, and Kevin Volans, with whom Whittington shares the search for arcane beauty, pure, but at the same time aware of the turmoil of our time.” (Filippo Focosi, Kathodik, Italy)

   

• Media Expertise

  Categories	Education, Music
  Expertise	Music education
  Notes	Alt phone: (08) 8303 5995

Entry last updated: Friday, 15 Nov 2024

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