Alistair Hinton biography
Alistair Hinton was born in Scotland. Hearing Chopin's 4th Ballade on the radio at the age of 11 evoked the altogether understandable wish to become a composer; "I just wanted to know how music was made, and to make some of my own". His first Sonata for piano was written immediately, and displays some facility in its assimilation of fleetingly encountered influences. He continued his musical studies by studying music, passionately ("One learns composition by composing, as one learns wine-tasting by tasting wine"). His early work attracted the interest of Benjamin Britten with whose advice and help he attended Royal College of Music London for lessons with Humphrey Searle and Stephen Savage. His music dates from 1962 but he destroyed much of his pre-1985 output.
A significant encouragement of his development as a composer was provided by the music, literature and friendship of Parsi composer Kaikhosru Sorabji, which played an important part in exposing him to numerous crucial formative influences, including Szymanowski, Busoni, van Dieren, Medtner, Godowsky and Stevenson. Together with a deepening admiration for Chopin, these were to enhance his love of the piano and preoccupation with the challenge of writing for it.
Having persuaded Sorabji in 1976 to relax the long-standing embargo on public performance of his own music, Hinton began to take an active rÙle in fostering international interest in Sorabji's work. This led to his founding The Sorabji Music Archive, of which he is curator; this organisation was renamed The Sorabji Archive in 1993. Based in Bath, England, the Archive is a research source for performers and scholars, maintains a large and continuously expanding collection of literature by and about the composer, assists and oversees the compilation of new authentic editions and issues copies of his scores and writings to the public.
Hinton has published articles and reviews in various journals including Tempo, The Organ, International Piano Quarterly and The Godowsky Society Newsletter, acted as executive producer of a number of recordings and contributed to radio and television productions in several countries including Scotland, England and Netherlands. He is the author of two chapters in the book Sorabji: A Critical Celebration, ed. Paul Rapoport (Scolar Press, UK, 1992, repr. 1994), for which he also contributed substantial valuable research material; he has also assisted another contributor to this book, Marc-AndrÈ Roberge, towards his substantial biography of Sorabji which is now nearing completion and anticipated for publication in 2001.
His extant works include a String Quintet, a song-cycle Wings of Death (Tagore), a Violin Concerto and numerous piano works. His PansophiÊ for John Ogdon, for organ, commissioned in 1990 in memory of the great pianist (with whom he worked in the preparation of his historic recording of Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum) was first heard in 1991 in a recital programme devised and given in Ogdon's honour by Kevin Bowyer. In 1993 he received four commissions, of which the last, Variations for Piano and Orchestra, was completed in February 1996. More recent works include Szymanowski-Etiud, for wind ensemble (1996), Sinfonietta (1997) and a cadenza for Medtner's Third Piano Concerto (1998) commissioned by Carlo Grante for his Italian premiËre of that work. In 1999 he concentrated his energies principally on chamber music. He is currently working on a commission for a series of piano pieces.
His Variations and Fugue on a theme of Grieg, for piano, and his organ works have been released on the prestigious Altarus label. Altarus has also recorded his most ambitious work to date, the String Quintet; this is due for release in 2000. Further works they plan to record include his euphonim and piano pieces Conte Fantastique (1999) and Passeggiata Straussiana (1999-2000), String Quartet (1999) and Piano Quintet (1980-81).
A wide variety of artists who have to date performed, broadcasted and recorded Hinton's work includes pianists Donna Amato, Ian Brown, Carlo Grante, Yonty Solomon, Ronald Stevenson and Nicola Ventrella, soprano Jane Manning and organist Kevin Bowyer. The artists who participated in the 1999 String Quintet recording are Jagdish Mistry and Marcus Barcham Stevens (violins), Levine Andrade (viola), Michael Stirling ('cello) and Corrado Canonici (double bass) with Sarah Leonard (soprano).
All enquiries concerning Alistair Hinton are welcome.
© 30 August 2000