Andrew Ford (composer) explained

Andrew Ford (born 1957) is an English-born Australian composer, writer, and radio presenter, known for The Music Show on ABC Radio National.

Early life and education

Andrew Ford was born in 1957 in Liverpool, UK.^[1]

He attended St Olave's Grammar School in Orpington, Kent, then studied at Lancaster University with Edward Cowie and John Buller. As a student, a meeting with Sir Michael Tippett had a profound influence on him, when he told him "to forget about musical systems and trust his instincts".^[2]

Career

Ford was a research fellow in music Bradford University from 1978 to 1982.^[3]

After moving to Australia, he lectured at the School of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong, NSW, from 1983 to 1995,^[3] and during this time earned a PhD for his thesis on musical word setting from Elvis Costello to Elliott Carter.^[2]

Ford was composer-in-residence with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (1992–94),^[2] held the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composer Fellowship from 1998 to 2000 and was awarded a two-year fellowship by the Music Board of the Australia Council for the Arts for 2005 to 2006. He was appointed composer-in-residence at the Australian National Academy of Music in 2009.^[2]

Other activities

He has written widely on music and published or co-written eleven books. For the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he wrote, presented and co-produced the radio series Illegal Harmonies, Dots on the Landscape, Music and Fashion, Earth Dances and Three Front Doors a Paddock (with painter Ben Quilty)^[2]

Since 1995 he has presented The Music Show on ABC Radio National.^[2]

Recognition and awards

• 1982: Yorkshire Arts Composers Award, joint winner (with Mark-Anthony Turnage) for Portraits
• 1998: Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composer Fellowship, a two-year fellowship during which he began work on The Waltz Book^[2]
• 1998: Pascall Prize for critical writing
• 1998: Sydney Spring Festival award, for Tattoo
• 2002: Jean Bogan Prize, for The Waltz Book^[2]
• 2004: Paul Lowin Song Cycle Prize, for Learning to Howl
• 2007: shortlisted, Prix Italia, for his radiophonic work Elegy in a Country Graveyard
• 2010: Green Room Award, for the music for the opera Rembrandt's Wife
• 2012: Albert H. Maggs Composition Award for his work Rauha
• 2013: shortlisted, Paul Lowin Prize, for Blitz and Willow Songs
• 2014: Poynter Fellow and visiting composer at Yale University
• 2015: visiting lecturer at the Shanghai Conservatory
• 2016: shortlisted, Paul Lowin Prize, for Last Words^[4]
• 2016: Order of Australia Medal
• 2018: H. C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellow at the Australian National University
• 2020: Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award, Facilitator's Prize (awarded 2021)^[5]

APRA / Art Music Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).^[6] They include the Art Music Awards (until 2009 Classical Music Awards) which are distributed by APRA and the Australian Music Centre (AMC).^[7] These awards include:^[8] |-| 2004 || Learning to Howl – Ford || Best Composition by an Australian Composer^[9] || |-| 2005 || Tales of the Supernatural – Ford – Australian String Quartet, Jane Edwards || Vocal or Choral Work of the Year^[10] || |-| 2008 || Ford || Outstanding Contribution by an Individual^[11] || |-| 2009 || Learning to Howl – Ford – Arcko Symphonic Project || Best Performance of an Australian Composition^[12] || |-| 2011 || A Dream of Drowning – Ford – West Australian Symphony Orchestra || Work of the Year – Orchestral^[13] || |-| 2013 || Blitz – Ford – Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra || Work of the Year – Orchestral^[14] || |-| rowspan="2"| 2014 || Last Words – Ford – Jane Sheldon and the Seraphim Trio || Work of the Year – Vocal/Choral^[15] || |-| String Quartet No. 5 – Ford – Australian String Quartet || Work of the Year – Instrumental^[16] ||

Selected works

Stage works

• Poe, opera (1983, premiered 1985, Sydney Opera House)^[17]
• Whispers for tenor and chamber orchestra (1990)
• Casanova Confined for baritone and backing track (1995)
• Night and Dreams: The Death of Sigmund Freud for tenor and backing track (1999)
• Rembrandt's Wife (libretto by Sue Smith), opera (2007–2009)
• Peter Pan, children's opera (2017), for Gondwana Choirs

Orchestral

• Concerto for Orchestra (1980)
• The Big Parade (1986)
• Manhattan Epiphanies for string orchestra (1999)
• The Furry Dance (1999)
• Scenes from Bruegel for chamber orchestra (2006)
• Headlong (2006), for 75th birthday of Sydney Symphony Orchestra
• Symphony (2008)
• Bright Shiners for string orchestra (2009)
• Blitz for orchestra, (optional) chorus and pre-recorded voices (2011)
• Big Bang for orchestra (2019)
• The Meaning of Trees for orchestra (2020), for Australian Youth Orchestra, premiered 2022^[2]

Concertos

• Piano Concerto: Imaginings (1991)
• The Great Memory for cello and orchestra (1994)
• The Unquiet Grave for viola and chamber orchestra (1997–1998)
• Raga for electric guitar and orchestra (2015–2016)

Vocal and choral

• A Martian Sends a Postcard Home for tenor, horn and piano (1986)
• Wassails and Lullabies for SATB choir and percussion (1989), recorded by ABC Classics
• Harbour for tenor and string orchestra (1992)
• The Past for counter-tenor, flute and string orchestra (with ad lib didgeridoo) (1997), a setting of Oodgeroo Noonuccal's poem 'The Past' and excerpts from James Cook's ship's log
• Learning to Howl for soprano, clarinet/sax, harp and percussion (2001)
• Tales of the Supernatural for folk singer and string quartet (2002)
• An die Musik for SATB choir (2005)
• Elegy in a Country Graveyard for SATB choir, brass or concert band (flexible instrumentation) and pre-recorded voices and instruments (2007)
• Domestic Advice for soprano and piano (2007)
• A Singing Quilt for SATB choir, percussion ensemble and pre-recorded voices (2008)
• Willow Songs: six poems of Anne Stevenson for soprano, mezzo-soprano and mixed ensemble (2009)
• Waiting for the Barbarians for large chorus (2011), based on the poem by Constantine P. Cavafy
• Last Words, song cycle for piano trio and soprano (2013 premiered by Anna Goldsworthy, Seraphim Trio, Jane Sheldon)^[18]
• The Drowners for baritone and chamber orchestra (2015)
• Missa brevis for SATB choir and organ (2015)
• Comeclose and Sleepnow for singer and jazz ensemble (2016), to words by Adrian Henri, Brian Patten and Roger McGough
• Nature for mezzo-soprano and ensemble (2019), to words by Jen Hadfield, R.S. Thomas, Robert Adamson, Tomas Tranströmer, Maria Takolander, Edward Thomas and W.B. Yeats
• The Blessing for mezzo-soprano and oboe (2021), libretto by J.M. Coetzee based on a scene from his novel Elizabeth Costello
• Red Dirt Hymns for voices and instruments (2020–24), lyrics by Jordie Albiston, David McCooey, John Kinsella, Ellen van Neerven, Judith Bishop, Judith Beveridge, Sarah Holland-Batt, Stephen Edgar, Kate Fagan, Merlinda Bobis, Mark Wakely, Felicity Plunkett, Philip Harvey, Erik Jensen, Jill Jones, Maria Takolander, Melanie Horsnell, Martha Marlow, Alison Flett and Lisa Brockwell

Ensemble

• Chamber Concerto No 3: In Constant Flight for solo violin and ensemble (1988)
• Ringing the Changes for piccolo, bass clarinet and piano (1990)
• Pastoral for string octet (1991)
• Tattoo for 12 timpani (6 players) and 4 pianos (1998)
• Icarus Drowning (1998)
• Chamber Concerto No. 4 (2002)
• Sad Jigs for string quintet (2005)
• A Reel, a Fling and a Ghostly Galliard (String Quartet No 2) (2006)
• Oma kodu for clarinet and string quartet (2006)
• Nine Fantasies about Brahms for piano trio (2009)
• On Winter's Traces for piccolo, bass clarinet, piano and string quartet (2009) for the 30th anniversary of the Australia Ensemble
• The Rising (2010) for the Black Dyke Band
• The Scattering of Light for piano quartet (2010) commissioned to mark the centenary of the University of Queensland
• String Quartet No 3 (2012) for the Brodsky Quartet
• String Quartet No 4 (2012) for the NOISE String Quartet
• String Quartet No 5 (2013) for the Australian String Quartet
• Uproar for 11 trombones and four bass drums (2013)
• Common Ground for two string quartets (2014)
• Contradance for 11 players (2015)
• String Quartet No 6 (2014–17) for the Flinders Quartet
• Scenes from Streeton (2019) for Arcadia Winds
• String Quartet No 7: Eden Ablaze (2020) for the Brodsky Quartet and William Barton

Instrumental

• Like Icarus ascending for solo violin (1984)
• Swansong for solo viola (1987)
• Spinning for solo alto flute (1988)
• The Very End of Harvest for viola and piano (2000)
• The Waltz Book (60 one-minute waltzes for solo piano, 2002; commissioned by Ian Munro)^[2]
• War and Peace for violin and percussion (2004)
• Chorales from an Ox Life for viola and double bass (2007)
• Folly for solo piano (2007)
• You Must Sleep, but I Must Dance for viola and percussion (2010)
• On Reflection for two pianos (2012)
• Once upon a time there were two brothers...for flute and voice (2013)
• Hook for solo vibraphone (2018)
• In My Solitude for solo viola (2020)

Radiophonic

• Deirdre of the Sorrows (1989)
• Elegy in a Country Graveyard (2007)
• Untuning the Sky (2013)

Books

• Composer to Composer: Conversations about Contemporary Music (paperback 1993,, hardback 1993,, 2nd edition paperback 1997,)
• Illegal Harmonies: Music in the 20th Century (hardback 1997, ; 2nd ed. paperback 2002,, expanded 3rd ed. 2011,)
• Book: Ford, Andrew. 0. Undue Noise: Words about Music. ABC Books. 2002. 0-7333-1057-5. paperback. none.
• Book: Buzacott. Martin. Ford. Andrew. with Andrew Ford. Speaking in Tongues: The Songs of Van Morrison. ABC Books. 2005. 0-7333-1297-7. paperback. none.
• Book: Ford, Andrew. 0. In Defence of Classical Music. ABC Books. 2005. 0-7333-1594-1. hardback. none.
• Book: Ford, Andrew. 0. The Sound of Pictures: Listening to the Movies from Hitchcock to High Fidelity. Black Inc.. Melbourne. 2010. 978-1-86395-510-2. paperback. none.
• Book: Ford, Andrew. 0. Try Whistling This: Writings about Music. Black Inc.. Melbourne. 2012. 978-1-86395-571-3. paperback. none.
• Book: Ford, Andrew. 0. Earth Dances: Music in Search of the Primitive. Black Inc.. Melbourne. 2015. 978-1-86395-712-0. paperback. none.
• Book: Ford, Andrew. 0. The Memory of Music. Black Inc.. Melbourne. 2017. 978-1-86395-949-0. paperback. none.
• Book: Ford, Andrew. with. Anni Heino. The Song Remains the Same: 800 Years of Love Songs, Laments and Lullabies. La Trobe University Press. Melbourne. 2019. 978-1-76064-011-8. paperback. none.
• Book: Ford, Andrew. 0. The Shortest History of Music. Black Inc.. Melbourne. 2024. 978-1-76064-408-6. paperback. none.

Further reading

• News: Composer's subterranean half-century . The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 March 2007 . subscription.

External links

• • The Music Show, ABC Radio National

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ford, Andrew, 1957- . Social Networks and Archival Context . 27 August 2022.
2. Web site: About Andrew Ford . Andrew Ford . 11 November 2023 . 13 November 2023.
3. Book: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 5th. Ford, Andrew. Joyce Kennedy. Michael Kennedy. Michael Kennedy (music critic). Tim Rutherford-Johnson. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095827988. 2013. Oxford University Press. Oxford. 30 July 2024. 9780199578108.
4. Web site: Australian Music Centre Online : Breaking Sound Barriers.
5. Web site: Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award to Andrew Ford . Andrew Ford . 9 June 2021 . 13 November 2023.
6. Web site: APRA History . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . 7 September 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100920230857/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/MusicAwards/History.aspx . 20 September 2010 . dead .
7. Web site: Classical Awards . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . 7 September 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100928221321/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/apraawards/classicalawards.aspx . 28 September 2010 . dead .
8. http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/artist/ford-andrew Andrew Ford : Represented Artist
9. Web site: 2004 Winners – Classical Music Awards . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . 7 September 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110807094843/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/ClassicalAwards/History/2004Winners.aspx . 7 August 2011 .
10. Web site: 2005 Winners – Classical Music Awards . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . 7 September 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090916155631/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/ClassicalAwards/History/2005Winners.aspx . 16 September 2009 .
11. Web site: 2008 Finalists – Classical Music Awards . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . 7 September 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110807095045/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/ClassicalAwards/History/2008Finalists.aspx . 7 August 2011 .
12. Web site: 2009 Finalists – Classical Music Awards . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) . 7 September 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090918011720/http://www.apra-amcos.com.au/APRAAwards/ClassicalAwards/History/2009Finalists.aspx . 18 September 2009 .
13. Web site: Art Music Awards 2011 – finalists announced . Australian Music Centre(AMC) . 15 April 2014 .
14. Web site: Art Music Awards 2013 – finalists announced . Australian Music Centre (AMC) . 15 April 2014 .
15. Web site: 2014 Art Music Awards – winners . Australian Music Centre (AMC) . 7 March 2017 .
16. Web site: 2014 Art Music Awards – finalists . Australian Music Centre (AMC) . 7 March 2017 .
17. https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/work/ford-andrew-poe Poe – The Terror of the Soul
18. http://andrewford.net.au/xlastwords.htm Last Words