Harrison Birtwistle was one of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary classical composers.
The groundbreaking British composer Harrison Birtwistle, who won international acclaim for his 1972 composition The Triumph of Time and 2008 opera The Minotaur, has died aged 87.
Birtwistle’s publisher Boosey & Hawkes confirmed that the composer died at his home in Mere, southwest England on Monday 18 April. No cause of death was given.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra described Birtwistle as a “true musical colossus” whose “music shook the Earth”.
Birtwistle wrote in a plethora of musical forms, including chamber pieces, operas and one film score, The Offence (1973) starring Sean Connery, and had works staged by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House and English National Opera.
His opera The Minotaur, which premiered at the Royal Opera House, was hailed by The Guardian in 2019 as the third-best piece of the 21st century.
Born in Accrington, Lancashire in 1934, Birtwistle went on to study and composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now Royal Northern College of Music) alongside his contemporary, Peter Maxwell Davies. In 1965, Birtwistle sold his clarinets and turned his attentions solely to composition.
The great modernist became musical director of the Royal National Theatre in London from 1975 to 1983, was knighted in 1988 and made a Companion of Honour in 2001, after seven years spent as Henry Purcell Professor of Composition at King’s College London.
Birtwistle, whose musical influences included Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen and Erik Satie, was uncompromising and utterly unique in his compositional style. His best-known works, which include the 1998 Exody premiered by Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim, employ complex rhythms and unconventional harmony, which both delighted and divided listeners.
Staunchly non-conforming in both his music and his manner, Birtwistle once told a room of pop musicians at the Ivor Novello awards: “Why is your music so f****** loud?”, while accepting his 2006 award. “You must all be brain dead. Maybe you are. I didn’t know so many cliches existed until the last half-hour. Have fun. Goodbye.”
Pierre Boulez, one of the modernist’s greatest admirers, said: “Birtwistle’s music has a great power to convince.”
In tribute to the late musical great, British composer Thomas Adès cited the composer, saying: “Harrison Birtwistle once said of Messiaen ‘when he dies the whole house of cards will fall down’. I feel a bit like it has fallen today.”
The English National Opera, which staged Birtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus in 1986, said: “Everyone at the ENO is heartbroken to learn of the death of Sir Harrison Birtwistle. His musical influence was unparalleled and we were proud to recently collaborate with him on The Mask of Orpheus.”
In 2014, Birtwistle was awarded his fifth Royal Philharmonic Society music award, making him the most RPS-honoured musician in history. “There was force and potency in every note he wrote,” the RPS wrote. “We will listen in awe to his works for decades to come.”
Birtwistle’s wife Sheila Duff died in 2012, and he is survived by his three sons and six grandchildren.
I just love historical costume dramas, and the story of this fantastic film is based on the life of children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter, who created one of the most loveable and endearing Easter characters in “Peter Rabbit.” Starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, the film features animated sequences with characters from her stories.
Set in the Lake District of England, Peter Rabbit, his cousin Benjamin Bunny and the sisters Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, are stealing vegetables from Mr. McGregor, who had killed and eaten their father. After McGregor suddenly dies of a heart attack, Peter invites all the local animals to take over McGregor’s manor. The manor is inherited by Thomas McGregor, who kicks out Peter and the other animals and upgrades the security of the garden. Peter and Benjamin sneak back in, and an enraged Thomas buys and electric fence and dynamite to keep out the rabbits. Meanwhile, Thomas falls in love with Bea, a local resident who has been kind to Peter and all rabbits. Things get predictably out of control, but in the end Thomas and Bea resume their relationship and they allow wildlife to take from the garden. The soundtrack to the movie features 28 soundtrack songs, including a version of the song “Steal My Sunshine” by the band Len with the lyrics rewritten to be about Peter Rabbit. And just in case, in 2021 the sequel “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” was released, and now Thomas and Bea are married and live with Peter and his rabbit family. Bored at home, Peter goes to the big city, where he meets shady characters and ends up creating chaos for the entire family.
A more loveable version of Peter Rabbit became the subject of an animated television special in 1971. The young Easter Bunny Peter Cottontail lives in April Valley together with his fellow Easter Bunnies. They make Easter candies, sew bonnets, and they decorate and deliver Easter eggs. But trouble starts brewing when Peter Cottontail, who is somewhat unreliable and gossipy, is supposed to be appointed Chief Easter Bunny. An evil rabbit named January Q. Irontail also wants the job, but his motivation is a little different. He wants to ruin Easter for children as revenge for a child roller-skating over his tail. Now he has to wear an artificial tail, and he is not a happy bunny. After much intrigue, scheming, and treachery, Irontail does become the new Chief Easter Bunny. He quickly passes various laws to make Easter a disaster. Eggs have to be painted brown and gray, candy sculptors become tarantulas and octopuses, and instead of Easter bonnets, he orders that Easter rubber boots be made. Of course, things do work out in the end, and Cottontail, all reformed and reliable becomes the official Chief Easter Bunny. It is one of my favourite animated films, and the song “Here comes Peter Cottontail,” written by Walter E. Rollins and Steve Nelson, became a huge hit.
Easter films have long delighted children and adults alike. In some cases, however, they have also courted controversy. The great film director Martin Scorsese shocked many Christian religious groups with his The Last Temptation of Christ of 1988. The film depicts the life of Jesus Christ and his struggle with various forms of temptation including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance, and lust. Christ is tempted by imagining himself engaged in sexual activities as he had an undisclosed prior relationship with Mary Magdalene, a Jewish prostitute. While on the cross, Jesus is in a state of hallucination and he perceives that God wants him to be happy. An angel brings him down off the cross and, invisible to others, takes him to Mary Magdalene, whom he marries. They are soon expecting a child and living an idyllic life, but she abruptly dies. Next he takes Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, for his wives. He starts a family with them, having many children, and lives his life in peace. When he finds himself on the cross once more, he has overcome the last temptation of escaping death.
The story of Easter also made it into the 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The plot is loosely based on the Gospel accounts of the Passion, but it explores and interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with much of the plot centering on Judas. Judas is really unhappy with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Religious groups condemned the initial Broadway show and subsequent productions, and the rock opera was banned in Hungary. Andrew Lloyd Webber, frequently called the “most commercially successful composer in history,” composed the musical score.
Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade in the West End and on Broadway, and surely you know such hit songs as “The Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Evita, and “Memory” from Cats. Jesus Christ Superstar was one of his earlier projects, and audiences were rather shocked by the controversial portrayals of Mary Magdalene, and her unrequited love for Jesus. Yet, many of the most popular tunes from this rock opera have gained independence and stormed the pop hit charts.
For a number of years, audiences were glued to their Netflix accounts in order to watch the unfolding dramas offered by “Game of Thrones.” If you throw “Game of Thrones” in a blender and mix it with the 2000 epic historical drama “Gladiator,” the outcome is something like the 2016 biblical drama film “Risen.” Directed by Kevin Reynolds and starring Joseph Fines, and Tom Felton, it is a historical detective story as the Roman Centurion Clavius is on the hunt for Jesus’ body after it mysteriously disappears following his crucifixion.
The film features Broadway star Don Hewes played by Fred Astaire who has just lost his dancing partner Ann Miller. So he declares that he can make a hit performer out of the next dancer he sees. This turns out to be the inexperienced Hannah (Judy Garland), who bristles as Don tries to make her into his old partner. But as he realizes that he is falling in love with Hannah, Don knows that he must let her grow into her own kind of dancer if he wants her to reach her full potential. With the music composed by 
When it comes to animation, my favorite Easter-themed movie has to be “The Prince of Egypt.” It tells the story of the Book of Exodus in a very entertaining way as it follows the life of Moses. Essentially it depicts the first Passover, a holiday that regularly overlaps with Easter. In the event, Moses, Miriam, Aaron and Tzipporah lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. At the Red Sea, the Hebrews discover that a vengeful Rameses is pursuing them with his army, intent on killing them. However, a pillar of fire blocks the army’s way, while Moses uses his staff to part the sea. The Hebrews cross the open sea bottom; the fire vanishes and the army gives chase, but the sea closes over and drowns the Egyptian soldiers, sparing Rameses alone. Moses sadly bids his brother farewell and leads the Hebrews to Mount Sinai, where he receives the Ten Commandments.
The story of Moses’s deliverance of the Israelites is generally considered a biblical foreshadowing that parallels the death and resurrection of Jesus. Composer Stephen Schwartz wrote the songs for the film, and they were arranged and produced by Hans Zimmer for the film score. Various tracks feature contemporary artists such as K-Ci & JoJo and Boyz II Men, and also include the fabulous Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston duet “When You Believe,” a Babyface rewrite of the original Schwartz composition, sung by Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky in the film.
To conclude this little blog on the 10 Greatest Easter Movies let’s get a little silly and look at the hilarious comedy “Hank and Mike.” Mike and Hank are two blue-collar Easter Bunnies and things get dicey when the corporation that owns all holidays decides to make some serious cutbacks. Hank and Mike get fired, and try to find different jobs with devastating result. As they miserably fail at everything they touch, they are fighting depression, debt and eventually each other. Finally, they make it their mission to get their jobs back, get the girls they love, and settle the score. Talking about score, the funky music was provided by the eclectic Phil Electric. Whatever movie tickles your fancy, I hope you will enjoy a Happy Easter!.jpg)
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Joseph Haydn has entered music history as a jovial, grandfatherly figure with a reputation for a quick wit. Generations later, we still chuckle at the stories behind the Surprise Symphony or the Farewell Symphony. His famous good humor is all the more striking considering his often difficult upbringing.
He worked for nearly a decade at the cathedral as a chorister. He was steeped in church music, but he didn’t receive the systematic training in theory and composition that he craved. He eventually resorted to asking his father for money to buy the famous textbook Gradus ad Parnassum so that he could start to teach himself. He also still struggled to get enough to eat. But if he sang well enough, he was invited to perform at aristocratic parties, where he was fed.
