Andrew Ford OAM (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][2]

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".[3]

Career

Ford was a research fellow in music Bradford University from 1978 to 1982.[4]

After moving to Australia, he lectured at the School of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong, NSW, from 1983 to 1995,[4] and during this time earned a PhD for his thesis on "musical word setting from Elvis Costello to Elliott Carter.[3]

Ford was composer-in-residence with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (1992–94),[3] 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.[5] He was appointed composer-in-residence at the Australian National Academy of Music in 2009.[3]

Other activities

He has written widely on music and published ten books. He wrote, presented and co-produced the radio series Illegal Harmonies, Dots on the Landscape and Music and Fashion.[3]

Since 1995 he has presented The Music Show on ABC Radio National.[3]

Recognition and awards

APRA / Art Music Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).[8] They include the Art Music Awards (until 2009 Classical Music Awards) which are distributed by APRA and the Australian Music Centre (AMC).[9] These awards include:[5]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2004Learning to Howl – FordBest Composition by an Australian Composer[10]Won
2005Tales of the Supernatural – Ford – Australian String Quartet, Jane EdwardsVocal or Choral Work of the Year[11]Won
2008FordOutstanding Contribution by an Individual[12]Nominated
2009Learning to Howl – Ford – Arcko Symphonic ProjectBest Performance of an Australian Composition[13]Nominated
2011A Dream of Drowning – Ford – West Australian Symphony OrchestraWork of the Year – Orchestral[14]Nominated
2013Blitz – Ford – Tasmanian Symphony OrchestraWork of the Year – Orchestral[15]Nominated
2014Last Words – Ford – Jane Sheldon and the Seraphim TrioWork of the Year – Vocal/Choral[16][3]Won
String Quartet No. 5 – Ford – Australian String QuartetWork of the Year – Instrumental[17]Nominated

Selected works

Music theatre

  • Poe, opera (1983, premiered 1985, Sydney Opera House)[18]
  • 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)[3]
  • 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[3]

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)[19]
  • 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 Transtromer, 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

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

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)[3]
  • 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)

Bibliography

  • Composer to Composer: Conversations about Contemporary Music (paperback 1993, ISBN 1-86373-443-0, hardback 1993, ISBN 0-7043-7061-1, 2nd edition paperback 1997, ISBN 0-86806-631-1)
  • Illegal Harmonies: Music in the 20th Century (hardback 1997, ISBN 0-86806-635-4, 2nd edition paperback 2002, ISBN 0-7333-1130-X)
  • Undue Noise: Words about Music (paperback 2002, ISBN 0-7333-1057-5)
  • Speaking in Tongues: The Songs of Van Morrison by Martin Buzacott and Andrew Ford (paperback 2005, ISBN 0-7333-1297-7)
  • In Defence of Classical Music (hardback 2005, ISBN 0-7333-1594-1)
  • The Sound of Pictures: listening to the movies from Hitchcock to High Fidelity (paperback 2010, ISBN 9781863955102)
  • Illegal Harmonies: Music in the Modern Age (expanded 3rd edition paperback 2011, ISBN 9781863955287)
  • Try Whistling This: writings about music (paperback 2012, ISBN 9781863955713)
  • Earth Dances: music in search of the primitive (paperback 2015, ISBN 9781863957120)
  • The Memory of Music, Black Inc (2017, ISBN 9781863959490)
  • The Song Remains the Same: 800 Years of Love Songs, Laments and Lullabies by Andrew Ford and Anni Heino, La Trobe University Press/Black Inc. (2019, ISBN 9781760640118)

References

  1. ↑ "Ford, Andrew, 1957-". Social Networks and Archival Context. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "About Andrew Ford". Andrew Ford. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "About Andrew Ford". Andrew Ford. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Search Results for andrew ford". Oxford Reference: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music (5 ed.). 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 Andrew Ford : Represented Artist, Australian Music Centre
  6. ↑ "Australian Music Centre Online : Breaking Sound Barriers".
  7. ↑ Heino, Anni (9 June 2021). "Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award to Andrew Ford". Andrew Ford. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "APRA History". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Classical Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 28 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "2004 Winners – Classical Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "2005 Winners – Classical Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  12. ↑ "2008 Finalists – Classical Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "2009 Finalists – Classical Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  14. ↑ "Art Music Awards 2011 – finalists announced". Australian Music Centre (AMC). Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  15. ↑ "Art Music Awards 2013 – finalists announced". Australian Music Centre (AMC). Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "2014 Art Music Awards – winners". Australian Music Centre (AMC). Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "2014 Art Music Awards – finalists". Australian Music Centre (AMC). Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  18. ↑ Poe – The Terror of the Soul, work details at Australian Music Centre
  19. ↑ Last Words Archived 25 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, program notes and texts

Further reading

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