Role

:

Composer  

Country

:

Ireland

Birth

:

January 8, 1779

Death

:

August 22, 1831

 

John White was a British composer born on April 5, 1936, in Berlin, Germany. His father, a British diplomat, was stationed in Berlin at the time of his birth. White's family moved to England when he was a child, and he grew up in the town of Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex. White showed an early interest in music and began playing the piano at a young age. He studied music at the Royal College of Music in London, where he was a student of composer Mátyás Seiber. White also studied composition with Peter Racine Fricker and Lennox Berkeley. White's early works were influenced by the avant-garde music of the 1950s and 1960s, particularly the work of composers such as John Cage and Morton Feldman. He was also interested in the music of the Fluxus movement, which emphasized performance art and experimental music. White's early compositions were often characterized by their use of unconventional techniques and instruments. For example, his piece "Piano Sonata No. 1" (1959) includes instructions for the performer to play the piano with their elbows and feet, as well as their hands. In the 1960s, White became associated with the British experimental music scene, which included composers such as Cornelius Cardew and Michael Parsons. He was a member of the Scratch Orchestra, a collective of musicians and artists who performed experimental music and created multimedia works. White's compositions from this period often involved improvisation and audience participation. For example, his piece "Drinking and Hooting Machine" (1969) involved performers drinking beer and making noise with various objects, while the audience was encouraged to participate by shouting and making noise. In the 1970s, White began to move away from the avant-garde and experimental music of his earlier works. He became interested in the music of the Baroque and Classical periods, and began to incorporate elements of these styles into his compositions. White's later works often featured a more traditional approach to composition, with a focus on melody and harmony. However, he continued to experiment with unconventional techniques and instruments, such as his use of toy pianos in his piece "Toy Symphony" (1980). White's most well-known work is his "Sonata for Toy Piano" (1960), which has become a staple of the toy piano repertoire. The piece is characterized by its playful and whimsical melodies, and its use of the toy piano's unique sound. White continued to compose music throughout his life, and his works have been performed by orchestras and ensembles around the world. He was awarded the British Composer Award for Innovation in 2017, in recognition of his contributions to experimental and avant-garde music. John White passed away on July 23, 2019, at the age of 83. He is remembered as a pioneering composer who pushed the boundaries of traditional music and embraced experimentation and innovation in his work.

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