Biography
Graham Fitkin's compositions, frequently scored for one or several pianos, reach listeners through performances by the Graham Fitkin Group he founded, the FitkinWall duo that unites piano and harp, and additional interpreters. Tonal in character and often placed within minimalist or postminimalist categories, his output also draws from modernists including Pierre Boulez as well as musicians active in jazz and rock. Selected as one of twenty composers for the New Music 20x12 initiative within the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, he has seen extensive documentation of his catalog, among them the Sacconi Quartet's 2024 release Graham Fitkin: Loosening.
Born April 19, 1963, in Crows-an-Wra within Britain's West Cornwall region, Fitkin grew up with a mother who taught piano; by age eight he was already performing locally while also creating pieces at the keyboard. He pursued composition studies at the University of Nottingham from 1981 to 1984 under Nigel Osborne and others, then continued at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Louis Andriessen. After returning to Britain and residing several years in London, he settled again in Cornwall, where he lives with his wife, harpist Ruth Wall. Together they appear as FitkinWall; he has additionally established ensembles such as the Nanquidno Group of four pianists and two keyboard players in 1985 and the Graham Fitkin Group in 1996. Among his first pieces to appear on disc was the 1985 Ostrich on the Plain for oboe and wood blocks, recorded in 2002 by oboist Paul Goodey.
Numerous works center on piano, whether single or multiple instruments. He supplied several scores to Piano Circus and recorded with the ensemble; one example, Line for six pianos from 1990, exists in multiple versions. Fitkin regularly plays his own piano pieces, which commonly bear one-word titles. Beyond these he has produced chamber music that includes six string quartets, orchestral scores, and concertos such as the 2017 recorder concerto. His cello concerto written for Yo-Yo Ma received its premiere at the BBC Proms in 2011, and he has created several pieces for pianist Kathryn Stott. Although most output employs traditional instruments, he has also completed electronic works, among them the album Kaplan, prompted by the character in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest. By the mid-2020s more than sixty compositions had reached disc, several featured on the Sacconi Quartet's 2024 album Graham Fitkin: Loosening, which presented string-quartet pieces augmented by one or two further instruments.
Born April 19, 1963, in Crows-an-Wra within Britain's West Cornwall region, Fitkin grew up with a mother who taught piano; by age eight he was already performing locally while also creating pieces at the keyboard. He pursued composition studies at the University of Nottingham from 1981 to 1984 under Nigel Osborne and others, then continued at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Louis Andriessen. After returning to Britain and residing several years in London, he settled again in Cornwall, where he lives with his wife, harpist Ruth Wall. Together they appear as FitkinWall; he has additionally established ensembles such as the Nanquidno Group of four pianists and two keyboard players in 1985 and the Graham Fitkin Group in 1996. Among his first pieces to appear on disc was the 1985 Ostrich on the Plain for oboe and wood blocks, recorded in 2002 by oboist Paul Goodey.
Numerous works center on piano, whether single or multiple instruments. He supplied several scores to Piano Circus and recorded with the ensemble; one example, Line for six pianos from 1990, exists in multiple versions. Fitkin regularly plays his own piano pieces, which commonly bear one-word titles. Beyond these he has produced chamber music that includes six string quartets, orchestral scores, and concertos such as the 2017 recorder concerto. His cello concerto written for Yo-Yo Ma received its premiere at the BBC Proms in 2011, and he has created several pieces for pianist Kathryn Stott. Although most output employs traditional instruments, he has also completed electronic works, among them the album Kaplan, prompted by the character in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest. By the mid-2020s more than sixty compositions had reached disc, several featured on the Sacconi Quartet's 2024 album Graham Fitkin: Loosening, which presented string-quartet pieces augmented by one or two further instruments.
Albums
Singles
