Editing Harrison Birtwistle (section)

== Music ==
=== Style ===
Birtwistle's music is not categorised as belonging to any particular school or movement. For a time, he was described as belonging to the [[New Music Manchester|Manchester School]], a phrase invented as a parallel to the [[Second Viennese School]] to refer to Birtwistle, Goehr, and Davies.<ref name="NPR" /> Birtwistle's music is complex, written in a modernistic manner with a clear, distinctive voice, with sounds described as of "sonic brashness".<ref name="NPR" />

His early work is sometimes evocative of [[Igor Stravinsky]] and [[Olivier Messiaen]], whom he acknowledged as influences, and his technique of juxtaposing blocks of sound is sometimes compared to that of [[Edgard Varèse]].{{sfn|Cross|2012|loc=§ "To 1969"}} Hearing the work of [[Boulez]] (''[[Le Marteau sans maître]]'') and [[Stockhausen]] (''[[Zeitmaße]]'' and ''[[Gruppen]]'') in his youth was also inspirational,{{sfn|Cross|2012|loc=§ "To 1969"}} with that of the latter composer in particular influencing his [[wind quintet]], ''Refrains and Choruses'' (1957).{{sfn|Pace|1996|p=27}} His early pieces made frequent use of [[ostinato|ostinati]] and often had a ritualistic feel. These were toned down in Birtwistle's later decades as his compositional style developed.<ref name="Clarke">{{cite news |last=Clarke |first=Colin |date=18 April 2017 |title=Simon Rattle Opens the LSO Season with an Imaginatively Varied English Programme |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://seenandheard-international.com/2018/09/simon-rattle-opens-the-lso-season-with-an-imaginatively-varied-english-programme/ |access-date=19 April 2022 }}</ref>

Even when not creating a visual piece involving stage action, Birtwistle's musical output remained frequently theatrical in conception.{{sfn|Adlington|2000|p=38}} The music does not follow the logic and rules of classical forms such as [[sonata form]], but is structured more like a drama. Furthermore, different musical instruments can almost be seen to take the part of different characters in the drama. This is especially apparent in a performance of ''Secret Theatre'' (1984). For various portions of the piece, a number of the instrumentalists perform in a soloist capacity. For this, they leave their seat in the ensemble and stand separately, to one side of the ensemble, returning to the group when they are no longer given that role.<ref name="Oliver">{{cite magazine |last=Oliver |first=Michael |date=May 1996 |title=Birtwistle Secret Theatre, etc. |magazine=[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]] |url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/birtwistle-secret-theatre-etc |access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref>

=== Works ===
{{main|List of compositions by Harrison Birtwistle}}
Source:{{sfn|Britannica|2022|loc=§ paras. 3–4}}

==== Opera ====
* ''[[Punch and Judy (opera)|Punch and Judy]]'' (1966–1967)
* ''[[The Mask of Orpheus]]'' (1973–84)
* ''[[Gawain (opera)|Gawain]]'' (1990)
* ''[[The Second Mrs Kong]]'' (1993–94)
* ''[[The Last Supper (opera)|The Last Supper]]'' (2000)
* ''[[The Minotaur (opera)|The Minotaur]]'' (2008)
* ''[[The Corridor (opera)|The Corridor]]'', chamber opera (2009)
* ''The Cure'' (2014–15)
<!--The pieces listed here are the ones considered notable by the source above, in order to not overwhelm this selected list, please do not add any more-->

==== Other music ====
* ''Refrains and Choruses'' (1957), [[wind quintet]]
* ''[[The Triumph of Time (Birtwistle)|The Triumph of Time]]'' (1971–72), orchestra
* ''[[Silbury Air]]'' (1976–77), chamber orchestra
* ''Secret Theatre'' (1984), chamber ensemble
* ''[[Panic (Birtwistle)|Panic]]'' (1995), alto saxophone, jazz drum kit and orchestra
* ''Theseus Game'' (2002), large ensemble with two conductors (2002)
* ''In Broken Images'' (2011), large ensemble (after the antiphonal music of [[Giovanni Gabrieli|Gabrieli]])
* ''Songs from the Same Earth'' (2012–13), tenor and piano
* ''Responses'' (2013–14), piano concerto
* ''Deep Time'' (2016), orchestra
<!--The pieces listed here are the ones considered notable by the source above, in order to not overwhelm this selected list, please do not add any more-->