Philip Venables
British composer born in 1979 in Chester, Cheshire.
Philip Venables studied at the University of Cambridge, then at the Royal Academy of Music with Philip Cashian and David Sawer, where he earned a Recital Diploma and the Manson Fellowship in composition. Venables then obtained an Arts and Humanities Research Council scholarship for doctoral research on speech, violence, and music at the Royal Academy of Music from 2012 to 2013. During the same period, he was associate composer at the London Symphony Orchestra St Luke’s Soundhub. From 2013 to 2016, he was doctoral composer-in-residence at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and at the Royal Opera House where he followed the teachings of Julian Philips and James Weeks. In 2016, the Royal Academy of Music conferred associate honors (ARAM) to Venables for his significant contribution to composition. He is also director of the agency Bright Ivy Ltd., founder of the Sequenza ensemble, and artistic director of the Endymion ensemble.
Through his music, Venables treats contemporary societal topics such as politics, sexuality, gender, and violence. These themes are presented in various formats, often using multimedia, such as opera for adults or children, musical theater, in situ sound installation, concertos, and chamber music with or without vocals.
Philip’s music has been performed and played internationally. Among those who have played and commissioned it are the Royal Opera, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Wigmore Hall, London Contemporary Opera, London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Endymion, Ensemble EXAUDI, Black Dyke Brass Band, Rambert Dance Company, HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin, Kampnagel Theater Hamburg, and Theater Basel. In 2021, Philip Venables was featured at the Festival d’Automne in Paris. In 2022, his work was programmed at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the November Music Festival in the Netherlands.
Venables regularly works with American director and librettist Ted Huffman, with whom he created several award-winning works, such as the opera 4.48 Psychosis, which is the first authorized adaptation of a play by British playwright Sarah Kane. It won the 2016 UK Theatre Award for Best Opera, the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Large Scale Composition, and the 2017 British Composer Award for Best Stage Work, and was nominated for an Olivier Award and a South Bank Sky Arts Award.
Venables lives between London and Berlin. His works are published by Ricordi.
© Ircam-Centre Pompidou, 2023
Sources
Site personnel du compositeur ; site de Ricordi ; site du Festival d’Automne à Paris
- Solo (excluding voice)
- Metamorphoses after Britten for solo oboe (2010), 8 mn, Ricordi
- Piano Studies for solo piano (2006-2011), 17 mn, Ricordi
- My Favourite Piece is the Goldberg Variations for solo accordion (also speaking/singing) (2021), 23 mn, Ricordi
- elec Answer Machine Tape, 1987 for solo piano with MIDI detection, projector and tape. (2022), 45 mn, Ricordi
- Naomo Pinnetuo for solo violin (2022), 2 mn, Ricordi
- Chamber music
- Flipp for two saxophones of the same type (2011), 3 mn, Ricordi
- Klaviertrio im Geiste for piano trio (2011), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Instrumental ensemble music
- Fight music for ensemble (2009), 5 mn, University of York Music Press
- elec Illusions for ensemble and video projection (2017), 14 mn, Ricordi
- elec Game Show Music tool-kit of incidental music for a TV or Game Show (2020), 30 mn, Ricordi
- Concertant music
- K - A prelude to Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet K581 for clarinet and string quartet (2010, 2006), 6 mn, University of York Music Press
- elec Venables plays Bartók for violin, orchestra and stereo tape (2018), 34 mn, Ricordi
- Vocal music and instrument(s)
- Numbers 76-80 : Tristan and Isolde for four voices (SATB) and string quartet (2011), 13 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage numbers 91 – 95 for speaker and two tape recorders, harp, flute and woodblock (2011), 9 mn, Ricordi
- elec The Revenge of Miguel Cotto for two male voices and ensemble (2012), 15 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage The Big History of Little England short opera for young children (2017), 12 mn, Inédit
- Alice for male voice and piano (2018), 5 mn
- elec stage 4.48 Psychosis opera in 24 short scenes (2016-2019), 1 h 30 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage Denis & Katia amplified opera in two parts (2019), 1 h 15 mn, Ricordi
- A Photograph for female voice, clarinet, harp, and double bass (2020), 7 mn
- Numbers 81–85 ; Numbers 96–100 for mezzo-soprano, alto flute, clarinet, and string trio (2021), 18 mn, Ricordi
- Electronic music / fixed media / mechanical musical instruments
- Canal Street for seven-channel outdoor sound installation (2017), 10 mn
- elec Venables plays Bach 42-channel looping sound installation (2021), 1 h 6 mn
- 2022
- elec Answer Machine Tape, 1987 for solo piano with MIDI detection, projector and tape., 45 mn, Ricordi
- Naomo Pinnetuo for solo violin, 2 mn, Ricordi
- 2021
- My Favourite Piece is the Goldberg Variations for solo accordion (also speaking/singing), 23 mn, Ricordi
- Numbers 81–85 ; Numbers 96–100 for mezzo-soprano, alto flute, clarinet, and string trio, 18 mn, Ricordi
- elec Venables plays Bach 42-channel looping sound installation, 1 h 6 mn
- 2020
- A Photograph for female voice, clarinet, harp, and double bass, 7 mn
- elec Game Show Music tool-kit of incidental music for a TV or Game Show, 30 mn, Ricordi
- 2019
- elec stage 4.48 Psychosis opera in 24 short scenes, 1 h 30 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage Denis & Katia amplified opera in two parts, 1 h 15 mn, Ricordi
- 2018
- Alice for male voice and piano, 5 mn
- elec Venables plays Bartók for violin, orchestra and stereo tape, 34 mn, Ricordi
- 2017
- Canal Street for seven-channel outdoor sound installation, 10 mn
- elec Illusions for ensemble and video projection, 14 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage The Big History of Little England short opera for young children, 12 mn, Inédit
- 2012
- elec The Revenge of Miguel Cotto for two male voices and ensemble, 15 mn, Ricordi
- 2011
- Flipp for two saxophones of the same type, 3 mn, Ricordi
- Klaviertrio im Geiste for piano trio, 12 mn, Ricordi
- Numbers 76-80 : Tristan and Isolde for four voices (SATB) and string quartet, 13 mn, Ricordi
- Piano Studies for solo piano, 17 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage numbers 91 – 95 for speaker and two tape recorders, harp, flute and woodblock, 9 mn, Ricordi
- 2010
- Metamorphoses after Britten for solo oboe, 8 mn, Ricordi
- 2009
- Fight music for ensemble, 5 mn, University of York Music Press
- 2006
- K - A prelude to Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet K581 for clarinet and string quartet, 6 mn, University of York Music Press
Liens internet
- Site du compositeur : https://philipvenables.com/
- Site des Éditions Ricordi : https://www.ricordi.com/en-US/Composers/V/Venables-Philip.aspx
- « Au son du souffle de mon amour. Entretien avec Philip Venables, compositeur. » par Christian Longchamp, publié le 19 novembre 2021, à lire sur le site de l’Ensemble Intercontemporain : https://www.ensembleintercontemporain.com/fr/2021/11/au-son-du-souffle-de-mon-amour-entretien-avec-philip-venables-compositeur/
- « 4.48 Psychosis. Entretien avec Philip Venables, compositeur », entretien vidéo avec Pascal Hunyh, réalisé par Bertram von Boxberg, à voir sur la chaîne YouTube de l’Ensemble Intercontemporain : https://youtu.be/iHeFZx7Z2V0
(liens vérifiés en janvier 2023)
Discographie
- Philip VENABLES, « Below the Belt », 1 Cd NMC, 2018, NMC D238.
- Philip VENABLES, « Illusions », NMC, en digital uniquement, 2017, NMC DL201710.