{"id":45790,"date":"2024-07-29T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3572f9fa-bf52-4400-9ef9-ea1cead64108"},"modified":"2024-07-29T16:08:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T14:08:37","slug":"anna-clyne-the-british-us-based-composer-who-combines-bold-paintings-and-electronic-effects-with-her-music","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/anna-clyne-the-british-us-based-composer-who-combines-bold-paintings-and-electronic-effects-with-her-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Anna Clyne: the British, US-based composer who combines bold paintings and electronic effects with her music"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Monday, 29 July 2024 at 13:00 PM<\/p>

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Her latest work premieres at the\u00a02024 BBC Proms<\/a>. But who is composer Anna Clyne?<\/strong><\/p>

Who is Anna Clyne?<\/h2>
Anna Clyne<\/a><\/strong> is a British-born, US-based acoustic and electro-acoustic composer, who draws on the connections between visual art and music. She has become one of the most prominent musicians working in this area in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>
According to Bachtrack<\/a><\/strong>, Clyne was the eighth most performed contemporary composer in the world in 2022, featuring alongside John Adams<\/a><\/strong>, Philip Glass<\/a><\/strong> and James MacMillan<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>
Since the pandemic she has been very prolific, writing 15 works in 2020 alone, including several large-scale ensemble pieces.\u00a0<\/p>
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Clyne was composer-in-residence to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra<\/a><\/strong> in 2010-11. She is currently composer-in-association with the BBC Philharmonic<\/a><\/strong>, a position she will hold until 2026. The first piece she wrote for the BBC Phil was Glasslands<\/em> (2022), a saxophone concerto premiered by Jess Gillam<\/a><\/strong> and conductor Mark Wigglesworth<\/a><\/strong> at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.<\/p>
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How old is Anna Clyne?<\/h2>
Clyne was born on 9 March 1980 and is 44 years old.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yo-Yo Ma performs Anna Clyne’s In the Gale<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-did-anna-clyne-more-to-america\">When did Anna Clyne more to America?<\/h2>Clyne has lived in the US since 2001, currently in Hudson Valley, New York State.\u00a0<\/p>\u2018I was at Edinburgh University, and I spent my third year as an exchange student at Queen\u2019s University in Canada,’ she told BBC Music Magazine<\/em>. ‘The academic year at Queen\u2019s finishes early and Edinburgh starts quite late, so I went back via New York. I was waitressing and playing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/cello\">cello<\/a><\/strong> in rock bands and meeting lots of interesting composers, musicians, choreographers and film makers, and I just fell in love with it. As soon as I graduated from Edinburgh, I moved back to New York with just a suitcase and my cello.\u2019<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/the-brilliance-of-philip-glass-seven-leading-musicians-discuss-his-style-and-influence\">The brilliance of Philip Glass: seven leading musicians discuss why the minimalist composer has stood the test of time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-did-anna-clyne-study-composition-with\">Who did Anna Clyne study composition with?<\/h2>After moving to America, Clyne studied with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/julia-wolfe\">Julia Wolfe<\/a><\/strong>, co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/bangonacan.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bang on a Can<\/a><\/strong>, the radical collective that transformed contemporary music in the US during the early 2000s. Clyne attended Bang on a Can\u2019s summer programme at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.\u00a0<\/p>\u2018I feel grateful to people like Julia who laid the groundwork for me,\u2019 says Clyne. \u2018I\u2019m part of a generation witnessing a big shift in terms of diversity, and I was lucky to have strong role models. When I was younger, I didn\u2019t think of myself as a female composer; I was just a composer \u2013 that essence has stayed with me.\u2019<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-does-anna-clyne-work\">How does Anna Clyne work?<\/h2>Clyne works at an upright <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/piano-parts\">piano<\/a><\/strong>, with a laptop and digital score resting on a Singer sewing table. Her chair nestles into the right angle; a cup of coffee perches at the side.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-did-clyne-compose-night-ferry-her-2012-work-created-alongside-a-huge-painting\">How did Clyne compose Night Ferry<\/em>, her 2012 work created alongside a huge painting?<\/h2>To create\u00a0Night Ferry<\/em>\u00a0(2012), the turbulent sea-washed soundscape inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge\u2019s poem\u00a0The Rime of the Ancient Mariner<\/em>, Clyne placed large panels around her studio. Alternating between painting and composing, Clyne transferred the brushstrokes into notes \u2013 and vice versa \u2013 until the projects became co-creations, inextricably linked.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/six-great-contemporary-operas\">Six of the best contemporary operas<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\u2018As the music evolved so did the mural, and as the mural evolved so did the music,\u2019 she says. \u2018At the end there was a 15 foot-long painting and a 25-minute composition. A lot of art uses some of the same structural elements as music. There\u2019s gesture, rhythm, composition, shapes, intensity. Graphic scores can be very liberating\u2019<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"\/>Clyne’s Night Ferry mural<\/em><\/p>The work was selected as one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/bbc-brings-ten-pieces-secondary-schools\">Ten Pieces<\/a><\/strong>, the BBC\u2019s flagship educational resource for classical music.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-palette-another-work-composed-alongside-a-large-painting\">Palette<\/em>, another work composed alongside a large painting\u2026<\/h2>Since then, Clyne has continued to explore this composing method. She\u2019s currently focussed on colours as part of the acrostic piece\u00a0Palette<\/em>, where seven movements are each devoted to plum, amber, lava, ebony, teal, tangerine and emerald.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/most-famous-female-composers\">The best female composers of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\u2018I\u2019m creating large canvases alongside the score,\u2019 she says. \u2018The piece draws on my love of abstract expressionism. I hope to share the artwork in some way as part of the audience\u2019s experience of the music.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>Palette<\/em> is due to be premiered early 2025 by the <a href=\"https:\/\/slso.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">St Louis Symphony Orchestra<\/a><\/strong>, conducted by St\u00e9phane Den\u00e8ve, followed by co-commissioners the New World Symphony and the National Orchestra Institute.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-some-of-clyne-s-other-recent-works\">What are some of Clyne\u2019s other recent works?<\/h2>Color Field<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(2020) muses on the colour orange, from the tone used in Herm\u00e8s\u2019s iconic designs to Mark Rothko\u2019s Orange, Red, Yellow<\/em> (1961). From there, Clyne considered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/alexander-scriabin\">Scriabin<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-synaesthesia\">synaesthesia<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 the experience of associating specific colours with pitch and tonal centres \u2013 and drew on the fiery hues the Russian composer associated with particular keys (orange was G).<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-symphonies-by-female-composers\">Best symphonies by female composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>ATLAS<\/em><\/strong>, Clyne\u2019s first piano concerto \u2013 performed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/pianist-jeremy-denk-made-macarthur-fellow\">Jeremy Denk<\/a><\/strong> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/kazuki-yamada-announced-as-new-chief-conductor-of-city-of-birmingham-symphony-orchestra\">City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra<\/a><\/strong> at Symphony Hall in 2024 \u2013 was inspired by Gerhard Richter, with music linked to the 5,000 photographs, drawings and sketches contained in four volumes.<\/p>Weathered<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>is\u00a0<\/strong>a clarinet concerto Clyne composed for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/martin-frost\">Martin Fr\u00f6st<\/a><\/strong> in 2022. Each of the five-minute movements highlight different weathered elements \u2013 \u2018Metal\u2019, \u2018Heart\u2019, \u2018Stone\u2019, \u2018Wood\u2019 and \u2018Earth\u2019.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/clara-schumann\">Clara Schumann: child prodigy, concert pianist, pioneering female composer<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-is-clyne-s-composition-the-gorgeous-nothings-premiering-at-the-proms-2024\">When is Clyne\u2019s composition\u00a0The Gorgeous Nothings<\/em>\u00a0premiering at The Proms 2024?<\/h2>Clyne\u2019s\u00a0The Gorgeous Nothings<\/em>, based on Emily Dickinson\u2019s\u00a0Envelope Poems<\/em>, premieres at the BBC Proms 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/events\/eb39hn\">on 30 July<\/a><\/strong>. It\u2019s performed by The Swingles and the BBC Philharmonic.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/bbc-proms\/\">Browse all our 2024 BBC Proms content: interviews, profiles and more<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>The piece uses a format called Augmented Orchestra, co-developed with Clyne\u2019s husband Jody Elff, an audio engineer and sound artist. \u2018It\u2019s real-time processing of the orchestra,\u2019 explains Clyne. \u2018It transforms the sound, creating new versions of the instruments \u2013 all very closely integrated.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/bbc-proms\/when-are-bbc-proms-tv\">When are the BBC Proms on TV in 2024?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\u2018We have eight microphones within the orchestra \u2013 on the flutes, the oboes, first violin, double basses, percussion, and the bicycle wheel! We also have one on the vibraphone and one on the voices. It makes a wonderful sound.\u2019<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Published: Monday, 29 July 2024 at 13:00 PM Her latest work premieres at the\u00a02024 BBC Proms. But who is composer Anna Clyne? Who is Anna Clyne? Anna Clyne is a British-born, US-based acoustic and electro-acoustic composer, who draws on the connections between visual art and music. 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