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Nicholson, George (b. 1949, County Durham). British composer of mostly chamber and vocal works that have been performed throughout Europe and elsewhere; he is also active as a conductor and pianist.
Dr. Nicholson studied composition with David Blake and Bernard Rands at York University, where he received his DMus in 1979.
As a pianist, he is a member of the chamber groups Nomos and Triple Echo and regularly gives recitals with his wife, soprano Jane Ginsborg, for whom he has written many works. As a conductor, he has conducted numerous new music ensembles in the UK.
He taught as a lecturer in music and served as director of the composition department at Keele University from 1988–95. He has been Senior Lecturer in Composition at Sheffield University since 1996, where he has also served as chair of its music department since 2003.
CONTACT INFORMATION
E-mail address: g.nicholson@shef.ac.uk
Website: http://www.shef.ac.uk/music/staff/gn/gnhomepage.html
SELECT LIST OF WORKS
STAGE: The Arrival of the Poet in the City (melodrama, text by Christopher Logue), speaker, 7 players, 1982–83
ORCHESTRAL: 1132, 1976; The Convergence of the Twain, 1978; Chamber Concerto, small orchestra (13 players), 1979–80; Sea-Change, 14 strings, 1988; Concerto, cello, orchestra, 1990; Concerto, flute, orchestra, 1993; Fenestrae, small orchestra (15 players), 1998; Concerto for Orchestra, large orchestra, 2004–05
CHAMBER MUSIC: Recycle, 11 players, 1975–76; Overtune, 7 winds, 1976; String Quartet No. 1, 1976–77; Quintet, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1977; The Seventh Seal, viola, 1977; Winter Music, clarinet, harp, percussion, 1978; Nodus, clarinet, piano, 1978; N'est-ce pas...?, violin, 1979; So Low, double bass, 1981; Slide Show, trombone, 1981; Ancient Lights, flute (+ piccolo), 2 clarinets (both + bass clarinet), violin, viola, cello, piano, 1982; Movements, clarinet (+ E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet), bassoon, French horn, 2 violins, viola, 1982–83; Sound Progressions Newly Minted, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1983; String Quartet No. 2, 1984–85; Stilleven, flute, bass clarinet, flügelhorn, violin, double bass, 1985; Three Nocturnes, A-clarinet (+ E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet), violin, cello, piano, 1986; Romanza, violin, piano, 1987; Spring Songs, recorder, 1991; Muybridge Frames, trombone, piano, 1992; Ave atque vale, flute, piano, 1994; (termi)né, 2 bass clarinets, 1995; String Quartet No. 3, 1995; Fills, clarinet, 2000; Catch, flute, clarinet, vibraphone, 2001; Shailing and wambling, viola, cello, 2001; Umbra/penumbra, trombone, piano, 2002; Mister Biberian His Dompe, guitar, 2002; Autumn Journey, French horn, harp, 2005; Sonant formant morph, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, 2006; Tableaux vivants, soprano saxophone, French horn, trumpet, harp, guitar, string quartet, percussion, 2004–07; Bagatelles, oboe, percussion, 2006–07; Caesura, French horn, violin, piano, 2007; Recueillement, flute, French horn, harp, viola, 2007
CHORAL: A World of Imagination (text by William Blake), mixed chorus, 1984; Dormi, Jesu! (text from a traditional Latin prayer [also translated by Samuel Taylor Coleridge]), mixed chorus, piano, 2006
VOCAL: Colloque sentimental (texts by Stéphane Mallarmé, Heinrich Heine), soprano, harp, 1976; Rondeau (text from an anonymous source), soprano, 1977; Settings (text by Georg Trakl), soprano, piano, 1977; Hallel (texts from Psalms 117, 144, 133), soprano, organ, 1979; Alla Luna (text by Giacomo Leopardi), soprano, clarinet, piano, 1981; Aubade (text from an anonymous source), soprano, 5 players, 1981; Vignette (text by William Morris), soprano, piano, 1983–84; Peripheral Visions (texts by Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, Wyndham Lewis, anonymous), soprano, piano, 1983–84; Blisworth Tunnel Blues (texts by William Blake, Lord Byron, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy, Henry David Thoreau, Mary Shelley), soprano, small orchestra (20 players), 1986–87; Letters to the World (text by Emily Dickinson), soprano, recorder, cello, harpsichord, 1997–99; Idyll (text by Thomas Hardy), soprano, flute, bass clarinet, viola, cello, piano, 2003; Embers (text by Thomas Hardy), soprano, oboe, clarinet, French horn, violin, viola, cello, vibraphone, 2004
PIANO: Sonata, 1983; Cascate, 1985; Mots justes, 1988–97 (each of its five sections may be performed separately: Impromptu, 1988; All Systems Go, 1989; For Miles, 1991–92; Sung without words, 1996; In Accord, 1997)
SELECT DISCOGRAPHY
Muybridge Frames; Umbra/penumbra. John Kenny, trombone; George Nicholson, piano (British Music Label: BML 018)
String Quartet No. 3. Bochmann Quartet (Metier Records: MSV CD 92016)
Peripheral Visions. Alison Smart, soprano; Katharine Durran, piano (Metier Records: MSV CD 92025)
Spring Songs; Mots justes (excerpts); Nodus; Letters to the World. Alison Wells, soprano; John Turner, recorder; Philip Edwards, clarinet; Jonathan Price, cello; Peter Lawson, George Nicholson, pianos; Keith Elcombe, harpsichord (Metier Records: MSV CD 92062)
The Arrival of the Poet in the City. Christopher Logue, speaker; Alan Fearon/Northern Sinfonia Ensemble (Unknown Public: UPL 701)
(Last updated on January 13, 2008)
