Sir Harrison Birtwistle
(1934-2022), ComposerSitter in 7 portraits
Birtwistle studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music (1952-55) where he met Peter Maxwell Davies and Alexander Goehr. Attracted to the avant-garde, the group were known for a time as the 'Manchester School'. Birtwistle's opera Punch and Judy caused controversy when it was premiered in 1968 due to the style of the music and violence of the plot. His works included Gawain (1991), hailed as his masterpiece, and the opera The Minotaur(2008). He was knighted in 1988.
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies; Sir Harrison Birtwistle
by David Hockney
pen and ink on paper, 1970
NPG 6515
by Lord Snowdon
gelatin silver print, 6 February 1991
NPG P1853
by Adam Birtwistle
gouache and tempera, 1992
NPG 6256
by Tom Phillips
oil on canvas, 1995
NPG 6822
by Anne-Katrin Purkiss
bromide print, August 1987
NPG x31690
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