John McLeod CBE (8 March 1934 – 24 March 2022) was a Scottish composer who wrote music in many media including film and television.
John McLeod | |
|---|---|
 John McLeod (second left) | |
| Born | 8 March 1934 Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK |
| Died | 24 March 2022 (aged 88) Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, UK |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Music |
| Occupation | Composer |
Biography
editHe was born in Aberdeen, but later settled in Edinburgh. He initially studied clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music with Jack Brymer, Reginald Kell, and Gervase de Peyer, but then switched to composition with Sir Lennox Berkeley.
McLeod was Associate Composer of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from 1980 to 1982 and the orchestra commissioned Out of the Silence, premiered in 2015. His works have also been performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra has broadcast 12 of his major orchestral works, including the London premiere of The Sun Dances (2000) at the BBC Proms in 2014.[1] The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland has regularly featured his work in over 20 concerts, including the Piano Concerto (1988) in 2015, when it was conducted by the composer with James Willshire as soloist in Glasgow and Dundee.[2]
His Clarinet Concerto (2005) was premiered at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh on 13 May 2007 by the Meadows Chamber Orchestra with soloist Jean Johnson.[3]
Other notable orchestral works include the Percussion Concerto (1987) (written for, performed and recorded by Evelyn Glennie),[4] Symphonies of Stone and Water (2000, for piano and small orchestra, written for and premiered by the Indonesian pianist & composer Ananda Sukarlan), the Guitar Concerto (2009) and the Viola Concerto (2018, written for Scottish Chamber Orchestra principal viola Jane Atkins). McLeod also composed choral music (including a Stabat Mater, 1985 and the cantata Chronicle of Saint Machar, 1998), chamber music (including A Moment in Time for violin, clarinet, cello and piano in 2002), and numerous songs and song cycles.[5]
A double CD of his complete piano music was recorded live from four concerts at Stoller Hall in Manchester, August 2017. It includes the five piano sonatas (1978–2013), the Four Impromptus (1960), Five Hebridean Dances (1981), Two Balinese Rituals (written for Ananda Sukarlan) and the 12 Preludes (1984).[6]
In 2014, McLeod was rewarded with a BASCA Gold Badge Award.[7] This was in recognition of his unique contribution to music. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music.[8]
John McLeod died in Edinburgh on 24 March 2022 aged 88, six months after the death of his wife Margaret (1936–2021), who was a respected piano adjudicator and examiner.[2][9]
References
edit- ^ BBC Proms performance archive, 3 August, 2014
- ^ a b 'Sadness: A fine Scots composer has died', Slipped Disc classical news site, retrieved 25 March 2022
- ^ The List, Issue 575, 10 May, 2007
- ^ Evelyn Glennie website
- ^ "John McLeod catalogue". Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- ^ 'McLeod: Piano Music', Metier MSV77207, reviewed at MusicWeb International
- ^ "Sir Bob Geldof to Be Honoured by Gold Badge Awards". 10 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B9.
- ^ Margaret Murray McLeod: An Appreciation
- Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
- Stawiarski, Marcin (2020), "Transtextual and Intermedial References in John McLeod’s Music". The Past and Present in a Musical Work, p.193-211.
- Stawiarski, Marcin (2020), "Intertextualité, intermédialité et interculturalité dans l’œuvre de John McLeod: l’exemple de Lieder der Jugend". Textes et Contextes, vol.15, n°1, 2020.
- Stawiarski, Marcin (2023), "Musique pour une poésie de derrière les barreaux : John McLeod et la mise en musique du poème concentrationnaire". Revue Captures, vol.8, n°1, "Imaginaires musico-littéraires. Métamorphoses et dérèglements".
External links
edit- John McLeod's Homepage Archived 19 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- The Sun Dances, BBC Proms
- John McLeod discography at Discogs
- John McLeod at IMDb