Roger Smalley

Roger Smalley (born 26 July 1943 in Manchester, UK) is a British-Australian composer, pianist and conductor.

He studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Antony Hopkins (piano), Peter Racine Fricker and John White (both composition). In addition, he studied privately with Alexander Goehr and attended Stockhausen's Cologne Course for New Music.

He co-founded the ensemble Intermodulation with Tim Souster in 1969. The group specialised in works involving improvisation and live electronics. He moved to Australia in the early 1970s.

In addition to his work as a composer, Smalley is recognised as a distinguished pianist who specialises in performances of contemporary music. His recordings include a CD of piano music by Australian composers and another of song cycles by Schumann.

He sometimes quotes melodies by other composers in his works. The String Quartet No. 2 (2000) and the Piano Quintet (2003) incorporate melodies from mazurkas by Chopin.

Works

Works by Roger Smalley include:
* "Echo II" for cello and digital delays (1978)
* "Pulses" for 5x4 players
* Symphony (1979-81)
* Piano Concertos no. 1 (1984-85)
* "Variations on a Theme of Chopin" for piano (1988-9)
* Piano Trio (1990-1)
* "Poles Apart" (1992)
* Trio for clarinet, viola and piano (1992-9)
* Oboe Concerto (1995-96)
* "Crepuscule", for piano quartet (1998-9)
* String Quartet no. 2 (1999-2000)
* Horn Trio (2000-2002)
* Piano Quintet (2003)
* Piano Concerto no. 2 (2004)
* Contrabassoon Concerto

Bibliography

*"Poles Apart: The Music of Roger Smalley", edited by Judy Thönell (1994, ISBN 0-86422-352-8)

External links

* [http://www.rogersmalley.com Roger Smalley's authorised homepage]
* [http://www.amcoz.com.au/opac/name.aspx?id=445 Smalley's scores and recordings in the Australian Music Centre database]
* [http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_features.php?id=5207 An interview with Roger Smalley]