Another composer from the remarkable generation of the 1930s has left us. Tony Gilbert’s first acknowledged works date from 1961 following several years of study, but his subsequent output, especially of instrumental and chamber works, was substantial and full of innovation. An exceptional teacher, he was the first head of composition at the Royal Northern College where his students included Simon Holt, Sally Beamish and Paul Newland. His relationship with NMC goes back more than 30 years, with the recording of Nine or Ten Hosannas, and he is featured on several compilations. We are very proud of the two major CDs of his ensemble and orchestral works, Dream Carousels and On Beholding a Rainbow.
On his attitude to composition he wrote ‘Ultimately, for me, the only honest thing to do in composing is to write straight from the heart and guts, whilst closely involving the brain. Trying to assess what my audience would like to hear, to be ‘accessible’, would to me seem cheap and patronising’. He was a friend and colleague of so many, and he will be much missed.
Colin Matthews
July 2023
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Photo credit: Adam Morris
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