John Simon
John Simon was born in Cape Town in 1944 and studied piano and musical theory at school. On completing his economics and business degrees at the University of Cape Town in 1965, he moved to London, studying musical composition part-time at the Trinity College of Music and later the Royal College of Music, where his teachers included James Patten and John Lambert. His works have been performed and broadcast in South Africa, the UK and in Europe. His UK activities have included significant work with the BBC. He has written extensively for piano, having composed two piano concertos and five piano sonatas. His main orchestral works include his SYMPHONY, VIOLIN CONCERTO (BBC premiere), REQUIEM FOR ORCHESTRA (BBC premiere under Edward Downes, the work having been recommended to the BBC by Simon Rattle), the symphonic suite CHILDREN OF THE SUN and the orchestral song cycle PORTRAIT OF EMILY (settings of five poems by Emily Dickinson). His chamber works include a string quartet and a wind quintet (BBC London premiere). A number of his works were written in response to the situation that prevailed in South Africa on his return to the country in 1979. As a consequence ‘Threnody 2’ for strings, clarinet and timpani, composed in 1981 and dedicated to the memory of Steve Biko, was under embargo at the SABC until 1993 (it was the first work to use the South African national anthem as a theme). It has since been widely performed and broadcast, including performances at the Edinburgh International Festival and Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. From 2003 to 2005 he was Composer in Residence to the Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban and lecturer in orchestration at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Music. He orchestrated, with the help of the late Christopher James, the Zulu cantata ‘Zizi Lethu’ by Phelani Mnomiya. This was the celebration piece for the Ten Years of Democracy concert given by the London Symphony Orchestra and KZN Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican in London in 2004. The work was later performed in Germany. In 2011 his ‘Late Gothic Overture’ was the winning composition in a competition organised by the South African National Youth Orchestra (submission of works on a strictly anonymous basis). Later that year the KZN Philharmonic premiered his symphonic poem ‘Fanfares for Tristan’. 2013 saw the BBC Singers giving the first performance of an a cappella setting of Gerard Manley Hopkins’s poem ‘Justus quidem tu es, Domine’. In 2015 the BBC Philharmonic under John Storgårds premiered the anti-war piece ‘A Cry from a World Aflame’ for strings, trumpets and percussion. 2017 saw the Cape Philharmonic under Bernhard Gueller giving the first performance of ‘Seeing Stars’, an entertainment piece for orchestra. In 2018 ‘Coquette’ for solo flute was chosen to represent South Africa at the ISCM’s World Music Days in Beijing. He recently completed ‘Fugal Fantasia’ for string orchestra, harp and tam-tam. Besides being a composer John Simon also writes and publishes poetry.
1. These items have been supplied by the composer and have been digitised with permission from the composer. 2. These items may only be used for research/academic purposes and not for commercial purposes. 3. These items may not be copied, disseminated, published, exhibited, reproduced or broadcast in any manner or form without the written permission of one of the following parties: The Composer, the Composer’s representative, or SAMRO (Southern African Music Rights Organisation), or an affiliated performing rights society. 4. The Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS), Stellenbosch University, as custodian of these collections, should be notified when permission for copying, dissemination, publishing, exhibiting, reproduction or broadcasting is obtained from the Composer, the Composer’s representative or SAMRO (Southern African Music Rights Organisation) or an affiliated performing rights society. 5. Citation: State that the original documents are in the possession of the Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS), Stellenbosch University and provide the link to the item.
Recent Submissions
-
-
Late gothic overture, opus 45d
Score. Won first prize in the South African National Youth Orchestra competition, 2011. -
Dance to freedom, opus 46
Score. From the orchestration for Phelelani Mnomiya’s cantata ‘Zizi Lethu’. -
New Azania overture, opus 38
Score. "The tune was entitled ‘New Azania’ and gave the piece its original title of ‘New Azania Overture’, the work’s name being eventually changed to ‘An Antipodean Overture’, and back once more to ‘New Azania Overture’." -
Little suite for orchestra, opus 33
Score. 1. Happy memories -- 2. Sad song -- 3. Brassy minuet -- 4. High spirits and moody blues. "Composed in 1978 for music pupils at Bishop Ramsay School in Ruislip." -
Seeing stars : nocturne for orchestra - with nightride and hard landing, opus 55
Score. 'A memory of a nocturnal work by composer Steve Martland (1954-2013).' Composed in Prague, 2015-2016. -
Threnody 1, for strings, opus 37
Original title: ‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light’. Dedicated to the memory of Bernard Fortuin, who died in May 1980 at a time of political unrest in Cape Town. -
Threnody 2, for strings, clarinet and timpani, opus 39
Score. Originally entitled ‘Steve Biko in Heaven’. In memory of Steve Biko. -
Piano concerto no 2, opus 31
Score. Piano concerto in three movements, composed in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England between 1977 and 1979. -
Piano concerto no 1, opus 15
Score. Piano concerto in three movements, composed in Kingsclere, Berkshire, England in 1969-70. Rewritten in 1981, 1991 and 2003. -
Children of the sun, opus 44
Score. Symphonic suite in four movements. I El Templo del Sol (The Temple of the Sun) -- II Los Conquistadores (The Conquerors) -- III Nocturno de Cajamarca (Night Music of Cajamarca) -- IV Caída del Templo del Sol ... -
Fanfares for Tristan, opus 49
Score. 1. Portrait of a Warrior-Hero -- 2. Carnival pranks with comeuppance -- 3. Idealised reverie -- 4. Fatal liaison -- 5. Recollection, death, transfiguration. The work was written between 2010 and 2011. 'To the memory ... -
-
Portrait of Emily, opus 43
Score. Amherst prologue -- 1. I'll tell you how the sun rose -- 2. My life closed twice before its close -- 3. The soul selects her own society -- 4. After great pain, a formal feeling comes -- 5. Exultation is the going ... -
Symphony, opus 45
Score. 1. Moderato Allegro molto vivace -- 2. Vivace -- 3. Largo -- 4. Un poco Andante Allegro. The Symphony was written between 1993 and 1997. -
Violin concerto, opus 40
Revised score. 1. Threnody I -- 2. Accompanied cadenza I -- 3. Scherzino -- 4. Accompanied cadenza II -- 5. Threnody II. -
Requiem for orchestra, opus 42
Score. 1. Requiem Aeternam and Kyrie -- 2. Dies Irae -- 3. Agnus Dei -- 4. Libera me. Originally called 'Requiem of 1984' and later changed to 'Requiem for 1984'. -
Piano sonata no 3, opus 13
Manuscript score. "Composed 1968. This copy made Walton on Thames, Surrey." Signed 28 July 1973. "Revised 2011 - Replaced by computerized version." -
-
Piano sonata no 4, opus 22
Manuscript score. "Composed 1972. This copy made 18th July 1990. Checked 23.7.90."
RSS 1.0