John Harle

John Harle

John Harle
Background information
Born (1956-09-20)20 September 1956
Origin Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Genres Classical, hybrid
Occupations Musician
Instruments Saxophone
Years active 1973–present
Labels Universal
EMI Classics
Decca Records
Argo Records
Unicorn-Kanchana
Hannibal Records
Sospiro

John Harle (born 20 September 1956 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is an English saxophonist, composer, conductor and record producer.

Biography

John Harle, FGSM ARCM Hons, is a British saxophonist, composer, conductor and record producer. He is a prolific artist in many genres including classical, jazz and opera.

Early career

Harle began his musical career as a clarinetist and served as solo clarinetist in the Band of the Coldstream Guards, winning the Cousins Memorial Medal at Kneller Hall (Royal Military School of Music) in 1975 as Best Army Musician. In 1978 he won a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London, where he studied saxophone, clarinet and composition, winning the Dannreuther Prize and obtaining a final graduation mark of 100%. He won a French Government Scholarship for postgraduate study in Paris with Daniel Deffayet, Professor of Saxophone at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM) the following year. In Paris, Harle worked with Luciano Berio on 'extended techniques' for alto saxophone, which culminated in Berio's Sequenza 1Xb for Alto Saxophone, which he premiered at Hans Werner Henze's Montepulciano Summer School in Italy the following year.

He subsequently won music competitions at the Royal Overseas League, Greater London Arts Association, the Maisie Lewis Trust, the Worshipful Company of Musicians and The Park Lane Group.

In 1984 he won the AMCON Award at the Concert Artists Guild of New York, and has since developed a distinctive sound for the saxophone based on breathing and resonating techniques more commonly used in singing. Michael Nyman describes Harle's sound as "hard edged, vocal romanticism". Between 1979 and 1985 he was also an actor/musician at the Royal National Theatre, London, working under the tutelage of Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Dominic Muldowney, in productions of Brecht, Edward Bond (with Hans Werner Henze) and Aeschylus, with one-man shows at the RNT, New End Theatre Hampstead, Kings Head Islington and The Arts Theatre Great Newport Street. Harle was a founder member of the Michael Nyman Band, and with violinist Alexander Balanescu created the distinctive sound for Nymans music in the iconic Peter Greenaway film scores including The Draughtsman's Contract and The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover. In 1986 Harle formed the avant-garde cabaret ensemble, The Berliner Band, which featured free-jazz bassist Barry Guy, which combined performances of early cabaret works by Eisler and Weill with his own compositions and improvised music. The Berliner Band performed contemporary scores to silent avant-garde films of the 1920's by Man Ray, Léger, Clair and Moholy-Nagy.

Harle was principal saxophonist in the London Sinfonietta and the London Symphony Orchestra for many years, and also worked frequently in The Nash Ensemble and Peter Maxwell Davies's The Fires of London. He was the subject of a BBC2 one-hour documentary in 1988 called 'One Man and his Sax' produced by Tony Staveacre.


Saxophonist

After the commission of a saxophone concerto for him for the BBC Proms in 1985 from composer Dominic Muldowney, his career as a solo classical saxophonist began, and his contribution to this field since then is seen as central to the instruments development as a 'concert-hall' instrument. Further concerto commissions for Harle since then include works by composers Mark-Anthony Turnage, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Harrison Birtwistle, John Tavener, Michael Torke, Gavin Bryars, Sally Beamish, Stanley Myers, Christopher Gunning, Dave Heath, Michael Nyman, Mike Westbrook and Joby Talbot. These works form the basis for much of the contemporary popularity of the saxophone in the concert hall.

A concerto by Graham Fitkin is planned for 2013, and a second concerto by Sir Harrison Birtwistle for 2014. He has worked with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Neville Marriner, David Atherton, Oliver Knussen, Lothar Zagrosek, Sir Simon Rattle, Diego Masson, Sir Mark Elder and Franz Welser-Most.

In 1995 Harle performed the premiere of “Panic” by Birtwistle at the Last Night of the Proms, and went on in 1996 to perform his own work, “Terror and Magnificence”, in a sell out performance at the Royal Festival Hall with Elvis Costello and Sarah Leonard.

Harle has had over half a million solo record sales to date, and has performed with hundreds of international orchestras.

Harle performs regularly in recital with Pianist Steve Lodder and Composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.


Teaching

In 1989 Harle was appointed Professor of Saxophone at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he tutored and mentored most of the current leading saxophonists in the UK, many of themselves now teaching at conservatoires such as, Simon Haram, Tim Garland, Christian Forshaw, Rob Buckland and Gerard McChrystal.

From 2012 his teaching continues with an MMus in Saxophone Performance at Canterbury Christ Church University which is the first Masters program in the UK to expand the areas of study for saxophonists to include history and analysis of the saxophone, saxophone iconography and stage skills.

He has been guest lecturer at: Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Rotterdams Conservatorium, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, New World Symphony Academy (Miami), Canterbury Christ Church University, Nottingham University, The Menuhin School, Chethams, Eton College, Marlborough College, and St. Pauls School London amongst others.

In masterclasses and lectures, Harles curriculum is broad, and includes the science of performance, physiology of wind playing, performance confidence and stress control, audience communication, the role of the performer and teaching methodology.


Composer, Producer, Conductor, Media

As a composer, Harle's concert music encompasses Opera, Choral, Symphonic and Chamber music. His music is dramatic and often otherworldly, gaining inspiration from history, folklore and mythic stories.

He has had four commissions from the BBC Proms, including his first Opera, 'Angel Magick', based on the life of Elizabethan alchemist John Dee., which was performed in a season at the salisbury Playhouse and then at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in fully staged performances. 'Angel Magick' is currently being revised by Harle for CD release in 2012 on Sospiro Records. His second opera, 'The Ballad of Jamie Allan' was commissioned by the Sage, Gateshead, and was the story of a rogue Northumbrian piper, horse-thief and army deserter, featuring Kathryn Tickell (Northumbrian Pipes) Sarah-Jane Morris (Vocal) and Omar Ebrahim (Vocal) in a series of performances for the opening of the Sage Gateshead.

'Terror and Magnificence' brought many of these historical influences together with vocalist Elvis Costello in a Grammy-nominated album that reached No.1 in the US Billboard charts, and culminated in sell-out concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Recent works include his saxophone concerto 'The Little Death Machine' (BBC Proms), City Solstice (for Kings College Cambridge Choir) and Earthlight (for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra).

In music for Film and Television, he has composed over 100 scores including major feature films, television drama and documentaries. He won the Royal Television Society award for Best TV Theme Music for his theme for BBC1's Silent Witness, and his first film score 'Prick Up Your Ears', composed with Stanley Myers, won Best Artistic Achievement in a Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival. He was composer of the entire score for Simon Schama's epic 15 hour 'History of Britain' for BBC1, which featured Dame Emma Kirkby, Sir Willard White, Elvis Costello, Sarah Leonard, the BBC Singers and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

He was Creative Consultant to Sir Paul McCartney between 1997 and 2003, assisting in the composition of works such as 'Standing Stone', 'Ecce Cor Meum', 'Shadow Cycle', 'A Garland for Linda', orchestrating much of McCartney's output in that period, and was also record producer and conductor of works by McCartney. He was producer and soloist on 'Moondog Big Band' and performed live with Moondog and Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson several times, including performances at Elvis Costello's 'Meltdown' at the South Bank, London. With Ute Lemper he collaborated on several projects, including his own show for the LSO and Lemper 'Berlin Nights' at the Barbican, and was producer and saxophone soloist on much of her late work in the late 1990's, including his own 'Cradle Song' and the score to Volker Sclhondorff's film 'Homo Faber'. With Elvis Costello, he was the composer, producer and soloist on 'O Mistress Mine', a song cycle from Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' which appeared on Harle's album 'Terror and Magnificence' in 1996 and on live performances that included Costello singing other works by Harle and Costello's own 'Shipbuilding'. Costello continued to perform 'O Mistress Mine' song cycle in duo form with pianist Steve Nieve on tours between 1997 and 2002. Harle was soloist on Costello's ballet music 'Il Sogno' for Deutsche Grammophon with drummer Peter Erskine, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the LSO. In 2001 Harle was conductor of 'Maiden Voyage' - an extended work for Herbie Hancock as soloist with the LPO at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

He was artistic director at the Green Hall, Tokyo from 1986-1988, Artist in Residence at Musikkollegium Winterthur in 2000, Artist in Residence at Chester Summer Music Festival 2008 and Curator of 'Sustain!' at the City of London Festival in 2009. In 2011-2012, Harle has been Producer for EMI Classics in Tokyo, and is currently artistic director of Sospiro Records, a new hybrid-genre label based in the UK.

As a conductor, he has performed with the LSO, LPO, BBCSO, BBCPO, RPO, RLPO, RTE, Ulster Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, the Wintherthur, Lahti, and Norrshirping Symphonies, the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Harle's 'Polar', a multi-media performance including IMAX HD footage of the Polar regions with music by Harle, Stravinsky, Rautavvara and Sibelius has toured throughout 2011, and continues in 2012 and 2013, with performances in China and the USA.

In 1998 he was a castaway on Sue Lawley’s ‘Desert Island Discs’ on Radio 4, and has been a presenter on BBC Radios 3 and 4 and LBC Radio, and was the subject of a BBC2 one hour documentary in 1988 called 'One Man and his Sax' produced by Tony Staveacre.

In 2007 he taught Lord Robert Winston to play the saxophone on the BBC1 programme 'Play it again', and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4 'Front Row' and BBC 3 'In Tune'.


"John served his apprenticeship in the late 20th Century context of expanding horizons and a growing willingness for musicians of all backgrounds to share knowledge. But he is also one of its most innovative contributors". John Fordham - The Guardian

Awards

RTS Award for best theme for a television programme - 2001 - Silent Witness (BBC1)
RTS Nomination for best music for a television programme - 2009 - The Commander (LaPlante)
RTS Nomination for best music for a television programme - 2005 - Summer in the Suburbs (BBC2)
RTS Nomination for best music for a television programme - 2002 - Defence of the Realm (BBC1)

Nomination - 1999 - Terror and Magnificence

Nomination - 1999 - Terror and Magnificence

No.1 Crossover Album in the USA - 1999 - Terror and Magnificence

Best Artistic Achievement in a Feature Film - 1988 - Prick Up Your Ears (Zenith) - with Stanley Myers

Nomination for best original music - 1999 - Flying (TBWA/Trevor Beattie/Nissan)

No. 1 Position - 1996 - Flying (Remix)

Selected Compositions

Concert Works

Film and Television Scores

Feature Films

Television

Selected Discography

Composer/Producer/Saxophonist

With the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

With Elvis Costello and Andy Sheppard.

With Will Gregory, Guy Barker, Sarah-Jane Morris and Adrian Utely

With Stan Tracey, Paul Jones, Derek Watkins and Richard Rodney Bennett.

With Kathryn Tickell, Omar Ebrahim, Sarah-Jane Morris and the Northern Sinfonia

With Willard White, Emma Kirkby, Elvis Costello and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

With Phil Robson (Guitar) and the RTE Orchestra and Choir.

With Will Gregory, Guy Barker, Sarah-Jane Morris and Adrian Utely

With Sarah Leonard and Operahouse.

With Lesley Garrett

With Ute Lemper

With Stanley Myers, Guy Barker, Jack Emblow and Ray Warleigh.

With Stanley Myers and Ute Lemper.

With Moondog.

With the Apollo Saxophone Quartet.

With the Apollo Saxophone Quartet.

With London Saxophonic.

With Operahouse.

With Operahouse.

With Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

With Academy St Martin's in the Fields.

With the BBC Singers.

With Paul McCartney.

With Paul McCartney.

With Richard Rodney Bennett

With Sto zvířat.

Saxophonist

With Academy of St Martin's in the Fields.

With Harrisson Birtwistle.

With the Bournemouth Sinfonietta.

With the Albany Symphony Orchestra and BBC Concert Orchestra.

With Frank Martin.

With New World Symphony Orchestra.

With the London Sinfonietta.

With Julian Lloyd Webber and The Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Michael Nyman.

With John Tavener.

With Sally Beamish.

With Graham Fitkin.

With Graham Fitkin.

With George Shearing and the Kings Singers.

With Elvis Costello.

With Gavin Bryars.

With John Lenehan.

With John Lenehan.

With John Lenehan.

With John Lenehan and Sarah Leonard.

With Richard Allain.

With James Whitbourne.

With the Orchestra of St John's Smiths Square and conductor John Lubbock.

With London Chamber Orchestra, and conductor Christopher Warren-Green.

With Sting.

With the London Symphony Brass and Woodwinds.

With Michael Nyman.

With Michael Nyman.

With Michael Nyman.

With Dagmar Krause.

With Evelyn Glennie.

With Dave Heath and Evelyn Glennie.

With Steve Lodder.

With John Dankworth.

With the London Symphony Orchestra.

With Christopher Gunning.

With Ute Lemper.

Publications

Universal Saxophone Edition 1982 - 88 Produced standard works of scales and arpeggios, studies, classical transcriptions and contemporary works from beginner to advanced standards.


Boosey and Hawkes John Harle Saxophone Album, John Harles Sax Album, Rachmaninov Vocalise (new edition).


Durand New Orchestration of Debussy Saxophone Rhapsodie


Chester Music See list of published works on www.chester-novello.com

In preparation: The Complete Saxophone Soloist (2012-13)

External links