People

Edward Cowie

Composer

Edward Cowie was born in Birmingham in 1943. His early years were spent in the rural landscapes of Suffolk and the Cotswolds, both landscapes contributing to an abiding and continuing interaction between his creative output as a composer and visual artist and his research and studies in the dynamics and forms of nature. He studied the violin and piano from his early years and began to compose in his early teens.

After completing a first degree in physics, he studied as a part time student at The Slade School of Art in London whilst commencing private studies in composition with Alexander Goehr. By the early 1970s, his music began to emerge on concert platforms and festivals in the UK. But it was his 1975 BBC Proms commission, Leviathan, that fully-launched him as a ‘new voice’ on the national and international music scene. After that, his music was commissioned and performed by major festivals all over the world. He also began to exhibit his paintings and drawings in prestigious galleries in the UK, the USA, Germany and Australia. His paintings and drawings are in public and private collections in 14 countries world-wide.

He has won many international awards including the Radcliffe Prize; a Gulbenkian Award to work at The Royal Ballet, and a Chopin Scholarship to work with Witold Lutoslawski in Poland. He was the first composer-conductor in residence with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra between 1983-86, following which he became much in demand as a conductor, working with major orchestras and ensembles in Europe and Australia.

The development of his artistic career was paralleled with a long and distinguished career as an academic. He has doctorates in music as well as applied physics and has held chairs in universities in the USA, the UK and Australia. He has also been much in demand as a public speaker all over the world. In the 1980s, he made several television films including his much-acclaimed Leonardo for BBC2. He has also written and presented two major series for radio, commissioned by ABC Australia.

His music is published by Chester and Schott London, but since 2002, he has been on exclusive contract with United Music Publishers. His music can be heard on ASV, Hyperion, Sony, Mettier, NMU and UHR labels. In 2003 Cowie became the first composer in association with the BBC Singers, and at the same time the first artist in residence with The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Almost all his music is inspired by the ‘forces of nature’, and Cowie describes his musical-world as one governed and guided by sensation.

Featured on:

UHR010: Edward Cowie: 24 Preludes - Philip Mead
UHR022: Edward Cowie: Rutherfords lights - Richard Casey