When Harrison Birtwistle died Monday at 87, he became the sixth pioneering composer who came to prominence in the 1960s that we lost in less than nine months. This uncompromising British modernist, ...

For British composer Harrison Birtwistle’s 70th birthday last year, Metronome (in cooperation with WDR Cologne) recorded his complete works for solo piano, 10 pieces spanning more than half a century.

Begin with Bogenstrich – Meditations on a poem of Rilke and be surprised. At baritone Roderick Williams's effortless delivery of Rilke's "Liebeslied" and at the subtlety, the delicacy of Birtwistle's ...