Harrison Birtwistle Cause of Death Unknown: British Composer Died at 87

England has lost an opera giant recently. Harrison Birtwistle, an influential English composer, passed away at 87 years old.

Birtwistle's longtime publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, confirmed his passing last Monday, Apr. 18, 2022.

Widely known for his artistry, vision, and style, Birtwistle was one of England's art, theatre, and music pillar.

However, as of this writing, Harrison Birtwistle's cause of death is still unknown to the public.

Who is Harrison Birtwistle?

Born in Arcington in 1934, Harrison Birtwistle trained to be a clarinetist and studied the instrument and composition at the Royal Manchester College of Music.

At the time, he met fellow composer giants Peter Maxwell Davies and Alexander Goeher, pianist John Ogdon and Trumpeter Elgar Howarth - all of them were prominently known at the Royal Manchester College of Music.

Harrison Birtwistle Music Career

Birtwistle then earned a fellowship at Princeton in 1965. He completed his first opera at the time "Punch and Judy."

According to Billboard, the English composer's opera work ranged from chamber pieces to large-scale operas.

His works were prominently performed in massive opera houses worldwide - The Royal Opera House, The English National Opera, Berlin's Deutsche Staatsoper, London's BBC Proms, and Chicago's Symphony Orchestra.

Among his notable works are "The Mask of Orpheus," "Exody," "Gawain," and "The Minotaur."

Most of the time, Birtwistle received mixed comments about his work.

Anna Picard of The Independent reviewed his "The Minotaur" in 2008: "Long on ugliness, short of redemptive beauty, rich with the rough, pungent poetry of David Harsent's libretto, Birtwistle's score is as violent as its subject."

In the late 80s, Birtwistle took home the $150,000 Grawemeyer Award for Composition from the University of Louisville in the US for "The Mask of Opheus." (via NPR)

In 1986, France made Birtwistke a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Two years later, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him, and he was elevated to a Companion of Honor in 2001 - a British Distinction only awarded to 65 living people.

Currently, The United Kingdom's National Portrait Gallery includes seven images of Sir Harrison Birtwistle, made by David Hockney, Lord Snowdon, and his painter son Adam Birtwistle.

Harrison's wife died in 2012, while his three sons, including Adam, survived him.