Robert Saxton studied under Benjamin Britten and Elisabeth Lutyens and, at various stages of his musical education, with contemporaries such as Robin Holloway (Cambridge), Robert Sherlaw Johnson (Oxford) and Luciano Berio. At the age of 21, he won the prestigious Gaudeamus International Composers Prize.
His recent works include the opera ‘The Wandering Jew’; a song cycle for baritone Roderick Williams ‘Time and the Seasons’ for the Oxford Lieder Festival in 2013; ‘Hortus Musicae’ books 1 and 2, a piano cycle for pianist Clare Hammond; ‘The Resurrection of the Soldiers’ commissioned jointly by George Vass for the 2016 Presteigne Festival and the English Symphony Orchestra and Kenneth Woods; ‘Shakespeare Scenes’, commissioned by the Orchestra of the Swan and trumpeter Simon Desbruslais; his fourth string quartet for the Kreutzer Quartet; ‘A Hymn to the Thames’ for oboist James Turnbull and the St Paul’s Sinfonia; and ‘Fantasy Pieces’ for the Fidelio Trio. Recent recordings include a portrait CD of piano music on Toccata Classics and ‘Shakespeare Scenes’ on Signum.
Earlier commissions include works for the BBC (TV, Proms and Radio), LSO, LPO, ECO, London Sinfonietta, Nash Ensemble, Northern Sinfonia and David Blake (conductor), Antara, Arditti and Chilingirian String Quartets, St Paul Chamber Orchestra (USA), Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival/Opera North, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, City of London, Three Choirs and Lichfield festivals, Stephen Darlington and the choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, the choir of Merton College Oxford, Susan Milan, Susan Bradshaw and Richard Rodney Bennett, Simon Desbruslais, Clare Hammond, Edward Wickham and The Clerks’ Group, Teresa Cahill, Leon Fleisher, Tamsin Little, Steven Isserlis, Mstislav Rostropovich, John Wallace and the Raphael Wallfisch and John York duo.
Recordings have appeared on the Sony Classical, Hyperion, Metier, EMI, NMC, Divine Art, Toccata Classics and Signum labels.
In addition to being Composer in Association at Purcell, Robert is Professor of Composition at Oxford University, where he is tutorial fellow in music at Worcester College. He is married to the soprano, Teresa Cahill.
