RCM Insights: Finnissy & Folk

Composer and RCM alumnus Michael Finnissy discusses how folk music has inspired his work, alongside performances of pieces from his album Folklore, a four‑part cycle of piano works composed between the 1990s and 2005.

By deconstructing and reimagining melodies from a wide range of folk traditions, he explains how they are transformed into complex yet engaging avant‑garde works.

FINNISSY & FELDMAN: Two great recent composers share both musical characteristics and, this year, important anniversaries: the 80th birthday of British composer and RCM alumnus Michael Finnissy, and the centenary of American composer Morton Feldman’s birth.

In celebration of these avant garde, radical musicians – whose work focuses on sound, texture, innovative notation and performance techniques – the RCM presents three concerts showcasing their remarkable chamber repertoire.