British composer Michael Finnissy

A major retrospective of the music of British composer Michael Finnissy will be presented in a series of free concerts Friday, Feb. 19, to Sunday, Feb. 21, at Pforzheimer House. The Pforzheimer Music Society and Learning from Performers (a program of the Office for the Arts at Harvard and Radcliffe) are the sponsors of the series.

One of the most important living British composers, Finnissy is associated with the "new complexity" style. His music reflects a fascination with folk music from many parts of the world, including Hungary, Australia, Britain, and the United States.

His works also show evidence of a thorough knowledge of -- and thoughtfulness about -- the masterpieces of Western art music as well as less mainstream schools of composition and musical practice. An interplay between ideas symbolizing the innocent, unconditioned response to music-making and rigorous, intellectual processes frequently creates an emotional quality in his work that has been described as "a happy melancholia." The shifts in balance between the two aspects have given rise to a variety of works, from the "complex" pieces where rhythmically independent melodies are piled on top of each other, fragmented and decorated, to compositions which focus on the quality of a single line given the simplest of accompaniments.

Born in London in 1946, Finnissy studied at the Royal College of Music in London. From there he went to Italy where he studied with Roman Vlad. His work is widely performed and broadcast worldwide. As a pianist he is particularly associated with the commissioning and performing of new British work. From 1990 until 1996 he was president of the International Society of Contemporary Music. He currently teaches at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and at the University of Sussex.

The bulk of the Pforzheimer Pfinnissy Pfestival consists of recitals of Finnissy's piano music by Ian Pace. Pace will perform on Friday, Feb. 19, and Sunday, Feb. 21. The Friday concert includes selections from Finnissy's mammoth work-in-progress, The History of Photography in Sound, as well as his composition for piano English Country Tunes. On Sunday Pace will play Finnissy's Folklore, Ferneyhough's Three Pieces, II, Lister's Sure of You, as well as pieces by Grieg, Bartok, Grainger, and others. The Friday performance begins at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, there are two different programs, beginning at 6:30 and at 8 p.m.

Saturday's concert by students of Harvard and students and faculty of the Preparatory School of the New England Conservatory begins at 8 p.m. It will include the first American performances of Recent Britain, Plain Harmony in its orchestral version, and Two Scenes from Shameful Vice for harp. Also featured Saturday will be Grainger's Blythe Bells, Handel in the Strand, The Lost Lady Found, and Harvest Hymn, and Billings' Hymns.