
Luke Batterham
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ANTHONY BURGESS THE COMPOSER: 'Despite his fame as a literary figure, Anthony Burgess has been remarkably unrecognized and underappreciated as a composer. Known to the public almost exclusively as an author, Burgess was also a talented and prolific composer who wrote over 175 musical works during a compositional career that spanned more than 60 years. The literary and musical sides of Burgess's creative life are far more evenly balanced than they appeared in public and to a large degree are interrelated, as future studies of Burgess's books and compositions will be certain to illuminate' (Paul S. Phillips, 'The Music of Anthony Burgess', The Anthony Burgss Centre). However little written from before his move to Italy with his second wife Liana appears to have survived: 'Most of the scores written before 1970 are thought to have disappeared' (Michael Ratcliffe (ODNB). The largest remaining collection of his scores is at the Harry Ransome Research Center, Texas, purchased from his second wife in 1997, with others at McMaster University, Toronto.
Provenance: believed to have been given by Burgess to the vendor's father, Colonel Bill Vickers, a self taught jazz guitarist of some note and follower of Django Reinhardt, after they met during World War II.