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joined the BBC as an assistant film editor in 1961,
where his fascination with contemporary music
brought him into contact with Pierre Boulez. Over
the next 40 years they collaborated on a series of
analytical documentaries on the founding fathers
of 20
th
century music: Schönberg, Berg, Webern,
Bartók, Stravinsky, Ives, Varese, Messiaen and, of
course, Boulez himself. From the 1970s until the
end of the 20
th
century Gavin specialised in por-
traits of contemporary composers: Berio, Luigi
Nono, Stockhausen, Takemitsu, Birtwistle, Peter
Maxwell Davies, Mark-Anthony Turnage and
many others. In 1977 Gavin was invited to Germa-
ny to make a film about Kurt Weill. This marked
the beginning of a long association with German
television, resulting not only in many adventurous
documentaries but also in a new area of work for
Gavin, directing concerts for television. To date he
has been responsible for some 250 televised pro-
ductions of concerts and operas.
The vast majority of Gavin’s work has been about
music, but he also produced a series on classic
film directors in 1967 and a number of films about
literature and the visual arts, including
Sir William
in Search of Xanadu
(Award of Montreal Festival
of Films onArt, 1984) and
Images - A History of
Early Photography
(Award of NewYork Festival
of Films onArt, 1989).
Nieuw Ensemble
Ernest Rombout / oboe
Ernestine Stoop / harp
Angel Gimeno / violin
Frank Brakkee / viola
Jeroen den Herder / cello
The Nieuw Ensemble was founded in 1980 in
Amsterdam. It has a unique instrumental structure,
combining plucked instruments such as mandolin,
guitar and harp with wind, string and percussion.
The lack of literature for this group makes it de-
pendent upon composers, as composers have al-
ways been upon musicians. The Nieuw Ensemble
has thus set out to build its own repertoire, encour-
aged by continuous contact with composers from
different cultures, countries and generations, and
by long-term workshops for young composers.
More than 500 pieces have been written for the
ensemble. Ed Spanjaard has been its principal con-
ductor since 1982.
The Ensemble has been widely praised for its in-
novative programming. Its programmes have been
those dedicated to the work of a single composer,
Nieuw Ensemble
British Composer Jonathan Harvey