Immediate Release

Lost Anthony Burgess composition to receive rare performance after 60 years

To The Fallen: Remembrance Concert Sunday 11 November, 3pm, IWM North Main Exhibition Space Free entry – Donations welcome

An important piece of music which was thought lost for more than 60 years - written by A Clockwork Orange author and internationally acclaimed composer Anthony Burgess - will receive its first major public performance in a special concert at IWM North, part of Imperial War Museums, in Manchester this Remembrance Sunday.

The composition, Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, is dedicated ‘For The Dead’ of the Second World War and was written when Burgess was on active service in Gibraltar in 1945. It disappeared for more than 60 years before being discovered again in 2011. The sonata is considered an important discovery to the understanding of Burgess’ musical career, as his time in Gibraltar during the Second World War was a significant period in his musical life.

Very little of the music Burgess wrote while abroad has survived. The sonata is his earliest surviving complete piece. After the Second World War, he left the sonata with friends for safekeeping but it was not seen again until it was discovered in boxes retrieved from Burgess' house in Italy by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation.

Burgess, who died in 1993 aged 76, was a novelist, composer, poet, playwright, linguist, translator and critic. As well as writing 60 books including novels, non-fiction, journalism and memoir, he composed more than 150 musical works which are only now beginning to receive critical acclaim.

He left Manchester in 1940 to serve in the Second World War, where he played the piano in a regimental dance band and composed music.

The event at IWM North, at 3pm on Sunday 11 November in Burgess’ home city of Manchester, is in conjunction with the International Anthony Burgess Foundation and leading contemporary ensemble Psappha..

The free event at IWM North will also include readings of poetry by Burgess, as well as by famous poets of the First World War period, including Siegfried Sassoon and Rupert Brooke. Some of Sassoon’s medical papers are on display in IWM North’s major current exhibition, Saving Lives : Frontline Medicine in a Century of Conflict.

The performance is part of a series of activities, tours and experiences to mark Remembrance at IWM North this November. Every day at 11am, from 5-11 November, visitors can experience the unique Remembrance Big Picture Show – a 360-degree audiovisual show using photographs, moving images and surround sound to create a fully immersive experience. This show looks at the origins of Remembrance in the First World War through to more recent loss in Afghanistan in 2010.

Tours of the Main Exhibition Space reveal moving personal stories behind significant items from history, such as the field gun that fired the British Army’s first shell of the First World War. Object handling, creative activities and family friendly theatrical performances are not to be missed.

Find out more at iwm.org.uk or connect with IWM North on facebook.com/iwm.north or on twitter @I_W_M #IWMNorth . To connect with the International Anthony Burgess Foundation on twitter, follow @misterenderby

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For further press information please contact: Alex Knight, Press & PR Manager, IWM North, 0161 836 4040, [email protected] Sam Howard, Marketing & PR Co-ordinator, IWM North, 0161 836 4043, [email protected]

Notes to Editors

This will be the first major performance of Burgess’ Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor. The only other previous public performances were held a village hall in 1945 and a small event at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation.

The International Anthony Burgess Foundation is an educational charity that encourages and supports public and scholarly interest in all aspects of the life and work of Anthony Burgess. www.anthonyburgess.org

Anthony Burgess John Burgess Wilson (1917-1993), who wrote under the pen name Anthony Burgess, was a novelist, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. In total he wrote 33 novels, 25 works of non- fiction, two volumes of autobiography, three symphonies, more than 150 other musical works, enormous quantities of journalism and much more. He was born in north Manchester, grew up in Harpurhey and Moss Side, and was educated at Xaverian College and Manchester University. He served as an education officer in the British army from 1940 until 1946. In later life he lived in Malaya, Malta, Italy, Monaco and America, among other places. His books are still widely read all over the world.

Psappha is Manchester's new music ensemble and one of the UK's top contemporary music groups. It was formed in 1991 by its Artistic Director Tim Williams and specialises in the performance of music by living composers and that of the 20th and 21st centuries. Psappha is the official University of Salford MediaCityUK Ensemble. www.psappha.com

DETAILED LISTING INFORMATION ON REMEMBRANCE EVENTS AT IWM NORTH:

Remembrance Big Picture Show Daily from Monday 5 to Sunday 11 November 11am (following 2 minute silence at 11am on 11 November), Main Exhibition Space An experience unique to IWM North, this 360-degree audiovisual show uses photographs, moving images and surround sound to create a fully immersive experience. This show looks at the origins of Remembrance in the First World War through to more recent loss in Iraq in 2010.

A Closer Look: Remembrance (Ideal for ages 14+)* Daily from Sunday 4 to Friday 9 November, 2.15pm Sunday 11 November, 10.15am, 11.15am, 12.15pm, 1.15pm Meet at the Tour Point in the Foyer To mark the Remembrance period, join us for a walk and talk around our exhibition spaces to discover intriguing artefacts and moving personal stories including that of Bombardier W H King who served with the crew of the Royal Horse Artillery ‘E’ Battery 13-Pounder Field Gun. This field gun fired the British army’s first shell of the First World War on 22 August 1914 and provides just one stop on this informative tour.

*The tour on Sunday 4 November will be followed by a chance to handle artefacts from IWM’s collection linked to acts of Remembrance.

In Focus: Remembrance (Ideal for ages 14+)* Sunday 11 November, 2.15pm Learning Studio To mark the Remembrance period, join us for a special handling session looking at artefacts from IWM’s collection, with the opportunity to learn about the moving story of local First World War soldier, Richard Smethhurst including the chance to see his medals, letters home and next of kin memorial plaque.

*This session will be Audio Described.

What A Performance: Remembrance (Ideal for all ages) Thursday 1, Saturday 3 and 10 November 11.15am, 12.15pm, 1.15pm, 2.15pm Main Exhibition Space See one of our specially commissioned family friendly performances dramatising stories of wartime adventure. Marking Remembrance these performances include the story of Violet who lived through the First World War (1 and 10 November) and of a First World War Tommy (3 November).

Animals and War (ideal for ages 4 – 10) Saturdays 10 and 17 November, 11.30am. Meet underneath the Harrier Jump Jet Meet a host of puppet characters including Bonfire the horse owned by poet John McCrae. Hear their heroic and heart-warming tales of wartime animal bravery. These special sessions focus on the First World War to coincide with our programme of events for Remembrance.

Open Studio: Poppy Craft Saturday 10 and 17 November 1-4pm, Learning Studio Join us for this special Remembrance themed craft session. Create your own poppy stems and decorate a beautiful mini ceramic vase to sit them in. This session also offers the chance to see a First World War memorial plaque from IWM's collection.

Hotspots (All ages) Sunday 11 and 18 November, 2.30pm* Blue Room/ Main Exhibition Space Creative sessions using a range of art and craft materials to help you make your own unique souvenir to take home and keep. This sessions offer the chance to make a Remembrance poppy bookmark.

*An extended session will take place on Sunday 11 November and will run from 2-3pm

IWM North The multi award winning IWM North is designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind to represent a globe shattered by conflict. The iconic building, innovative and dynamic exhibitions, use of digital media through hourly Big Picture Shows and public events explore how war shapes lives and inspire and encourage debate.

Open daily from 10am - 5pm with free admission at The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester M17 1TZ (close to MediaCityUK Metrolink and Junction 9 of the M60) T: 0161 836 4000 E:[email protected] www.iwm.org.uk

IWM IWM (Imperial War Museums) tells the story of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since the First World War.

Our unique collections, made up of the everyday and the exceptional, reveal stories of people, places, ideas and events. Using these, we tell vivid personal stories and create powerful physical experiences across our five museums that reflect the realities of war as both a destructive and creative force. We challenge people to look at conflict from different perspectives, enriching their understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war and its impact on people’s lives.

IWM’s five branches are IWM London, IWM’s flagship branch with six floors of exhibitions and displays; IWM North, housed in an iconic award-winning building designed by Daniel Libeskind; IWM Duxford, a world renowned aviation museum and Britain's best preserved wartime airfield; Churchill War Rooms, housed in Churchill’s secret headquarters below Whitehall; and the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast.

First World War Centenary 2014 - 2018 marks the centenary of the First World War, a landmark anniversary for Britain and the world. IWM will mark the centenary by leading a vibrant, four year programme of cultural activities across the country, including the opening of brand new First World War galleries at IWM London in 2014. For more information visit www.1914.org