In which our author hunts for the Moonstone and rewrites Sherlock Holmes. Although Anthony Burgess is often thought of as an upmarket literary writer, he was deeply engaged throughout his writing life with popular forms of writing. Beyond his involvement in writing historical fiction, science fiction, and Cold War spy novels, he had a serious […]
Daniel Felsenfeld will compose a new work for 2025, based on an unpublished Anthony Burgess poem. The American composer Daniel Felsenfeld (b. 1970) has been invited to create a new work for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble, based on a poem by Anthony Burgess (1917-1993). Commissioned by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, the piece will be […]
In this episode of the Burgess Foundation Podcast, Andrew Biswell explores The Devil Prefers Mozart, a new collection of Anthony Burgess’s essays on music, with the book’s editor, Paul Phillips. The Devil Prefers Mozart: On Music and Musicians, covers classical, modern and operatic works, as well as jazz, pop, heavy metal and punk. This episode […]
A new selection of Burgess’s essays about music will be published on 25 January. Music surrounded Burgess throughout his early years in Manchester. He came from a family of musicians: his mother had been a music-hall singer, and his father played piano in pubs, music halls and silent cinemas. In his book about music and […]
John Anthony Burgess Wilson was born in Harpurhey, north Manchester, on 25 February 1917, just as the pubs were opening. To celebrate his birthday, we are very pleased to present the first recording of Burgess’s Sonata for English Horn, composed as a gift for his son Andrew Burgess-Wilson, who was also a musician. The sonata […]
Preserving the Burgess Foundation’s collection of books, archival records, and objects is an ongoing challenge. Time spent in countries such as Malaya and Brunei, as well as travels throughout Europe, America, and the UK, brought with it exposure to termites, damp, floods, heat, and sunlight. Such conditions, coupled with frequent handling and the passage of […]
Philip Larkin, who was born 100 years ago, was a twentieth-century novelist, poet and music critic whose place among the immortals remains uncertain. Although Larkin’s writing was popular during his lifetime, his reputation was badly damaged by the revelation, in a posthumous edition of his letters, that he was an enthusiastic racist and misogynist. His […]
In 2021, the youthful Manchester-based chamber ensemble No Dice Collective recorded a pair of seldom played compositions by Anthony Burgess, his Concerto for Flute, Strings and Piano in D Minor and Quartet for Flute, Oboe, ’Cello and Piano. Composed nearly forty years apart, these two works highlight complementary aspects of Burgess’s musical style. The concerto […]
2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the first release of Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, and 60 years since Anthony Burgess completed his most famous novel. To celebrate the anniversary, we are presenting an online series called The Clockwork Collection, with a focus on A Clockwork Orange. Each month we’ll be sharing […]
Clockwork Controversy: Myth: Mick Jagger once owned the film rights to A Clockwork Orange. Fact: Mick Jagger never owned the rights. But there were rumours that he and the Rolling Stones would play Alex and the droogs. ‘We, the undersigned, do hereby protest with extreme vehemence as well as shattered illusions (in you) the preference […]