Thomas Adès (born in London in 1971) is a British composer. He is Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival, Music Director of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Britten Professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
Adès studied piano with Paul Berkowitz and later composition with Robert Saxton at Guildhall School, London. He graduated in 1992 from King's College, Cambridge after studying with Alexander Goehr and Robin Holloway . His first opus, Five Eliot Landscapes, was published in 1990. In 1995 his chamber opera Powder Her Face won both good reviews and notoriety for its musical depiction of fellatio. Asyla was performed in the 1999 Proms series. His opera "The Tempest" which was adapted from the Shakespeare play was premièred to critical acclaim at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in February 2004.
In addition to his work as a composer, he is a noted pianist, able to perform Conlon Nancarrow's Three Canons for Ursula (Thomas Ades: Piano, ASIN B00004W47B).
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