Jonathan Harvey dies aged 73

5 December 2012, 18:07

British composer Jonathan Harvey has died, it has been confirmed by his publisher. He had been suffering from motor neurone disease.

The experimental British composer Jonathan Harvey has died at the age of 73. The news was confirmed today by his publisher, Faber Music.

Harvey had been suffering from motor neurone disease and finally succumbed to it at a hospice in Sussex yesterday evening. He held several positions at music colleges around Europe and the USA, and became notable for his experimental compositions.

After studying for a PhD at St John's College, Cambridge, Harvey took early influence from Second Viennese School composers like Schoenberg and Berg. He came into contact with Milton Babbitt and Pierre Boulez, who both had a notable influence on his work.

His most famous composition was the opera Wagner Dream from 2007, which utilises an electronic instrumental score.