Sinan Savaskan

Who is Sinan Savaskan?

Sinan Savaskan is a British composer of contemporary classical music. He works and lives in London, England, where he Composer in Residence for the Octandre Ensemble; an Executive Committee member of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors; and Head of Department for Academic Music at Westminster School where he has instituted an energetic new music programme and taught many gifted composers and instrumentalists in modern classical concert music who now follow successful careers, and a number who moved into the popular music sphere.

Savaşkan is a singular figure on the new music scene. His music employs highly personal pitch-time structuring methods, derived from notions of spatial perspective and architecture. This pitch-time technique was first displayed in his chamber works 'Many Stares Through Semi-Nocturnal Zeiss Blink' and 'Antedonia'. The basis of the technique is the gradual circular rotation of pitch-classes moving at different speeds simultaneously; this rotation can be effected chromatically, micro-chromatically or through glissandi, or any combination of these. Since each rotating pitch-class may also be transposed through octave displacement, the resultant harmonic implications of three or more parts rotating in different directions at separate speeds can be quite complex and rich. 'Nodal' points are reached when two or more parts reach either a pure unison, or an octave, or some other simple consonance such as a perfect fifth, and these lend his music an unexpectedly clear sense of cadence at crucial structural points. In some pieces, such as the string quartet 'Speed/1969' the natural overtones of a rotating pitch may also be incorporated into the work's harmony. In others, such as the saxophone quartet 'The Street' the pitch-construction may incorporate elements from pre-existent popular or traditional musics.