Since 1998, Waterhouse has organised a concert series at the Gasteig in Munich, often playing with members of the Munich Philharmonic. His works have been performed internationally and several have been recorded. He has been awarded prizes for several of his compositions, and has been composer in residence at institutions in European countries. He achieved a PhD from the University of Birmingham in 2018. From 2020, his compositions have been published by Schott.
In 2001, Waterhouse was the composer in residence of Solisten der Kammerphilharmonie Berlin, in 2006 artiste en residence in Albertville, France, and in 2008 Musician By-Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge.[1]
As a composer and a performer, he is mostly dedicated to chamber music, and has co-founded several chamber ensembles, including the Vuillaume-Cello-Ensemble playing instruments built by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. He established in 1998 a regular chamber music concert series at Gasteig Munich, programming contemporary works alongside classical repertory.[4] Players for his chamber music concerts have included members of the Munich Philharmonic, such as bassoonist Lyndon Watts. Waterhouse has collaborated with the composers Jens Josef (flute) and Rudi Spring (piano). They appeared together in a trio concert at the Gasteig, performing Martinů's trio, the premiere of the flute version of Gestural Variations, and a Christmas carol by each composer, In dulci jubilo set by Waterhouse.[5] The song Im Gebirg (The Mountain) on a poem of Hans Krieger for mezzo-soprano, alto flute, cello and piano, was premiered at the Gasteig in 2010 by Martina Koppelstetter, Jens Josef, the composer and Christopher White.[6] In a concert The Proud Bassoon in Wigmore Hall, celebrating his father on 16 April 2011, he performed as a cellist, and two works he had written in memory of his father, Epitaphium and Bright Angel, received their premiere in the UK.[7][8] In a concert concluding the Gasteig's Liszt Festival to honour the 200th birthday of Franz Liszt, his chamber music scored for piano solo up to piano and string quartet appeared in the context of pieces in similar settings by Liszt.[9] In 2011, he composed a Christmas cantata on a text by Krieger.[1][10] In 2013 his piano trio Bells of Beyond was premiered at the Gasteig with Yury Revich and Valentina Babor.[11]Incantations, a Concerto da camera for piano and ensemble, was premiered and recorded in Birmingham on 26 March 2015 at the CBSO Centre with Huw Watkins, piano, and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, conducted by Richard Baker.[1]
His music has been recorded, notably on Portrait (2001) with works for piano, clarinet and cello,[15] and Portrait 2 (2004) with music for string orchestra, played by the English Chamber Orchestra, and for wind ensemble, played by Endymion.[16][17]
In 2018, he achieved a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham,[18] with a thesis Incantations / Concerto da Camera for Piano and Ensemble (2015) / The balance of traditional and progressive musical parameters through the concertante treatment of the piano.[19]
Performances and reviews
Waterhouse's 50th birthday was celebrated with concerts dedicated to his works in London, Munich and Frankfurt, featuring performances of chamber music by members of the Munich Philharmonic. Peter Grahame Woolf wrote about the Graham Waterhouse Portrait Concert at Highgate School on 9 October 2012, focussing on the string quartet Prophetiae Sibyllarum and Rhapsodie Macabre. A review in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of the concert at the Gasteig on 4 November 2012 was titled "Hochexpressiv" (Highly expressive) and covered additionally Praeludium, Bassoon Quintet and Piccolo Quintet. Reinhard Palmer wrote in the magazine Neue Musikzeitung about the concert in Munich, under the title "Beliebter Außenseiter" (Popular outsider), comparing the quintets to concertos, noting the influence of Karol Szymanowski and Witold Lutoslawski and the qualities of musical story-telling.[20] The broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk aired an interview on his birthday.[21]
Final bow by all players after GW60 concert, Szydlo standing in the audience
On the occasion of his 60th birthday, a concert GW60 was given with colleagues and friends at the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche of the Munich Residence on 5 November 2022.[22] His school chemistry teacher, Andrew Z. Szydlo, with whom he had played chamber music, held a laudation, and his chemical experiments inspired a new string quartet, Alchymic Quartet.[23] The program of chamber music from five decades of composing included the piano quartet Skylla und Charybdis (2011), the new quartet, the clarinet-cello-piano trio Concentricities (2019), and the String Sextet op. 1, spanning composition time from 1979 to 2013. Among the 14 musicians were violinist David Frühwirth, violist Konstantin Sellheim, and pianist Katharina Sellheim.[22][23]
^Cox, Jefferey (2000). "Twentieth Century Bassoon Concertos"(PDF). The Double Reed. International Double Reed Society. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2009. Since then, Jefferey has tried to promote interest in the bassoon and in that cause commissioned a suite of pieces for bassoon and piano, collectively entitled "Diplo-Diversions", from Graham Waterhouse. This was published in 1997 by Hofmeister Verlag and premiered by Bill and Graham Waterhouse at the IDRS Congress in Tempe, Arizona, in summer 1998.
