Kenneth Hesketh has been described as “one of the UK's most vibrant voices, having a brand of modernism that reveals true love for sound itself” (International Piano) and as "a composer who both has something to say and the means to say it” (Tempo magazine). Hesketh has received numerous national and international commissions and has worked with leading ensembles and orchestras in the USA, Far East and Europe. He is a professor of composition and orchestration at the Royal College of Music, honorary professor at Liverpool University and active as a guest lecturer.
He has received numerous national and international commissions, including the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, a Faber Millennium Commission for Birmingham Contemporary Music Group premiered under Sir Simon Rattle, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko, the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Vasilly Sinaisky, Hans Werner Henze and the Endymion Ensemble (in honour of Henze's 75th birthday), the Munich Biennale, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Michael Vyner Trust for the London Sinfonietta, the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester, The Opera Group, Britten Sinfonia, ensemble Psappha and Kissinger Sommer Internationales Musikfestival. Between 2007 to 2009 Hesketh was Composer in the House (Royal Philharmonic Society/ PRS Foundation scheme) with the RLPO. He has been represented at festivals from London (Proms) to the USA (Tanglewood/Bowdoin) to China (Beijing Modern Music Festival). In 2017 Hesketh's 'In Ictu Oculi' for wind orchestra won the 'Wind Band or Brass Band' category of the 2017 British Composer Awards. The panel described the winning piece “as a mature and highly imaginative work that gives the listener an ever more rewarding experience. The writing for instruments show complete mastery of the medium with continually evolving and evocative textures."
His work has been recorded by BIS, NMC, London Sinfonietta, Psappha and Prima Facie labels; the first NMC recording (titled Wunderkammer(konzert) and released in 2013) was devoted to large ensemble and orchestral works. A disc of Hesketh's piano music performed by pianist Clare Hammond was released by BIS in 2016; in the same year the Prima Facie label released a chamber music disc performed by the Continuum Ensemble. All discs were released to critical acclaim.
Hesketh's natural flair for the theatrical has led to work for the stage. His dance work, Forms entangled, shapes collided, commissioned by ensemble Psappha and Phoenix Dance Theatre, through the support of The Royal Philharmonic Society Drummond Fund, toured nationally throughout 2013 with final performances in the Royal Opera House’s Lindbury Theatre. His interest in the bizarre and eerie on celluloid has led to three scores for the medium, including ‘a darting, phantastical score’ (The Telegraph) for ‘Hände’, premiered by pianist Clare Hammond. A score for the film ‘Ein Lichtspiel, Schwarz-weiss-grau’ (1930) by the Hungarian László Moholy-Nagy was deemed "a refreshingly unique, novel and hugely intelligent approach to the mechanical in music" (Classicalsource.com) whilst his score for Theatre of Attractions "inhabits a more darkly-hued sound-world. Obsessive rhythms are combined with immense elemental energy that spills over into unbridled aggression and a manic sense of propulsion." (Musicweb-international).
“Hesketh's music is beautiful, complex and restless ... His response to musical form is particularly remarkable ... The colorful orchestration and palpable verve in the individual gestures and large-scale construction make me want to return to them again and again.” American Record Guide
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Hesketh's Hände – Music for Piano was released on November 29, 2024, on the Paladino Music label. The disc showcases a decade-long collaboration between Hesketh and pianist Clare Hammond, encompassing works composed specifically for her, as well as earlier pieces. Described as "a journey through time and sound" the disc "rediscovers the possibilities of the piano on an album where music, life, poetry and visual art merge masterfully".
Hesketh's orchestration of Ravel’s Sites auriculaires received its World Premiere on January 25, 2025, at MediaCityUK, Salford, performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Mark Wigglesworth.
Hesketh's arrangement of the traditional carol Gabriel's Message received its World Premiere on December 19, 2024, at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, performed by the City of Birmingham Chorus and Orchestra under conductor Simon Halsey.
Hesketh's Uncoiling the River for piano and orchestra received its Irish Premiere on December 6, 2024, at Ulster Hall, Belfast, performed by pianist Clare Hammond with the Ulster Orchestra under conductor Anna Rakitina.
Hesketh has contributed to the production of a new edition of Ravel’s opera L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, collaborating with the Ravel Edition. The revised edition was released in November 2024 and is part of the Ravel Edition's projects for the Ravel 2025 anniversary year.
The editorial panel for this edition includes:
George Benjamin (composer)
Kenneth Hesketh (composer)
Adrien Perruchon (conductor)
Hesketh's Pattersongs for orchestra received its World Premiere on October 13, 2024, at Bristol Beacon, Bristol, performed by the Sinfonia of London under conductor John Wilson.
Hesketh's Sonatine received its World Premiere on September 26, 2024, at MediaCityUK, Salford, performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Paul Daniel.
Hesketh's orchestration of Lili Boulanger’s “Trois Morceaux” will receive its World Premiere at the closing concert of the Young Musicians Festival, on the 19th September at the Gulbenkian Auditorium, Lisbon.
Hesketh has now signed contracts for two orchestrations of works by Maurice Ravel in collaboration with the Ravel Edition, (Sites auriculaires and Sonatine). Scheduling dates for these orchestrations will be announced shortly.