I
am a musicologist writing about recent contemporary music in
western and central Europe and north America. My work falls into
the categories of composer biography, music theory and analysis,
and the critical historiography of music. Areas of specialism
include American "experimental" music; microtonal and spectral
music; and the new music scene in Ireland. I have written about
music of highly diverse kinds, manifesting strongly divergent
aesthetic positions; the underlying thread is my fascination with
creative individuals with strong, distinct identities. I am the
author of Harry Partch: a biography (Yale University Press,
1998), a study of the pioneering American composer, theorist and
instrument builder, and am presently completing a biography of the
French-Canadian composer Claude Vivier. I am also active as
director and keyboard player of Trio Scordatura, an Amsterdam-based
ensemble specialising in music exploring alternative tuning
systems. I presently teach contemporary music at Brunel University
in London.