Robert Saxton
was born in London in 1953. After early guidance from Benjamin Britten and study with Elisabeth Lutyens, he studied with Robin Holloway (Cambridge), with Robert Sherlaw Johnson (Oxford, as a postgraduate) and also with Luciano Berio. He was awarded first prize at the 1975 Gaudeamus International Music Week in Holland and spent 1985-6 at Princeton, USA, as Visiting Fulbright Arts Fellow.

Recent works include the opera The Wandering Jew; a song cycle for baritone Roderick Williams Time and the Seasons for the Oxford Lieder Festival; Hortus Musicae books 1 and 2, a piano cycle for pianist Clare Hammond; The Resurrection of the Soldiers commissioned jointly by George Vass for the 2016 Presteigne Festival and the English Symphony Orchestra and Kenneth Woods; Shakespeare Scenes, commissioned by the Orchestra of the Swan and trumpeter Simon Desbruslais; his fourth string quartet for the Kreutzer Quartet; Suite for Madeleine Mitchell and Clare Hammond, A Hymn to the Thames for oboist James Turnbull and the St Paul’s Sinfonia; and Fantasy Pieces for the Fidelio Trio.

Earlier commissions include works for the BBC (TV, Proms and Radio), LSO, LPO, ECO, London Sinfonietta, Nash Ensemble, Northern Sinfonia and David Blake (conductor), Antara, Arditti and Chilingirian String Quartets, St Paul Chamber Orchestra (USA), Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival/Opera North, Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, City of London, Three Choirs and Lichfield festivals, Stephen Darlington and the choir of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, the choir of Merton College Oxford, Susan Milan, Susan Bradshaw and Richard Rodney Bennett, Simon Desbruslais, Clare Hammond, Edward Wickham and The Clerks’ Group, Teresa Cahill, Leon Fleisher, Tasmin Little, Steven Isserlis, Mstislav Rostropovich, John Wallace and the Raphael Wallfisch and John York duo.

Recordings have appeared on the Sony Classical, Hyperion, Metier, EMI, NMC, Divine Art, Métier, Toccata Classics and Signum labels.

Robert Saxton was Professor of Composition at Oxford University and tutorial fellow in music at Worcester College until his retirement in July 2021. He has been Composer-in-Association at the Purcell School for Young Musicians since 2013 and was appointed Hon Research Fellow (Composition) at the Royal Academy of Music in 2021. He is married to the soprano, Teresa Cahill.