Cornelius Cardew

• Name — Cornelius Cardew • Born — 7 May 1936 • Birthplace — Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England • Died — 13 December 1981 • Place of death — London, England • Occupation — Composer • Years Active — 1960–1981 • Past Member Of — Scratch Orchestra

Cardew was born on 7 May 1936, in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. He was the second of three sons whose parents were both artists—his father was potter Michael Cardew. The family moved to Wenford Bridge Pottery in Cornwall a few years after his birth where he was first nurtured as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, and later at The King's School, Canterbury which had evacuated to the Carlyon Bay Hotel for the war. His musical career thus began as a chorister. From 1953 to 1957, Cardew studied piano, cello, and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Having won a scholarship to study at the recently established Studio for Electronic Music in Cologne, Cardew served as an assistant to Karlheinz Stockhausen from 1958 to 1960. He was given the task of independently working out the composition plans for the German composer's score Carré, and Stockhausen noted: As a musician he was outstanding because he was not only a good pianist but also a good improviser and I hired him to become my assistant in the late 50s and he worked with me for over three years. I gave him work to do which I have never given to any other musician, which means to work with me on the score I was composing. He was one of the best examples that you can find among musicians because he was well informed about the latest theories of composition as well as being a performer.

Cardew became a member of the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist) in the 1970s, and in 1979 was a co-founder and member of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist). His creative output from the demise of the Scratch Orchestra until his death reflected his political commitment. His 1986 Thälmann Variations commemorated Ernst Thälmann, leader of the Communist Party of Germany from 1925 to 1933. At a 1976 meeting of the Central London branch of the Musicians Union, he tabled a controversial motion denouncing David Bowie as a fascist, after Bowie said that "Britain is ready for a fascist leader... I think Britain could benefit from a fascist leader." The motion read: Although the vote was a tie, at twelve for and twelve against, a second motion was passed with a majority of 15–2. At the time of the punk rock explosion, he wrote a tract called "Punk Rock Is Fascist", where he described The Clash as "reactionary".

Cardew died on 13 December 1981 aged 45, the victim of a hit-and-run car crash near his London home in Leyton. The driver was never found. Musician John Tilbury, in his book Cornelius Cardew—A Life Unfinished suggests that the possibility that Cardew was killed because of his prominent Marxist-Leninist involvement "cannot be ruled out". Tilbury quotes a friend of Cardew's, John Maharg; "MI5 are quite ruthless; people don't realise it. And they kill pre-emptively". However, Howard Skempton recalled the treacherous weather conditions prevailing at the time of Cardew's death and suggests that Cardew could have been walking in the road to avoid the icy pavements and might have been hit by a drunken driver who drove off to avoid arrest. A 70th Birthday Anniversary Festival, including live music from all phases of Cardew's career and a symposium on his music, took place on 7 May 2006 at the Cecil Sharp House in London.

• In 1999, Page 183 of Cardew's Treatise was performed by the experimental rock group Sonic Youth on their album SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century. • "Cornelius Cardew" is the name of the unemployed pipe-fitter in Alan Moore's Skizz. • A character called "Cornelius Cardew" appears (as a caricature of a political radical) in the 1980 novel The Shooting Party. • The German musician and composer Ekkehard Ehlers published a Cardew-inspired work in 2001, titled Ekkehard Ehlers plays Cornelius Cardew, which was released on Staubgold Records. • The US band The Music Lovers name-checked Cardew in the song, "Thank You, Cornelius Cardew". It appears on their 2006 album, The Music Lovers' Guide for Young People.

Cornelius Cardew is recorded as composer, music theorist, university teacher, political activist and pianist.