Cornelius Cardew

Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) was an English composer who started out in a highly experimental vein, having been an assistant to Karlheinz Stockhausen and a correspondent with a number of the era’s leading lights. Active in Marxist-Maoist causes, he later spurned experimental music for “people’s liberation music.” He founded the Scratch Orchestra and frequently drew scores graphically instead of with traditional notation. He was killed in a hit-and-run accident outside his home.