MEET THE COMPOSER
From a virus that left him paralysed and partially sighted to a brain tumour which impacted his hearing, the British composer’s journey to success has been anything but easy. A new box set released to mark Stimpson’s 75th birthday features Tales from the 15th Floor, a piece for cello and piano based on his time in intensive care.
My first degree was in botany and zoology. I had a place to do a masters with the enivironmentalist David Bellamy, but during a drunken episode in a café in France I decided to change to music! My guitar playing was Grade 1 level, but I felt strongly that music was going to be the future. My twenties were spent doing grades and diplomas and trying to become a performer.
Tales from the 15th Floor is based on the time I spent in hospital. It was during my late twenties and was such a wild experience, because I was unconscious for about four-and-a-half months in intensive care, then totally paralysed. People said I should write a book about it, but I wrote a piece of music for cello and piano instead.
Starting over was an odd experience. A social worker said, ‘here’s your white stick’ and did I want to be a telephone operator or a piano tuner? I wasn’t keen on either so I began to try and learn to play again. I did the advanced course at the Royal Academy of Music, but by that time it had b
