Page "Michael Finnissy" Paragraph 14

Finnissy became known for the political side of music, and he believes that all music is ' programmatic ' to some degree, that is, a composition exists in not just the composer's mind, but inside a culture that reflects both the extra-musical and purely musical concerns of the composer.

Music, far from being unable to express anything other than itself ( as Stravinsky said ) is a force for change.

This engagement with political and social themes became more frequent as his career progressed.

For example, the influence of homosexual themes and concerns began to enter his work ; as in Shameful Vice in 1994, and more explicitly in Seventeen Immortal Homosexual Poets in 1997.