Cornelius Cardew was an English experimental composer and improviser born in London in 1936 who began his career in the 1950s, studying composition and becoming active in the post-war avant-garde and experimental music scene. His work ranged from early serial and experimental compositions employing graphic scores and indeterminacy to collective improvisation and the founding of the Scratch Orchestra, before a later shift towards politically engaged, socialist-oriented song and community music-making.
