‘A cry of rage… striking, unforgettable’

Hugh Canning, Operalogue

Noah Max creates from scratch in a variety of mediums. He is the writer of more than 60 works for the opera stage and concert hall which have been performed at venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room in London, as well as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, Altalena Festival in Budapest and the Paderewski Academy in Poland. Performances in 2026 take place at Paris’ Salle Cortot and in Aarhus, Denmark.

In 2021 Max was awarded the Clements Prize. His debut album Songs of Loneliness was released on Toccata Classics in 2022; String Quartets No.1 – 4 with the Tippet Quartet followed to critical acclaim in 2025, featuring narration from Sir Michael Morpurgo. Recent commissions have included new works for Aarhus Sinfonietta, the London Mozart Players and Imogen Whitehead; forthcoming projects include collaborations with Ian Bostridge, Hugo Ticciati and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Noah Max’s music is published worldwide by Birdsong (a HarrisonParrott-associated company) and by United Music Publishing. In addition he self-publishes a variety of pieces.

Max spent five years bringing his debut opera A Child In Striped Pyjamas op.34 to the stage by special arrangement with Miramax, culminating in a sold-out premiere production at London’s Cockpit Theatre in 2023. The opera was lauded by critics as ‘emotionally ambitious and vocally eloquent’ (The Telegraph) and ‘marvellously scored… A remarkable achievement for a young composer’ (The Arts Desk). Max was interviewed about the opera by The Sunday Times and BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, with excerpts from the piece also broadcast on RTÉ Radio. The opera was revived at Brundibár Arts Festival in 2024.

Max’s artworks have been displayed at the National Portrait Gallery. His fourth solo show entitled REDACTION took place at The Tabernacle, London during November 2024.

Max has been interviewed for BBC Music Magazine, Classical Music and Opera Today; his music has featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, The New Music Show, RTE Radio 1 Arena and RTE Lyric Radio.

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