Sir Harrison Birtwistle, CH (born 15 July 1934) is a British composer of contemporary classical music. Among his many compositions, he is best known for The Triumph of Time (1972) and his operas, particularly The Mask of Orpheus (1986), Gawain (1991) and The Minotaur (2008). The latter was ranked by music critics at The Guardian in 2019 as the third best piece of the 21st-century.