Directory

Aaron Copland

1900–1990, AMERICAN

One of the outstanding figures in 20th-century American music, Copland was a pianist, conductor, writer, teacher, and concert organizer, as well as the composer of a large, varied, and memorable body of work. His training included a period of study in Paris with French composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger (1921–1924). Although he was sometimes influenced by various avant-garde elements, he is best known for works of wide popular appeal in an accessible, distinctively US idiom, sometimes quoting folk songs, with lively rhythms and a bracing sense of the open air. Particularly well known in this vein are his ballets Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring. His other work includes three symphonies, two concertos (for piano and clarinet), chamber and instrumental music, songs, choral pieces, and compositions for the stage, film, and television.

KEY WORKS: Fanfare for the Common Man, 1942; Appalachian Spring, 1944; Clarinet Concerto, 1948; The Tender Land (opera), 1954

Aram Khachaturian

1903–1978, ARMENIAN

Although his parents were Armenian, Khachaturian was born in Georgia, spent most of his life in Moscow, and throughout his career was regarded as a Soviet composer (Armenia was part of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991). Nevertheless, his music was strongly influenced by Armenian folk traditions and he is now generally considered to be one of the country’s leading cultural heroes. With his great contemporaries Prokofiev and Shostakovich, he was officially censured in 1948 for showing “decadent” Western influence in his work, but generally he managed to negotiate the strictures of the Soviet regime. Over the years he received many official honors in the USSR as well as international recognition. Khachaturian’s diverse output includes symphonies, concertos, instrumental, chamber, and vocal music, and numerous film scores. His most famous works are probably his ballets Gayane (which includes the famous “Sabre Dance”) and Spartacus, which reveal his exuberant, richly colorful style.

KEY WORKS: Violin Concerto, 1940; Gayane, 1942; Spartacus, 1956; Concerto-Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra, 1963

Samuel Barber

1910–1981, AMERICAN

Barber came from a musical family and began composing at the age of seven. Although there are certain Modernist features in his music, essentially he worked in a fairly conservative, warmly expressive idiom that brought him acclaim and honors throughout his career. Toward the end of his life he said, “There’s no reason music should be difficult for an audience to understand,” and many of his works have indeed achieved broad and enduring popularity (above all, the poignant, elegiac Adagio for Strings, which has often been played or broadcast to accompany or commemorate solemn events). Barber's output was fairly small but highly varied, including symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, chamber and instrumental music, and numerous songs—which were one of his favorite forms of expression. He was himself an accomplished singer and his bittersweet Knoxville: Summer of 1915 for soprano and orchestra is often regarded as one of his masterpieces.

KEY WORKS: Adagio for Strings, 1936; Violin Concerto,1940; Knoxville: Summer of 1915, 1947; Piano Concerto, 1962

John Cage

1912–1992, AMERICAN

One of the great experimentalists in musical history, Cage was a prominent figure in avant-garde circles in New York from the early 1940s, and by the mid-1960s he had become internationally renowned: he traveled widely, performing his works, and also spread his ideas through writing and lecturing. His music is extremely unorthodox, using unconventional sound sources as well as random and chance processes. In particular, he is famous for his use of the “prepared piano,” in which various small objects (of metal, rubber, or cloth, for example) are placed on or between the strings to alter the instrument’s sound. His most controversial piece is 4'33", in which the performer or performers remain silent for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, the quiet being punctuated only by random environmental sounds. Late in life, Cage also took up drawing and printmaking.

KEY WORKS: Sonata for Clarinet, 1933; The Seasons (ballet), 1947; 4'33", 1952; Cheap Imitation, 1969

Iannis Xenakis

1922–2001, GREEK-FRENCH

Born in Romania to Greek parents, Xenakis grew up mainly in Greece and in 1947 settled in Paris, becoming a French citizen in 1965. Before and after World War II (during which he lost an eye fighting with the Greek Resistance), he trained as an engineer, afterward working in Paris for 12 years (1948–1960) in the practice of the great architect Le Corbusier. He was largely self-taught in music. His engineering background gave him a deep understanding of mathematics and his highly original compositions have been described as mathematical processes transformed into music of primitive power. From the early 1960s, he often used computers to help create his works. A prolific writer, he taught at universities in Europe and the US, and is widely regarded as a major figure in the creation of an experimental climate for postwar music.

KEY WORKS: Metastaseis (for orchestra), 1954; Herma (for piano), 1961; Kraanerg (ballet for orchestra and tape), 1968; Psappha (for percussion), 1975

Pierre Boulez

1925–2016, FRENCH

As a composer, conductor, writer, and founder of musical institutions, Boulez was a leading figure in classical music throughout most of his long career, and was a fearsomely outspoken champion of the avant-garde. Originally, he excelled as a mathematician, and his music is complex and intellectual. He took up conducting as a way of advocating his own and other new music, but he developed into one of the foremost international conductors of his generation, performing with some of the world’s leading orchestras and making many acclaimed recordings (mainly of 20th-century music, but also, for example, of Wagner’s Ring cycle). He was also the founding director of IRCAM (opened 1978), a government-sponsored institute in Paris for research into music and technology, and for many years he toured with its instrumental group, the Ensemble interContemporain.

KEY WORKS: Piano Sonata No. 1, 1946; Le Marteau sans maître (The Hammer without a Master), 1955; Pli selon pli (Fold by Fold), 1962; Dialogue de l’ombre double (Dialogue of the Double Shadow), 1985

Luciano Berio

1925–2003, ITALIAN

Berio was the leading Italian avant-garde composer of the second half of the 20th century. There had been musicians in his family for several generations and he was composing by his early teens. Initially, he was influenced by Stravinsky, but he soon became more experimental, and in particular he explored electronic music and the use of sounds such as street noises. He also wrote in various genres for a wide range of conventional instruments and for voice (the first of his three wives was the US mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian, a notable interpreter of his music). Although his work is intellectually complex, it has also been described as compassionately human, with strong lyrical and dramatic elements, as well as humor. Berio taught at various institutions in Europe and the US and he was regarded by many of his admirers as a kind of musical guru.

KEY WORKS: Circles (for female voice, harp, and two percussionists), 1960; Sinfonia (for orchestra and eight amplified voices), 1969; Un re in ascolto (A King Listens, opera), 1984; Rendering (for orchestra), 1990

Hans Werner Henze

1926–2012, GERMAN

Although he worked in various genres, Henze was above all a man of the theater—the leading avant-garde opera composer of his generation. He spent his early career in Germany, then moved to Italy in 1963; he also traveled widely to supervise and conduct his work and to teach (in Cuba, England, and the US, for example). His work was strongly influenced by his socialist political views—he said he always wanted to produce “something the masses can understand.” One of his best-known compositions, the oratorio The Raft of the Medusa, was written in honor of the recently killed revolutionary Che Guevara and provoked a riot at its premiere in Hamburg in 1968. In addition to operas, ballets, and other stage works, his output included much orchestral music (notably 10 symphonies) and chamber music. Stylistically his work is varied, influenced by jazz and Arabic music, among other sources.

KEY WORKS: Boulevard Solitude, 1951; The Raft of the Medusa, 1968; We Come to the River, 1976; Symphony No. 10, 2000

Sofia Gubaidulina

born 1931, RUSSIAN

The outstanding female composer to emerge from the Soviet Union, Gubaidulina has lived in Germany since 1992 and by the turn of the century had an international reputation, winning numerous awards and attracting commissions from leading orchestras and soloists. She is deeply spiritual and her works are often informed by religious and philosophical ideas and by a sense of mystical yearning (in 1979, she was denounced by Soviet authorities for producing “ noisy mud instead of real musical innovation”). Her output includes orchestral, choral, chamber, and instrumental music, stage works, and film scores. She sometimes uses unusual combinations of instruments and blends elements of the Western classical tradition with influences from Asiatic music (she was born and grew up in what is now the Republic of Tatarstan, a place that has been at the crossroads of various civilizations).

KEY WORKS: Offertorium (violin concerto), 1980; Jetzt immer Schnee (Now Always Snow, cantata for voices and instruments), 1993; St. John Passion, 2000; Mary Queen of Scots (film score), 2013

Henryk Górecki

1933–2010, POLISH

Until he was almost 60 years old, Górecki was a respected figure in contemporary music but he was virtually unknown to the world at large. This situation changed dramatically when a recording of his Symphony No. 3, released in 1992, became a massive international hit, gaining considerable radio exposure and selling more than a million copies, an unprecedented figure for a serious modern work. Slow and meditative throughout, it features a soprano singing three Polish texts concerned with the themes of suffering and war. Górecki himself was unable to explain the symphony’s popularity and was rather bewildered by his newfound fame. He was a devout Catholic and some critics have linked his work with that of other spiritually minded composers of the time (notably Pärt and Tavener) under the heading “holy Minimalism.” The serenity of their work seems to many listeners an antidote to the harshness of much modern music.

KEY WORKS: Two Sacred Songs, 1971; Symphony No. 3 (“Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”), 1976; Miserere, 1981

Krzysztof Penderecki

born 1933, POLISH

Penderecki is one of the most acclaimed composers of his time and is unusual among avant-garde artists in that his work has appealed to a large public from virtually the beginning of his career—a reflection of the powerful way in which he conveys his humanitarian views. He came to international attention with Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra, a characteristically somber work in which he creates a highly individual, harshly expressive sound-world. It won him the first of a long list of major prizes and he has also received several prestigious composition residencies in Europe and the US. His work includes symphonies, concertos, operas, choral and chamber music, and compositions for solo instruments. He has often conducted his own work, and has also made a reputation as a conductor of the work of other composers.

KEY WORKS: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, 1960; The Devils of Loudun (opera), 1969; Polish Requiem, 1984; Clarinet Quartet, 1993

Harrison Birtwistle

BORN 1934, BRITISH

Born in Accrington, Lancashire, Birtwistle grew up in the world of military and brass bands, and the sounds of brass and percussion have often been to the fore in his music, which is characteristically energetic and often violent (although it also has moments of humor and lyrical beauty). Initially, he excelled as a clarinettist, but in his mid-twenties he gave up playing to concentrate entirely on composing. Birtwistle is renowned particularly as the leading British opera composer of his generation, although it was not until Gawain (1991) that he actually titled a piece “opera”: his first work in the field, for example, Punch and Judy (1967), was called a “comical tragedy or tragical comedy.” In addition to works for the stage (often based on mythological subjects), he has also written orchestral, chamber, and solo instrumental music, as well as choral and solo vocal pieces.

KEY WORKS: Punch and Judy, 1967; Earth Dances, 1986; Gawain, 1991; The Minotaur, 2008

Steve Reich

BORN 1936, AMERICAN

One of the world's leading Minimalist composers, Reich had a rich, varied musical upbringing and education. His mother was a Broadway lyricist and he became an accomplished jazz drummer when he was in his teens, before studying more conventionally at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York and with the composer Luciano Berio at Mills College in California. Reich’s work typically involves the repetition and subtle elaboration of short phrases. Reich began by working with tape machines playing recorded loops that gradually moved out of synchronization, and progressed to more conventional instruments, sometimes incorporating recorded speech, as in Different Trains, perhaps his most acclaimed work. This three-movement piece features a string quartet blended with recordings of train noises and voices speaking about trains, including ones that carried victims to concentration camps during the Holocaust (part of Reich’s exploration of his Jewish heritage). He has often collaborated with his wife, video artist Beryl Korot.

KEY WORKS: Drumming, 1971; Different Trains, 1988; The Cave (multimedia opera), 1993; Three Tales (video opera), 2002

John Tavener

1944–2013, BRITISH

Tavener enjoyed great success with spiritual, meditative works that appealed to many people who were not generally interested in modern music. He made an early impact with The Whale (admired by The Beatles and recorded on their Apple label) and his striking appearance (he was extremely tall, with long, flowing hair) helped keep him in the public eye. In 1977, he was received by the Russian Orthodox Church. His music was deeply influenced by its traditions, using simple motifs to create a mood of intense contemplation. His fame soared when Song for Athene (written in tribute to a friend of that name who died in a road accident) was performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. Most of Tavener’s work is choral, but The Protecting Veil for cello and strings is one of his most acclaimed compositions.

KEY WORKS: The Whale, 1966; The Lamb, 1982; The Protecting Veil, 1988; Song for Athene, 1993

Alexina Louie

BORN 1949, CANADIAN

A Canadian of Chinese descent, Louie blends Eastern and Western influences in her work, which has brought her international recognition and a host of prestigious awards. She was born in Vancouver, and studied at the University of British Columbia and the University of California at San Diego, receiving a master’s degree in composition. After spending a decade in California, where she taught piano, theory, and electronic composition, she finally settled in Toronto in 1980. Her first big success was O magnum mysterium for string orchestra, written in memory of the celebrated Canadian pianist Glenn Gould who died in 1982. The piano is her main instrument and solo pieces for it figure prominently in her work, but she has written for a range of forces, including full orchestra, chamber groups, and voice, as well as experimenting with synthesizers and computer-based music. In addition to works for the concert hall, she has written for dance, film, and television.

KEY WORKS: O magnum mysterium, 1982; I Leap Through the S ky with Stars (piano solo), 1991; The Scarlet Princess (opera), 2002; Triple Concerto for Three Violins and Orchestra, 2017

Eric Whitacre

BORN 1970, AMERICAN

Whitacre has achieved huge popular success, particularly with choral compositions, which his admirers find serene and uplifting. His early musical education was patchy, but he discovered a love of choral singing when he participated in a student performance of Mozart’s Requiem and subsequently trained at the Juilliard School, New York. Since the late 1990s, he has lived mainly in Los Angeles. Whitacre’s flair as a public speaker has enhanced his wide appeal, especially among young people. His work is much performed by amateur as well as professional singers, and in 2009 he launched Online Choir, in which people all over the world post online videos of themselves singing his work, which are synchronized into a composite performance.

KEY WORKS: Water Night, 1995; Sleep, 2000; Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold), 2000; Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, 2003; The River Cam, 2011