Claire Polin
Encyclopedia
Claire Polin was an American
composer of contemporary classical music
, musicologist, and flutist.
She obtained degrees in music (including a doctorate) from the Philadelphia Conservatory; she also received her Master's Degree
at the Juilliard School
and her doctorate at Tanglewood
. Her teachers included Vincent Persichetti
, Lukas Foss
, Roger Sessions
, and Peter Mennin
. She also studied flute with William Kincaid, with whom she collaborated on a multi-volume method of flute technique.
Her works were commissioned and performed by the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonia, the Israel Bach Society, and the London Pro Musica Antiqua of Westminster, as well as by William Kincaid, Gordon Gottlieb, and the Gregg Smith Singers
.
Polin served on the faculty at Rutgers University
, where she taught composition, as well as courses in the music of the Bible
, music of ancient Wales
, and music of Russia
. She also published books on musicological subjects.
Polin's last residence was Montgomery
, Pennsylvania
. She is survived by two sons, Josef and Gabriel Schaff, and two grandchildren: Zachary by Josef and Susannah by Gabriel.
Note: This is not a complete list. In some cases, the dates listed may have been the original publication date as opposed to the year it was written. Many pieces were published several times in new editions.
Sonata No. 1 for Flute 1959
Symphony in two movements 1960
No-Rai: Songs from Korea, 1963? Soprano Voice, Flute, Double Bass
Sonata for Flute and Harp 1964/73
No Man is an Island, SATB chorus, piano, 196_
Serpentine: Lyrical instances for solo viola and imaginary dancer, 1965
Structures for Solo Flute 1965
Consecutivo: Study on a Requiem, 1966
Summer Settings, harp, 1967
Makimono, flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano, 1969
Second Sonata for flute and harp (From the Painter’s Brush), 197x
Music for the Prince of Wales: Hen ganiadau gwanwyn, medium high voice (male or female) with cello accompaniment
Cader Idris: Landscape for Brass Quintet, 1971
Infinito: A Requiem, alto sax, soprano solo, narrator, SATB chorus, 1972
Out of childhood; variations on Russian-Turkish folksongs for piano, 1972
Margóä for solo flute, 1972
O, Aderyn Pur, Flute, Alto Sax, Tape, or flute solo 1972
The Death of Procris: Studies After a Painting by Piero di Cosimo, 1972-73 Flute and Tuba
Telemannicon: Solo obe flute, canonically played with tape or live, 1974
Second Symphony, 1974
Journey of Owain Madoc: Symphonic Meditations on the Discovery of America, 1974
Scenes from Gilgamesh, flute and string orchestra, 1974
Makimono II: for brass quintet, 1975
Laissez sonner for solo piano, 1976
Pièce d’encore: for solo viola (or violin), 1976
Synaulia II, flute(alto fl), clar(bass clar), piano, 1976
Paraselene: Dark nebulae I: Book of Songs for Soprano, Flute, and Piano, 1976/77
A klockwork diurnal, alto sax, French horn, bassoon, 1977
Amphion: for symphony orchestra, 1977
Wind Songs for soprano and guitar, 1978?
Vigniatures: Variations for Violin and Harp, 1979
Felína, Felína, violin, harp, 1980
Res naturae: The Carmarthan dove in a mialiseet dance, woodwind quintet, 1980
Dark nebulae II: Ma’a lot, viola and percussion, 1981
Georgics: After Virgil for Solo Flute, 1981
Mythos: Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra, 1982
Kuequenaku-Cambiola, percussion and piano, 1983
Phantasmagoria , piano 4 hands, 1985
Freltic Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1985
Shirildang: trans-Ural Suite for piano, 1991
Walum olum, clarinet, viola, piano
“Why Minimalism Now?.” Music and the Politics of Culture ed. Christopher Norris, 226-239, London: Lawrence & Wishart 1989
“Interviews with Soviet Composers.” Tempo 1984 151, 10-16 Cambridge U Press
“The Composer as Seer, but not Prophet” Tempo Combridge 1994 Issue 190, p13-18
New York: Women in Music and Soviet Contemporaries. Tempo 174, 1990 p32,34,36-37
The Ap Huw manuscipt. 1982 Henryville, PA: Institute of Mediaeval Musicological Studies. (Vol 34?)
“Observations on the Ap Huw manuscript. Music & Letters 60(3) 1979, 296-304: Oxford University Press.
A Possible Provenance for parts of the Ap Huw manuscript. Welsh Music, 1985.
The Ap Huw Manuscript. Music & Letters 62(1): 120, 1981
Moscow Festival Diary. Tempo 1984 No. 150 p.35-38
Ancient Semitic Music: A study starting in earliest times and ending circa 500 BC (1950)
(1965). A Treasury of Jewish Folksong. Ethnomusicology 9(2). 191-193
Gifts of Jubal; musical instruments from the ancient East. Philadelphia, PA: University Museum Press
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer of contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
, musicologist, and flutist.
She obtained degrees in music (including a doctorate) from the Philadelphia Conservatory; she also received her Master's Degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
and her doctorate at Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
. Her teachers included Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Persichetti
Vincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
, Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
, Roger Sessions
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
, and Peter Mennin
Peter Mennin
Peter Mennin was an American composer and teacher. He directed the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, then for many years ran the Juilliard School, succeeding William Schuman in this role...
. She also studied flute with William Kincaid, with whom she collaborated on a multi-volume method of flute technique.
Her works were commissioned and performed by the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonia, the Israel Bach Society, and the London Pro Musica Antiqua of Westminster, as well as by William Kincaid, Gordon Gottlieb, and the Gregg Smith Singers
Gregg Smith Singers
The Gregg Smith Singers is a mixed chorus from the United States, directed by Gregg Smith . The group, which comprises 16 singers, was founded at an all-Japanese Methodist church in West Los Angeles, California in 1955, while Smith was studying for his master's degree in music at the University of...
.
Polin served on the faculty at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, where she taught composition, as well as courses in the music of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, music of ancient Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and music of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. She also published books on musicological subjects.
Polin's last residence was Montgomery
Montgomery, Pennsylvania
Montgomery is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She is survived by two sons, Josef and Gabriel Schaff, and two grandchildren: Zachary by Josef and Susannah by Gabriel.
List of Works
CompositionsNote: This is not a complete list. In some cases, the dates listed may have been the original publication date as opposed to the year it was written. Many pieces were published several times in new editions.
Sonata No. 1 for Flute 1959
Symphony in two movements 1960
No-Rai: Songs from Korea, 1963? Soprano Voice, Flute, Double Bass
Sonata for Flute and Harp 1964/73
No Man is an Island, SATB chorus, piano, 196_
Serpentine: Lyrical instances for solo viola and imaginary dancer, 1965
Structures for Solo Flute 1965
Consecutivo: Study on a Requiem, 1966
Summer Settings, harp, 1967
Makimono, flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano, 1969
Second Sonata for flute and harp (From the Painter’s Brush), 197x
Music for the Prince of Wales: Hen ganiadau gwanwyn, medium high voice (male or female) with cello accompaniment
Cader Idris: Landscape for Brass Quintet, 1971
Infinito: A Requiem, alto sax, soprano solo, narrator, SATB chorus, 1972
Out of childhood; variations on Russian-Turkish folksongs for piano, 1972
Margóä for solo flute, 1972
O, Aderyn Pur, Flute, Alto Sax, Tape, or flute solo 1972
The Death of Procris: Studies After a Painting by Piero di Cosimo, 1972-73 Flute and Tuba
Telemannicon: Solo obe flute, canonically played with tape or live, 1974
Second Symphony, 1974
Journey of Owain Madoc: Symphonic Meditations on the Discovery of America, 1974
Scenes from Gilgamesh, flute and string orchestra, 1974
Makimono II: for brass quintet, 1975
Laissez sonner for solo piano, 1976
Pièce d’encore: for solo viola (or violin), 1976
Synaulia II, flute(alto fl), clar(bass clar), piano, 1976
Paraselene: Dark nebulae I: Book of Songs for Soprano, Flute, and Piano, 1976/77
A klockwork diurnal, alto sax, French horn, bassoon, 1977
Amphion: for symphony orchestra, 1977
Wind Songs for soprano and guitar, 1978?
Vigniatures: Variations for Violin and Harp, 1979
Felína, Felína, violin, harp, 1980
Res naturae: The Carmarthan dove in a mialiseet dance, woodwind quintet, 1980
Dark nebulae II: Ma’a lot, viola and percussion, 1981
Georgics: After Virgil for Solo Flute, 1981
Mythos: Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra, 1982
Kuequenaku-Cambiola, percussion and piano, 1983
Phantasmagoria , piano 4 hands, 1985
Freltic Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1985
Shirildang: trans-Ural Suite for piano, 1991
Walum olum, clarinet, viola, piano
Scholarly publications
Music of the ancient Near East, 1974 Greenwood Press (Westport, CT)“Why Minimalism Now?.” Music and the Politics of Culture ed. Christopher Norris, 226-239, London: Lawrence & Wishart 1989
“Interviews with Soviet Composers.” Tempo 1984 151, 10-16 Cambridge U Press
“The Composer as Seer, but not Prophet” Tempo Combridge 1994 Issue 190, p13-18
New York: Women in Music and Soviet Contemporaries. Tempo 174, 1990 p32,34,36-37
The Ap Huw manuscipt. 1982 Henryville, PA: Institute of Mediaeval Musicological Studies. (Vol 34?)
“Observations on the Ap Huw manuscript. Music & Letters 60(3) 1979, 296-304: Oxford University Press.
A Possible Provenance for parts of the Ap Huw manuscript. Welsh Music, 1985.
The Ap Huw Manuscript. Music & Letters 62(1): 120, 1981
Moscow Festival Diary. Tempo 1984 No. 150 p.35-38
Ancient Semitic Music: A study starting in earliest times and ending circa 500 BC (1950)
(1965). A Treasury of Jewish Folksong. Ethnomusicology 9(2). 191-193
Gifts of Jubal; musical instruments from the ancient East. Philadelphia, PA: University Museum Press