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Edwin Carr (composer)
Encyclopedia
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Biography
Edwin Carr was born in AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and was educated at Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival...
from 1940 to 1943. He studied music at Otago University from 1944-5 and Auckland University College from 1946, then left with his degree unfinished. In 1946 he attended the first Cambridge Summer Music School with Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Lilburn
Douglas Gordon Lilburn ONZ FRCM was a New Zealand composer.-Early life:Lilburn was born in Wanganui. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School from 1930 to 1933, before moving to Christchurch to study journalism and music at Canterbury University College...
as his composition tutor. In 1948 he travelled to England on a New Zealand Government Bursary, to study composition at the Guildhall with Benjamin Frankel
Benjamin Frankel
Benjamin Frankel was a British composer. Frankel's most famous pieces include a cycle of five string quartets and eight symphonies as well as a number of concertos for violin and viola; his single best-known piece is probably the First Sonata for Solo Violin, which, like his concertos, resulted...
. During this time he did much freelance work, traveled widely and met Geoffrey Grey
Geoffrey Grey
Geoffrey Grey is a British classical composer.-Biography:Geoffrey Grey was born in Gipsy Hill and lived on the edge of Dartmoor until the onset of the second world war, when he was sent to Scotland to live with his paternal grandparents.A career as a concert violinist had been envisaged and...
.
In 1954 a British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
scholarship enabled him to study under Petrassi in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He also worked in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as the musical director of an independent ballet company. In 1957 a further British Council scholarship enabled him to study with Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. In 1958 he returned to New Zealand, staying there until 1960 teaching and composing.
During the 1960s he spent time in both Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and England, composing, teaching and studying as well as several trips to New Zealand.
In 1973-74 he was awarded the Mozart Fellowship at the University of Otago. From 1975-76 he taught composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
before returning to London in 1976. He returned to Australia in 1977 and taught part-time at the Sydney Conservatorium. In 1984 he returned to Taupo
Taupo
Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region....
, New Zealand where he composed and conducted freelance.
From 1991 Carr lived on Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island is an island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, located about from Auckland.The island is the second-largest in the Hauraki Gulf after Great Barrier Island. It is the most populated, with nearly 8,000 permanent residents plus another estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes...
where he was still active as a composer. In 1999 he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Edwin Carr died at his home on Waiheke Island on 27 March 2003.
Music works
- 1950 Mardi Gras Overture
- 1951 A Blake Cantata
- 1953 Suite No. 1 for two pianos (Cacciati dal Paradiso)
- 1954 String Quartet No. 1
- 1955 Piano Sonata No. 1
- 1955 Electra - Ballet
- 1958 Organ Sonata
- 1958 Night Music - Scherzo
- 1962 Piano Concerto No. 1
- 1963 The Snowmaiden
- 1963 Two Dances for viola and piano
- 1965 Four pieces for Oboe d'amore and piano (dedicated to Jennifer PaullJennifer (Irene) PaullJennifer Irène Paull is a musician, publisher, lecturer, and author.Jennifer Paull was born in Liverpool, England, 24 November 1944, as Jennifer Irène Schulcz. Her father changed the family name when she was 5. He was born in the Hungarian speaking regions of the Austro–Hungarian Empire...
) - 1966 Edith Sitwell Song cycle for oboe, soprano and piano
- 1966 Piano Quintet
- 1966 Five Pieces for piano
- 1967 Five Pieces for Orchestra (transcription of ‘Five pieces for piano’)
- 1967 Three Shakespeare Songs
- 1967 Four Pieces for oboe d'amore, strings and harp (orch. ver. of 1965)
- 1968 Three Pieces for cello and piano
- 1969 Three Songs from Childhood for mezzo and violin
- 1969 Violin Sonata (unaccompanied)
- 1970 Suite No. 2 - Four dances from Electra for 2 pf and perc.
- 1970 Aubade for clarinet and pf or orchestra
- 1971 Suite No. 3 for two pianos
- 1971 Six Studies for string orchestra
- 1971 Auckland '71 - Ode for male speaker, chorus and orch.
- 1969 1972 - Nastasya - 3 act opera, based on Dostoievsky's The Idiot
- 1973 Six Songs - Out of Dark for mezzo and piano or orchestra
- 1973 Four Short Concert Studies for piano
- 1974 Three Love Songs for soprano & piano - poems by Fairburn
- 1974 Seven Medieval Lyrics for SATB, orchestra, or piano duet
- 1974 The Twelve Signs for wind, brass piano, harp and perc.
- 1975 Piano Sonata #2 in one movement
- 1975 Five Bagatelles for piano
- 1977 Sonatina for piano
- 1977 Five Songs to Poems by Wolkskehl - baritone & piano or orchestra
- 1977 Sonata for violin and piano
- 1978 Sinfonietta for small orchestra (Used for ‘Primavera’ ballet)
- 1978 String Quartet No. 2
- 1978 Seven Elizabethan Lyrics for chorus and piano duet or orchestra
- 1979 Te Tau (The Seasons) - Winter & Spring for solo piano; Summer and Autumn for piano duet
- 1979 An Easter Cantata for soprano, chorus and organ or string orch.
- 1981 Symphony No. 1
- 1983 Symphony No. 2
- 1983 Trio for horn, violin and piano
- 1985 Pacific Festival Overture
- 1985 Promenade ballet suite for orch. or piano duet
- 1985 The Mayors New Coat - ballet for orchestra
- 1985 Piano Sonata No. 3
- 1985 Piano Concerto No. 2
- 1985 Film Music for Nicholas Nickleby
- 1986 Song of Solomon symphonic cantata
- 1987 Symphony No. 3
- 1988 Poems for piano and orchestra
- 1989 The Four Elements for four mandolins
- 1989 The Four Elements for orch. or two pianos (transcriptions)
- 1989 Suite No. 4 for two pianos (‘Four Elements’ transcription)
- 1989 Quartet for oboe and clarinet, bassoon and piano
- 1989 Octet for wind
- 1990 Gaudeamus Overture
- 1990 Taupo - The Eye of the World for soprano, choir & orch.
- 1990 Prelude and Aria for Oboe d'Amore (dedicated to Jennifer PaullJennifer (Irene) PaullJennifer Irène Paull is a musician, publisher, lecturer, and author.Jennifer Paull was born in Liverpool, England, 24 November 1944, as Jennifer Irène Schulcz. Her father changed the family name when she was 5. He was born in the Hungarian speaking regions of the Austro–Hungarian Empire...
) - 1991 Foxtrot from Coup De Folie - piano duet or piano solo
- 1991 Symphony No. 4
- 1991 Four pieces for oboe d’amore and piano
- 1991 Two Mansfield poems for Oboe d’Amore (dedicated to Jennifer PaullJennifer (Irene) PaullJennifer Irène Paull is a musician, publisher, lecturer, and author.Jennifer Paull was born in Liverpool, England, 24 November 1944, as Jennifer Irène Schulcz. Her father changed the family name when she was 5. He was born in the Hungarian speaking regions of the Austro–Hungarian Empire...
) - 1991 Six choral Pieces from text by Katherine Mansfield
- 1992 Eleven Pleasant Pieces for piano
- 1992 Lord Arthur Savile's Crime - Opera in One Act
- 1992 Six Variations on a Theme by BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
for piano - 1994 Sonata for two pianos
- 1995 Arikinui - cantata for soprano and orchestra
- 1995 Violin concerto
- 1996 The Maze of the Muses - Chamber Opera
- 1996 The End of the Golden Weather for orchestra
- 1996 Ten Concert Studies for piano - Book I
- 1996 Doves of Peace for piano
- 1996 Waiheke Island, A Suite for Oboe Consort (dedicated to Jennifer PaullJennifer (Irene) PaullJennifer Irène Paull is a musician, publisher, lecturer, and author.Jennifer Paull was born in Liverpool, England, 24 November 1944, as Jennifer Irène Schulcz. Her father changed the family name when she was 5. He was born in the Hungarian speaking regions of the Austro–Hungarian Empire...
) - 1997 Outcast from Paradise
- 1997 Ngataringa Nocturne and Scherzo for oboe, oboe d'amore, and piano (dedicated to Jennifer PaullJennifer (Irene) PaullJennifer Irène Paull is a musician, publisher, lecturer, and author.Jennifer Paull was born in Liverpool, England, 24 November 1944, as Jennifer Irène Schulcz. Her father changed the family name when she was 5. He was born in the Hungarian speaking regions of the Austro–Hungarian Empire...
) - 1997 Sonatina di Maggio for musette (oboe) (dedicated to Jennifer PaullJennifer (Irene) PaullJennifer Irène Paull is a musician, publisher, lecturer, and author.Jennifer Paull was born in Liverpool, England, 24 November 1944, as Jennifer Irène Schulcz. Her father changed the family name when she was 5. He was born in the Hungarian speaking regions of the Austro–Hungarian Empire...
) - 1998 In the Rangitaki Valley for two pianos, eight hands
- 1998 Coup De Folie for two pianos, eight hands
- 1998 Eve des Eaux - Eight French songs for solo tenor
- 1998 Revelations for piano
- 1999 ‘Akaraua’ - Four symphonic sketches for orchestra
- 1999 Three pieces for solo bassoon
- 1999 El Tango for orchestra
- 1999 Ten Concert studies for piano, Book 2
- 1999 Trio for violin, cello and piano
- 1999 Wind trio for flute, oboe and bassoon
- 1999 Mardi Gras 2000, new version
- 2000 Three pieces for oboe and organ
- 2000 Elegie for oboe and piano
- 2000 Petit Concert, pour trio a vent: flute, hautbois et basson
- 2001 Seven Waiheke Lyrics, SATB and piano duet
- 2001 Three Pieces for the oboe and organ
- 2001 Fanfare for Otago University
- 2001 Concerto Balabile
- 2002 Oboe Concerto (dedicated to Dominique Enon)