Robert Helps
Encyclopedia
Robert Helps was an American pianist
and composer
.
He was one of the most distinguished pupils of Abby Whiteside
and perhaps the most well-known practitioner of her theories of rhythm
and of a technique directed from the humerus
rather than the finger
s. He studied composition with Roger Sessions
, who exerted a strong influence on his career, and whose music he often performed and recorded.
Helps taught piano at the New England Conservatory of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
, Princeton University
, Stanford University
, the University of California, Berkeley
, and the Manhattan School of Music
, and the University of South Florida
.
Helps was a recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts
, the Guggenheim Foundation
, and the Ford Foundation
. In 1976 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His music has been released on the NAXOS (http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/catalogue/item.asp?cid=8.559199), CRI
, Desto
, and Albany
labels.
The University of South Florida's Special Collections http://guides.lib.usf.edu/content.php?pid=73088&sid=805078 holds the Robert Helps Archive. The university also sponsors a Robert Helps Festival and awards an annual Robert Helps Prize for young composers.http://helpsprize.arts.usf.edu/
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer
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...
.
He was one of the most distinguished pupils of Abby Whiteside
Abby Whiteside
Abby Whiteside was an influential and controversial American piano teacher. She challenged the finger-centric approach of much classical piano teaching and instead advocated a holistic attitude in which the arm and torso are the conductors of a musical image conceived first in the mind and...
and perhaps the most well-known practitioner of her theories of rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
and of a technique directed from the humerus
Humerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
rather than the finger
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....
s. He studied composition with 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...
, who exerted a strong influence on his career, and whose music he often performed and recorded.
Helps taught piano at the New England Conservatory of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, formerly the California Conservatory of Music, founded in 1917, is a music school, with an enrollment of about 400 students. It was launched by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgehead in the remodeled home of Lillian's parents on Sacramento Street. It was called the...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, and the University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
.
Helps was a recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, the Guggenheim Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
, and the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
. In 1976 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His music has been released on the NAXOS (http://www.naxosmusiclibrary.com/catalogue/item.asp?cid=8.559199), CRI
Composers Recordings, Inc.
Composers Recordings, Inc. was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City....
, Desto
Desto Records
Desto Records was an American classical music record label based in New York and founded in approximately 1964. Its records were distributed by CMS Records of Mount Vernon, New York beginning in the 1970s...
, and Albany
Albany Records
Albany Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987, and is based in Albany, New York.-External links:**...
labels.
The University of South Florida's Special Collections http://guides.lib.usf.edu/content.php?pid=73088&sid=805078 holds the Robert Helps Archive. The university also sponsors a Robert Helps Festival and awards an annual Robert Helps Prize for young composers.http://helpsprize.arts.usf.edu/
External links
- Spectrum Concerts Berlin
- Robert Helps Web Monument
- Robert Helps CV
- New York Times Obituary, December 2, 2001
Interviews
- Robert Helps interview by Bruce Duffie