Robin Maconie
Encyclopedia
Robin Maconie is a New Zealand composer
, pianist
, and writer
.
Robin Maconie studied with Frederick Page and Roger Savage at the Victoria University of Wellington
, receiving a Master of Arts in the History and Literature of Music in 1964. He studied analysis with Olivier Messiaen
in 1963–64 at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1964–65 studied composition for film and radio under Bernd Alois Zimmermann
, and electronic music under Herbert Eimert
at the Cologne
Conservatory. He also studied composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen
, Henri Pousseur
, and Luc Ferrari
at the Second Cologne Courses for New Music, as well as piano with Aloys Kontarsky
, conducting with Herbert Schernus, and information science with Georg Heike.
Following a temporary lectureship at the University of Auckland
, New Zealand in 1967–69, Maconie emigrated to England
to study for a Ph.D in the Psychology of Music at Southampton University. In 1974 Maconie was appointed lecturer in music and technology at the University of Surrey
, where he continued until 1985. In 1997 he was appointed Professor of Performing Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design
in Georgia
(U.S.
). In 2002 he returned to New Zealand, where he lives in Dannevirke
.
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...
, pianist
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 writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Robin Maconie studied with Frederick Page and Roger Savage at the Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
, receiving a Master of Arts in the History and Literature of Music in 1964. He studied analysis with Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
in 1963–64 at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1964–65 studied composition for film and radio under Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann was a post-WWII West German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera Die Soldaten which is regarded as one of the most important operas of the 20th century...
, and electronic music under Herbert Eimert
Herbert Eimert
Herbert Eimert was a German music theorist, musicologist, journalist, music critic, editor, radio producer, and composer.-Life:...
at the Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
Conservatory. He also studied composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
, Henri Pousseur
Henri Pousseur
Henri Pousseur was a Belgian composer.-Biography:Pousseur studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 1947 to 1953. He was closely associated with Pierre Froidebise and André Souris...
, and Luc Ferrari
Luc Ferrari
Luc Ferrari was of an Italian heritage but French born composer, particularly noted for his tape music.-Biography:...
at the Second Cologne Courses for New Music, as well as piano with Aloys Kontarsky
Aloys and Alfons Kontarsky
Aloys and Alfons Kontarsky were German duo-pianist brothers who were associated with a number of important world premieres of contemporary works. They had an international reputation for performing modern music for two pianists, although they also performed the standard repertoire and they...
, conducting with Herbert Schernus, and information science with Georg Heike.
Following a temporary lectureship at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
, New Zealand in 1967–69, Maconie emigrated to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to study for a Ph.D in the Psychology of Music at Southampton University. In 1974 Maconie was appointed lecturer in music and technology at the University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, where he continued until 1985. In 1997 he was appointed Professor of Performing Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design
SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
(U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). In 2002 he returned to New Zealand, where he lives in Dannevirke
Dannevirke
Dannevirke , is a rural service town in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the major town of the administrative Tararua District, the easternmost of the districts in which the Regional Council has responsibilities...
.
Compositions (selective list)
- Epstein (film score), for flute, oboe, and bassoon (1960)
- Sonata, for clarinet and piano (1961)
- No Man Is an Island (film score), for speaker, solo voices, chorus, and horn (1961)
- Sound of Seeing (film score, A. Williams) (1962)
- Basia Memoranda (song cycle), voice and string quartet (1962)
- Canzona, for chamber orchestra (1962)
- Music for a Masque, for strings (1962)
- Six Easy Pieces, for piano (1962)
- Three Pieces, for cello (1962)
- Runaway (film score, J. O'Shea) (1963)
- Forbush and the Penguins (radio play) (1966)
- The First Wife, radio play, (1967)
- Maui (TV ballet, Maconie, after J. White: Ancient History of Maori), speaker, mime, 6 male dancers, and orchestra (1967–72, rev. 1986)
- Four-Part Invention, for piano (1963)
- A:B:A, for harp (1964)
- Ex evangelio Sancti Marci, for chorus (1964)
- A:D:C, for piano (1965)
- Solo, d, vc, (1965)
- Who will be the next statistic?, electronic music (1966)
- Sonata in Binary Form, for string quartet (1968)
- String Quartet (1970)
- Limina, modified soundtrack (1975)
- Prelude, for 2 amplified melody instruments (1976)
- Mozart-Kugel, round in 14 parts (1977)
- Pastoral, for violin (1977)
- Ricercar, for cello (1977)
- Commedia, for clarinet, volin, violoncello, and piano, with amplification (1979)
- Raku, for ensemble (1981)
- Touché, five movements for computer-generated sound (1983)
- Measures, computer-generated tape (1984)
- Night Porter’s Carol, for SATB choir (1991)
- 15 Songs for The Caucasian Chalk Circle (after Brecht) (2001)
- Lachrymae: Six Movements for String Orchestra (2005)
- Gold Fever, 21 songs from the gold rush era, for schools and amateurs (2007)
Writings
- 1972. "Stockhausen's Mikrophonie I: Perception in Action." Perspectives of New Music 10, no. 2 (Spring-Summer): 92–101.
- 1972. "Stravinsky's Final Cadence", Tempo new series, no.103:18–23.
- 1973. "Momente in London." Tempo new series, no. 104:32–33.
- 1974. "New Notations for the New Sounds." Times Literary Supplement (21 June)
- 1974. "Stockhausen's Inori." Tempo new series, no. 111 (December): 32–33.
- 1976a. The Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen. London, New York, Toronto: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0714527068. Second edition 1990. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0193154773
- 1976b. "Harries' Proposed Notation for Visual Fine Art." Leonardo 9, no. 1 (Winter): 86–87.
- 1980. Tuning In. Script for BBC-1 Omnibus TV documentary on Karlheinz Stockhausen, directed by Barrie Gavin.
- (ed.) 1989. Stockhausen on Music: Lectures and Interviews London; New York: Marion Boyars. ISBN 0714528870 . Paperbound 1991; new edition 2000. Korean edition 1995; Portuguese (Brazil) edition 2009; Chinese edition 2009 (forthcoming).
- 1990. The Concept of Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198162154
- 1991. "Opera aperta." Canzona: The Official Yearbook of the Composers' Association of New Zealand 14, no. 34:3–8.
- 1994. Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Classical Music. Oxford: Helicon Press. US edition 1997, Lincolnwood, Ill.: NTC Publishing Group
- 1997. The Science of Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198166486
- 1998a. "An Open Letter to New Zealand Composers." Canzona: The Official Yearbook of the Composers' Association of New Zealand 19, no. 40:23-24.
- 1998b. "Stockhausen at 70: Through the Looking Glass." Musical Times 139, no. 1863 (Summer): 4-11.
- 2002. The Second Sense: Language, Music, and Hearing. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810842424
- 2004. "Message of Light: Goethe, Stockhausen and the New Enlightenment." Tempo 58, no. 230 (October): 2–8.
- 2005. Other Planets: The Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Lanham, Maryland; Toronto; Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0810853566
- 2007. The Way of Music: Aural Training for the Internet Generation. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.