Steven Gerber
Encyclopedia
Steven R. Gerber is an American composer
of classical music
.
His early works are in a free atonal style. During his years as a graduate student, he wrote serial and non-twelve-tone works, such as the a cappella
choral works "Dylan Thomas
Settings" and "Illuminations" (Rimbaud), and throughout the remainder of the seventies most of his works were twelve-tone. Beginning in the early eighties, he abandoned twelve-tone composition, with rare exceptions, and his music became much more tonal, for example in his Piano Sonata
. Since then his music has remained largely tonal, sometimes extremely chromatic, sometimes diatonic.
His music has been reviewed in the New York Times and the Washington Post [October 18, 1999, Page C 5]. His music has been played in the former Soviet Union
perhaps more widely than that of any other American composer.
In 2005, the conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy
commissioned Gerber to compose an orchestra work. The resulting six-movement suite, Music in Dark Times, was premiered by Ashkenazy with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra on March 25–28, 2009.
St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony/Vladimir Lande, conductor
Jon Manasse, clarinet; Jose Miguel Cueto, violin; Natalia Malkova, violin
Arabesque CD Z6803
Symphony No. 1; Dirge and Awakening; Viola Concerto; Triple Overture
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Sanderling, conductor
Lars Anders Tomter, viola
The Bekova Sisters:
Elvira Bekova, violin
Alfia Bekova, cello
Eleonora Bekova, piano
Chandos CD 9831
Violin Concerto; Cello Concerto; Serenade for String Orchestra
National Chamber Orchestra/Piotr Gajewski
, conductor
Kurt Nikkanen, violin; Carter Brey, cello
KOCH International Classics KIC-CD-7501
Fantasy; Three Songs Without Words
Curtis Macomber, violin
Composers Recordings, Inc. CD 706
Une Saison en Enfer
The New Calliope Singers/Peter Schubert, conductor
William Parker, baritone; Steven R. Gerber, piano
Composers Recordings, Inc. CD 638
Elegy on the Name "Dmitri Shostakovich"; Françoise Renard, viola
Suoni e Colori SC 53006
Gershwiniana for three violins; 3 Folksong Transformations; 3 Pieces for two violins; Notturno for piano trio; Elegy on the Name Dmitri Shostakovich for viola; 3 Songs Without Words; Fantasy for violin; Duo for violin and cello; Piano Trio
Kurt Nikkanen, violin and viola; Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Cyrus Beroukhim, violin; Brinton Averil Smith, cello; Sara Davis Buechner, piano
Naxos 8.559618
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...
.
Biography and career
Steven Gerber wrote such works as the contrapuntal Fantasy for Solo Violin, which has been recorded on both the CRI and Naxos labels, and Piano Trio, commissioned by the Hans Kindler Foundation.His early works are in a free atonal style. During his years as a graduate student, he wrote serial and non-twelve-tone works, such as the a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
choral works "Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
Settings" and "Illuminations" (Rimbaud), and throughout the remainder of the seventies most of his works were twelve-tone. Beginning in the early eighties, he abandoned twelve-tone composition, with rare exceptions, and his music became much more tonal, for example in his Piano Sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
. Since then his music has remained largely tonal, sometimes extremely chromatic, sometimes diatonic.
His music has been reviewed in the New York Times and the Washington Post [October 18, 1999, Page C 5]. His music has been played in the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
perhaps more widely than that of any other American composer.
In 2005, the conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
commissioned Gerber to compose an orchestra work. The resulting six-movement suite, Music in Dark Times, was premiered by Ashkenazy with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra on March 25–28, 2009.
Orchestral
- 1981 HARMONIUM: SIX POEMS OF Wallace StevensWallace StevensWallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
for solo soprano and orchestra - 1989 SYMPHONY NO.1
- 1990 ODE (1st movement of SERENADE) for string orchestra
- 1990 SERENADE for string orchestra
- 1992 PIANO CONCERTO
- 1992 DIRGE AND AWAKENING
- 1993 VIOLIN CONCERTO
- 1994 CELLO CONCERTO
- 1996 VIOLA CONCERTO
- 1998 SERENADE CONCERTANTE
- 1998 TRIPLE OVERTURE for solo violin, cello and piano and orchestra
- 2000 SPIRITUALS for string orchestra
- 2002 Fanfare for the Voice of A-M-E-R-I-C-A
- 2002 CLARINET CONCERTO
- 2004 SYMPHONY NO. 2, “Elegies and Fanfares”
- 2005 TWO LYRIC PIECES for solo violin and string orchestra
- 2005-08 MUSIC IN DARK TIMES
Chamber
- 1967 SONATA for violin and piano
- 1967 WOODWIND QUARTET
- 1968 TRIO violin, cello and piano
- 1969 DUO cello and piano
- 1969 DUO violin and cello
- 1971 STRING TRIO
- 1972 NEXUS for violin and percussion
- 1973 STRING QUARTET NO. 1
- 1977 DUO flute and piano
- 1978 DREAMWORK for flute, viola, cello, and piano
- 1979 DUO for viola and piano
- 1981 STRING QUARTET NO. 2
- 1984 DUO IN THREE MOVEMENTS for violin and piano
- 1984 CONCERTINO for string quartet and piano
- 1986 WOODWIND QUINTET
- 1987 FANTASY QUARTET for percussion
- 1988 STRING QUARTET NO. 3
- 1991 PIANO QUINTET for string quartet and piano
- 1995 STRING QUARTET NO. 4
- 1996 NOTTURNO for violin, cello and piano
- 1996 (rev. 2006) FIVE CANONIC DUOS for oboe and bassoon
- 1996 SONATINA for oboe and guitar
- 1997 THREE PIECES FOR TWO VIOLINS
- 1999 PRELUDE AND FUGUE for oboe, bassoon, and piano
- 1999 GERSHWINIANA for 3 violins (or 2 violins and viola)
- 2000 STRING QUARTET NO. 5
- 2001 THREE FOLKSONG TRANSFORMATIONS for violin, cello, and piano
- 2002 SPIRITUALS for clarinet and string quartet
- 2003-1997 FANTASY, FUGUE, AND CHACONNE for 2 cellos or viola and cell
- 2003 FIVE GREEK FOLKSONGS (AFTER Ravel) for violin and piano
- 2007 DIALOGUES for clarinet and piano
Vocal
- 1966 THREE FRENCH SONGS (Baudelaire and VerlaineVerlaineVerlaine is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Verlaine had a total population of 3,507. The total area is 24.21 km² which gives a population density of 145 inhabitants per km². The municipality contains the villages...
) for high voice and piano - 1967 AFTER THE FUNERAL (Thomas) for baritone and string trio
- 1974 DORIA: THREE POEMS OF EZRA POUNDEzra PoundEzra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
for soprano and piano - 1974 "MY PAPA'S WALTZ" AND OTHER SONGS (WilliamsWilliams-People:* Williams , a surname English in origin, but popular in Wales, 3rd most common in the United Kingdom* "Williams", the pseudonym of racing driver and SOE agent William Grover-Williams-United States:Communities*Williams, Arizona...
, MooreMooreMoore may refer to:* Moore , a crater on Venus* Moore , lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon* Moore , a common English-language surname* People with surname Moore...
, PlathPlathPlath is a surname and may refer to:* Aurelia Plath , mother of Sylvia Plath* John Plath, Australian rugby league footballer* Sylvia Plath , American poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist...
, Roethke) for soprano and piano - 1975 BLACK HOURS: FIVE SONNETS OF Gerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley HopkinsGerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
for soprano and piano - 1976 TWO LYRICS OF GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS for soprano and string trio
- 1978 SESTINA: ALTAFORTE (PoundEzra PoundEzra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
) for baritone and piano - 1978 SONGS FROM "THE WILD SWANS AT COOLE" (Yeats) for high voice and piano
- 1982 DESERT PLACES: FIVE POEMS OF ROBERT FROST for high voice and piano
- 1984 DRUM-TAPS: THREE PATRIOTIC POEMS (FrostFrostFrost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
, WhitmanWhitman-People:* Whitman , including:*Charles Whitman, tower sniper *Charles S. Whitman, New York politician *Walt Whitman, American essayist and poet *Marcus Whitman, was an American physician and Oregon missionary....
, EmersonRalph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
) for soprano and piano - 1985 WORDS FOR MUSIC PERHAPS (Yeats) for soprano and two violins
- 1986 FOUR ELEGIAC SONGS (HopkinsHopkinsHopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English and Welsh derivations mean "son of Hob". It derives from the Germanic warrior name Hrod-berht, translated as "renowned-fame". It was 'borrowed' into French, where the spelling was changed from "Hob" to "Robert". The name in...
, Yeats, Shakespeare, DrydenDryden-People:* Dave Dryden, retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender* David Owen Dryden, renowned San Diego builder-architect*Erasmus Dryden * Helen Dryden, American artist and designer* Hugh L. Dryden, NASA Deputy Director...
) for high voice and piano - 1988 SIX SONGS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE for medium voice and piano
Choral
- 1972 DYLAN THOMAS SETTINGS
- 1972 ILLUMINATIONS (Rimbaud)
- 1973 CEREMONY AFTER A FIRE RAID (Thomas)
- 1985 FOUR CHORUSES FROM UNE SAISON EN ENFER (Rimbaud)
- 1985 UNE SAISON EN ENFER (Rimbaud) for solo high baritone or tenor, chorus, and piano
- 2004 SESSIONS OF SWEET SILENT THOUGHT (5 Sonnets of William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
)
Piano
- 1966 TWO ToccataToccataToccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
s - 1970 VARIATIONS
- 1976 VOICES
- 1982 PIANO FANTASY: HOMAGE TO COPLAND (first movement of PIANO SONATA)
- 1982 PIANO sonataSonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
- 1985 TWO INTERMEZZI
- 1989 COCKTAIL MUSIC (SONG WITHOUT WORDS)
Other Solo
- 1967 FANTASY for violin
- 1971 EpithalamiumEpithalamiumEpithalamium refers to a form of poem that is written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber...
for flute - 1977 FANTASY
- 1978 HIGH WOOD for oboe
- 1987 THREE SONGS WITHOUT WORDS (arranged from WORDS FOR MUSIC PERHAPS) for violin
- 1991 ElegyElegyIn literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
ON THE NAME "DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH" for viola (or cello) - dedicated to Elena Ozol - 2005 DUET FOR SOLO CLARINET
Articles
- Interview with 21st Century Music: Food for Thought with Steven Gerber
- Interview with Sequenza21
- Essay on Orchestration, by Steven Gerber for New Music Box
- Keeping America Real: Essay on Steven Gerber by Robert Reilly
Recordings
Spirituals for String Orchestra; Clarinet Concerto; Serenade ConcertanteSt. Petersburg State Academic Symphony/Vladimir Lande, conductor
Jon Manasse, clarinet; Jose Miguel Cueto, violin; Natalia Malkova, violin
Arabesque CD Z6803
Symphony No. 1; Dirge and Awakening; Viola Concerto; Triple Overture
Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Sanderling, conductor
Lars Anders Tomter, viola
The Bekova Sisters:
Elvira Bekova, violin
Alfia Bekova, cello
Eleonora Bekova, piano
Chandos CD 9831
Violin Concerto; Cello Concerto; Serenade for String Orchestra
National Chamber Orchestra/Piotr Gajewski
Piotr Gajewski
Piotr Gajewski, a native of Poland, is the founder, artistic director and conductor of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Washington, D.C., currently in residence at the Music Center at Strathmore in Rockville, Maryland...
, conductor
Kurt Nikkanen, violin; Carter Brey, cello
KOCH International Classics KIC-CD-7501
Fantasy; Three Songs Without Words
Curtis Macomber, violin
Composers Recordings, Inc. CD 706
Une Saison en Enfer
The New Calliope Singers/Peter Schubert, conductor
William Parker, baritone; Steven R. Gerber, piano
Composers Recordings, Inc. CD 638
Elegy on the Name "Dmitri Shostakovich"; Françoise Renard, viola
Suoni e Colori SC 53006
Gershwiniana for three violins; 3 Folksong Transformations; 3 Pieces for two violins; Notturno for piano trio; Elegy on the Name Dmitri Shostakovich for viola; 3 Songs Without Words; Fantasy for violin; Duo for violin and cello; Piano Trio
Kurt Nikkanen, violin and viola; Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Cyrus Beroukhim, violin; Brinton Averil Smith, cello; Sara Davis Buechner, piano
Naxos 8.559618
External links
- StevenGerber.com - official web site with biography, discography, and audio samples