William Mayer
Encyclopedia
William Mayer is an American composer.
Mayer entered Yale University
in 1944, but his college years were interrupted by military service (he served as a counter-intelligence agent in US-occupied Japan). Upon his discharge he re-entered Yale and graduated in 1949, then trained at the Juilliard School
and the Mannes College of Music
, studying with Roger Sessions
and Felix Salzer
, and later with Otto Luening
, Emanuel Balaban and Izler Solomon
.
The composer has written three stage works in addition to his prize-winning A Death in the Family, and a variety of orchestral, chamber, choral and vocal works. John Rockwell
of The New York Times
points out that Mayer is "especially known for his operas and songs ... his work sings out with real beauty, both in the vocal writing and the instrumental settings."
Distinguished artists have introduced his scores: Robert De Cormier
led the New York Choral Society in its Lincoln Center premiere of "Spring Came on Forever"; sopranos Heidi Grant Murphy, Eleanor Steber and Christine Brewer have all premiered vocal-chamber works; and Leopold Stokowski
(at eighty-eight) conducted Mayer's piano concerto Octagon at Carnegie Hall
with William Masselos
as soloist.
Mayer taught composition and orchestration at Boston University
; was a guest lecturer at Yale, Columbia
, the Pratt Institute
and the Juilliard School
; fulfilled writing and cultural assignments from the US Information Agency, one of which involved preparing lectures on American chamber opera to be delivered abroad; served on judging panels for the MacDowell Colony
, the American Composers Orchestra
, Composers Recordings, Inc.
, the National Opera Association and the National Federation of Music Clubs; and was Composer-in-Residence at the Conductors' Institute and Adirondack New Music Festival.
Mr. Mayer is the author of a provocative feature for The New York Times entitled "Live Composers, Dead Audiences".
This humor is seen in the micro-opera Brief Candle (Milton Feist), where a mime is hurdled from infancy to marriage, and then death in six minutes, followed by a ten-second recapitulation. It is also present in an article entitled "Good Friend, Bad Piece" (co-authored with his daughter Jane Mayer
), which addresses a not-infrequent dilemma: what to say to a composer friend after having just heard—and disliked—his new piece.
Among Mayer's works for young people are Hello, World!, which was recorded with Eleanor Roosevelt
as narrator, the ballet The Snow Queen and the opera One Christmas Long Ago. All three stage works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra
.
His discography encompasses most media. Operatic and orchestral works have been recorded by the Manhattan School of Music
, the Minnesota Orchestra
, the Milwaukee Symphony and Music Today (Gerard Schwarz
, director); choral works by conductors Robert De Cormier, Peter Schubert and Gregg Smith (who recorded the oratorio The Eve of St. Agnes on Vox's "American Sings" Series); and chamber music by St. Luke's Chamber Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, North/South Consonance and the New York Brass and Wind Ensemble.
Both Mayer's Piano Sonata and Octagon have been recorded by William Masselos
, while pianists Steven Mayer and Şahan Arzruni have recorded Abandoned Bells and Subway in the Sunlight and Other Memories. Most recorded of all are the composer's songs, especially with instrumental accompaniment.
A Death in the Family, Mayer's opera based on the James Agee
novel and Tad Mosel
play All the Way Home
, was named the "best new work" of its type for 1983. The late Robert Jacobson wrote in Opera News
:
The St. Louis performance with Dawn Upshaw
and Jake Gardner was broadcast on National Public Radio.
Mayer entered Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1944, but his college years were interrupted by military service (he served as a counter-intelligence agent in US-occupied Japan). Upon his discharge he re-entered Yale and graduated in 1949, then trained 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 the Mannes College of Music
Mannes College of Music
Mannes College The New School for Music is The New School university's music conservatory. While the university's main campus is located in Greenwich Village, New York City, Mannes maintains its main academic building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan....
, studying 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...
and Felix Salzer
Felix Salzer
Felix Salzer was an Austrian-American music theorist, musicologist and pedagogue. He was one of the principal followers of Heinrich Schenker, and did much to refine and explain Schenkerian analysis after Schenker's death....
, and later with Otto Luening
Otto Luening
Otto Clarence Luening was a German-American composer and conductor, and an early pioneer of tape music and electronic music....
, Emanuel Balaban and Izler Solomon
Izler Solomon
Izler Solomon was an American orchestra conductor, active mostly in the Midwest....
.
The composer has written three stage works in addition to his prize-winning A Death in the Family, and a variety of orchestral, chamber, choral and vocal works. John Rockwell
John Rockwell
John Rockwell is a music critic, editor, and dance critic. He studied at Phillips Academy, Harvard, the University of Munich, and the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in German culture....
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
points out that Mayer is "especially known for his operas and songs ... his work sings out with real beauty, both in the vocal writing and the instrumental settings."
Distinguished artists have introduced his scores: Robert De Cormier
Robert De Cormier
Robert DeCormier is an American musical conductor, arranger, and director, and a graduate of the Juilliard School. He has arranged music for many singers and groups, including Harry Belafonte and Peter, Paul, and Mary, and has worked with Milt Okun. DeCormier is perhaps most famous for his...
led the New York Choral Society in its Lincoln Center premiere of "Spring Came on Forever"; sopranos Heidi Grant Murphy, Eleanor Steber and Christine Brewer have all premiered vocal-chamber works; and Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
(at eighty-eight) conducted Mayer's piano concerto Octagon at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
with William Masselos
William Masselos
William Masselos was an American classical pianist.-Biography:William Masselos was born in Niagara Falls, New York to a Dutch mother and a Greek father...
as soloist.
Mayer taught composition and orchestration at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
; was a guest lecturer at Yale, Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
and 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...
; fulfilled writing and cultural assignments from the US Information Agency, one of which involved preparing lectures on American chamber opera to be delivered abroad; served on judging panels for the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
, the American Composers Orchestra
American Composers Orchestra
The American Composers Orchestra is an American orchestra based in New York City. It is the only orchestra in the world dedicated solely to the creation, performance, preservation, and promulgation of music by American composers...
, Composers Recordings, Inc.
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....
, the National Opera Association and the National Federation of Music Clubs; and was Composer-in-Residence at the Conductors' Institute and Adirondack New Music Festival.
Mr. Mayer is the author of a provocative feature for The New York Times entitled "Live Composers, Dead Audiences".
Awards and honors
- Citation from the National Institute for Music Theater, for contributions to "the advancement of American musical theater"
- two National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe 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...
Grants - Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
- MacDowell Fellowship (two)
- Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe 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....
recording grant - Grant from the New York State Council on the ArtsNew York State Council on the ArtsThe New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
- Grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
- Lifetime Achievement in Music from the Center for Contemporary OperaCenter for Contemporary OperaThe Center for Contemporary Opera is a professional opera company based in New York City, and a member of OPERA America. The company focuses on producing and developing new opera and music theater works and reviving rarely seen American operas written after the second World War...
- Peabody AwardPeabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for outstanding children's work: Hello, World! - Chairman of Composers Recordings, Inc.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....
- National Patron of Delta OmicronDelta OmicronDelta Omicron is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship.-History:...
, an international professional music fraternity.
About Mayer's work
Mayer's lyricism and humor have frequently been singled out. "His is a lyrical music, favored by an unusual flow of fancy and wit," wrote Joseph Machlis in his Introduction to Contemporary Music. AmeriGrove also touches on his humor: "His style is characterized by a contrasting of transparent textures with humorous, highly rhythmic and densely scored passages."This humor is seen in the micro-opera Brief Candle (Milton Feist), where a mime is hurdled from infancy to marriage, and then death in six minutes, followed by a ten-second recapitulation. It is also present in an article entitled "Good Friend, Bad Piece" (co-authored with his daughter Jane Mayer
Jane Mayer
Jane Mayer is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine since 1995...
), which addresses a not-infrequent dilemma: what to say to a composer friend after having just heard—and disliked—his new piece.
Among Mayer's works for young people are Hello, World!, which was recorded with Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
as narrator, the ballet The Snow Queen and the opera One Christmas Long Ago. All three stage works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
.
His discography encompasses most media. Operatic and orchestral works have been recorded by 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...
, the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
, the Milwaukee Symphony and Music Today (Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
, director); choral works by conductors Robert De Cormier, Peter Schubert and Gregg Smith (who recorded the oratorio The Eve of St. Agnes on Vox's "American Sings" Series); and chamber music by St. Luke's Chamber Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, North/South Consonance and the New York Brass and Wind Ensemble.
Both Mayer's Piano Sonata and Octagon have been recorded by William Masselos
William Masselos
William Masselos was an American classical pianist.-Biography:William Masselos was born in Niagara Falls, New York to a Dutch mother and a Greek father...
, while pianists Steven Mayer and Şahan Arzruni have recorded Abandoned Bells and Subway in the Sunlight and Other Memories. Most recorded of all are the composer's songs, especially with instrumental accompaniment.
A Death in the Family, Mayer's opera based on the James Agee
James Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
novel and Tad Mosel
Tad Mosel
Tad Mosel was an American playwright and one of the leading dramatists of hour-long teleplay genre for live television during the 1950s. He received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play All the Way Home....
play All the Way Home
All the Way Home (play)
All the Way Home is a 1960 play written by American playwright Tad Mosel, adapted from the 1957 James Agee novel, A Death in the Family. Both authors received the Pulitzer Prize for their separate works....
, was named the "best new work" of its type for 1983. The late Robert Jacobson wrote in Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
:
- "William Mayer's three-act opera A Death in the Family should immediately become a candidate for regular airings around the country, so beautiful and meaningful is it, not only in its James Agee story but in the setting the composer-librettist has provided for it."
The St. Louis performance with Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
and Jake Gardner was broadcast on National Public Radio.
Complete list of works
(note that unless otherwise specified, works are published by the Theodore Presser Co.)Stage
- Hello, World! (participatory work for children's concerts, choreography by Ursula Melita, text by Susan Otto), dance troupe, 2 child actors, orchestra, 1956 (also concert version without dance troupe, child actors) (Boosey & Hawkes)
- One Christmas Long Ago (1 act opera, libretto by the composer, based on Why the Chimes Rang), 2 boy sopranos/sopranos, soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, high baritone, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1962 (also shorter concert version of one section as Festive Alleluia) (WillMayer Music)
- The Snow Queen (ballet, choreography by Sophie Maslow, scenario by the composer, after Hans Christian Andersen), dance troupe, flute, cello, 2 pianos, percussion, 1963 (a concert suite was arranged for orchestra as 'Scenes from The Snow Queen'; also concert version for 2 pianos; also version (choreography by Ursula Melita] for dance troupe, orchestra, 1971)
- Brief Candle (3 act mini-opera, libretto by Milton Feist), female mime, mixed chorus, piano/small orchestra, 1976
- A Sobbing Pillow of a Man (dramatic aria, text by James Agee), baritone, comprimario rôles (soprano, 2 altos, bass), piano, 1980
- A Death in the Family (3 act opera, libretto by the composer, after James Agee, adapted by Tad Mosel), boy soprano, 2 sopranos, 4 mezzo-sopranos, alto, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, bass-baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 2-track tape, 1983 (a concert suite was arranged for mixed chorus, piano; also concert versions of two sections: Last Song and Kitchen Duet) (WillMayer Music)
Orchestral
- The Greatest Sound Around (animal contest, text by Susan Otto), baritone-speaker, orchestra, 1955 (version of section of Children's songs) (European American Music Distributors)
- Hello, World!, female voice-speaker/male voice-speaker, orchestra, 1956 (concert version of stage work) (Boosey & Hawkes)
- Andante for Strings, 16 or more strings, 1956 (version of work for string quartet) (European American Music Distributors)
- Concert Piece for Trumpet and Strings, trumpet, small orchestra (percussion, 16 or more strings), 1957 (also version as Concert Piece for Trumpet and Piano) (Boosey & Hawkes)
- Overture for an American, large orchestra, 1958 (Boosey & Hawkes)
- Two Pastels for Orchestra, 1960 (European American Music Distributors)
- Scenes from The Snow Queen (concert suite from ballet), small orchestra/large orchestra, 1966
- Octagon (concerto), piano, orchestra, 1971 (also version for 2 pianos) (European American Music Distributors)
- Inner and Outer Strings, string quartet, 26 or more strings, 1982 (Boelke-Bomart)
- Of Rivers and Trains, small orchestra (20 players)/large orchestra, 1988 (WillMayer Music)
- Good King Wenceslas (fantasy, text by A.A. Milne), female speaker/male speaker, orchestra, 1996 (version of vocal work) (WillMayer Music)
Chamber music
- Andante for Strings, string quartet, 1951 (also version for string orchestra) (European American Music Distributors)
- Song for English Horn, English horn, piano, 1951 (WillMayer Music)
- Song for Oboe, oboe, piano, 1952 (WillMayer Music)
- Essay for Brass and Winds, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, percussion, 1954 (WillMayer Music)
- Celebration Trio, flute, clarinet, piano, 1956 (WillMayer Music)
- Concert Piece for Trumpet and Piano, trumpet, piano, 1957 (version of Concert Piece for Trumpet and Strings) (Boosey & Hawkes)
- Country Fair, 2 B-flat trumpets, trombone, 1958
- Two Moods for Solo Clarinet, 1960
- Brass Quintet, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1965
- Three for Three, piano, 2 percussion, 1967 (WillMayer Music)
- Back Talk (instrumental theatre work), page-turner, ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, piano, percussion), 1970
- Messages, flute, violin, viola, cello, 1/2 percussion, 1973
- Appalachian Echoes, harp, 1975
- Yankee Doodle Fanfare, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1976 (also version for flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon) (Ensemble Publications)
- Dream's End, oboe, clarinet, French horn, violin, cello, piano, 1976
- Wedding Romp, bassoon, violin, 1985 (WillMayer Music)
- Unlikely Neighbors, flute, oboe, clarinet, trombone, piano, 1991 (WillMayer Music)
- Summer Glints (vocalise), countertenor, flute, oboe, harpsichord, string quartet, 2002 (WillMayer Music)
- Twists, oboe, viola, 2008 (WillMayer Music)
Choral
- To Electra (madrigal, text by Robert Herrick), mixed chorus, 1951 (WillMayer Music)
- The Passionate Shepherd to his Love (madrigal, text by Christopher Marlowe), mixed chorus, 1952 (WillMayer Music)
- The Nymph's Reply to the Passionate Shepherd (madrigal, text by Sir Walter Raleigh), mixed chorus, 1952 (WillMayer Music)
- Corinna's Going a-Maying (madrigal, text by Robert Herrick), mixed chorus, 1952 (WillMayer Music)
- Festive Alleluia, mixed chorus, organ, 1963 (shorter concert version of section of One Christmas Long Ago) (WillMayer Music)
- Kyrie (text from the words "Kyrie Eleison"), mixed chorus, 1965 (WillMayer Music)
- The Eve of St. Agnes (dramatic oratorio, text by John Keats), 2 sopranos, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, piano/orchestra, 1968
- Letters Home (dramatic oratorio, texts from letters written by American, North Vietnamese soldiers), male speaker, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1968 (European American Music Distributors)
- Lines on Light (texts by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Dylan Thomas, the composer), female chorus, piano, 1971 (one section may be performed separately: Silent Icicles Quietly Shining) (WillMayer Music)
- Spring Came on Forever (dramatic oratorio, texts by Vachel Lindsay, James Stephens, Langston Hughes, anonymous poem "O Western wind, when will thou blow", the Song of Solomon, the composer), mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1974
- La Belle Dame sans Merci (text by John Keats), tenor, mixed chorus (sopranos, altos, basses), 1976 (Warner Chappell)
- A Death in the Family, mixed chorus, piano, 1983 (concert suite of some sections of opera) (WillMayer Music)
- The Negro Speaks of RiversThe Negro Speaks of Rivers"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is a poem by American writer Langston Hughes.-Composition and publication history:Langston Hughes wrote the poem on an envelope while traveling by train to Mexico as he crossed the Mississippi River to St. Louis. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" was first published in The...
(text by Langston Hughes), 5 mixed voices, piano, 1992 (also version for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano) (Boelke-Bomart) - Ae Fond Kiss (text by Robert Burns), mixed chorus, flute, cello, piano, 1993 (Warner Chappell)
Vocal
- That Purple Bird (text by the composer), soprano/mezzo-soprano/tenor, piano, 1950 (WillMayer Music)
- Paradox (text by Marjorie Marx), soprano, piano, 1952 (WillMayer Music)
- For a Young Man (text by Marjorie Marx), soprano/tenor, piano, 1953 (WillMayer Music)
- Children's songs (text by Susan Otto), baritone-speaker, piano, 1952-55 (also version of one section, The Greatest Sound Around, for baritone-speaker, orchestra) (European American Music Distributors)
- Barbara, What have you Done? (text by Susan Otto), 2 sopranos, piano, 1962 (WillMayer Music)
- Always, Always Forever Again (text by Eugene O'Neill), 2 sopranos, piano, 1963 (also version for soprano, flute, piano, 1963) (WillMayer Music)
- No one knows (text by Susan Otto), soprano/mezzo-soprano/tenor, piano, 1964 (WillMayer Music)
- Khartoum (text by the composer), soprano/mezzo-soprano, piccolo, violin, cello, piano, 1968 (also version for mezzo-soprano/tenor/baritone, piano, 1969) (WillMayer Music)
- Eight Miniatures (texts by Elizabeth Aleinikoff, Dorothy Parker, Alfred Noyes, the composer), soprano, flute, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1968
- Two News Items (text by the composer), soprano, flute, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1968 (also version of one section, Distraught Soprano Undergoes Unfortunate Transformation, for soprano, piano, 2004 [WillMayer Music])
- Five Miniatures (texts by Dorothy Parker, the composer), soprano, piano, 1969 (WillMayer Music)
- Enter Ariel (song-cycle, texts by Hart Crane, e.e. cummings, Langston Hughes, Sara Teasdale), soprano, clarinet, piano, 1980
- Kitchen Duet, soprano, baritone, piano, 1980 (concert version of section of A Death in the Family)
- Passage (song-cycle, texts by Carl Sandburg, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Elizabeth Aleinikoff, Sir John Aubrey, the composer), mezzo-soprano, flute, harp, 1981 (one section may be performed separately: What Lips my Lips have Kissed)
- Fern Hill (text by Dylan Thomas), soprano, flute, harp, 1981
- Lover's Lament (text by the composer), tenor/baritone, piano, 1982 (WillMayer Music)
- First Song (text by Galway Kinnell), tenor, clarinet, violin, piano, 1990 (WillMayer Music)
- Good King Wenceslas (fantasy, text by A.A. Milne), female speaker/male speaker, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, piano, 1992 (also version for female speaker/male speaker, orchestra, 1996)
- Distant Playing Fields (vocalise), tenor, flute, clarinet, French horn, cello, piano, 1995
- Last Song, soprano/high mezzo-soprano, clarinet, violin, piano, 1996 (concert version of section of A Death in the Family) (WillMayer Music)
- Zoom-bah (text by the composer), soprano, flute, harp, viola, 1997
- Dream Variations (text by Langston Hughes), baritone, piano, 2007 (WillMayer Music)
- The Negro Speaks of Rivers, soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 2007 (version of choral work) (Boelke-Bomart/WillMayer Music)
- Advice (text by Langston Hughes), soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 2008 (WillMayer Music)
Piano
- Pepper and Salt, 1957 (WillMayer Music)
- Angles, 1958 (WillMayer Music)
- Sonata, 1959 (one section may be performed separately: Fantasia) (WillMayer Music)
- The Snow Queen, 2 pianos, 1963 (concert version of ballet) (WillMayer Music)
- Octagon, 2 pianos, 1971 (version of work for piano, orchestra)
- Toccata, 1972 (WillMayer Music)
- A Most Important Train, piano/2 pianos, 1975
- Abandoned Bells, 1982
- Subway in the Sunlight and Other Memories, 1991
Songs for music theatre (1951–61)
- Here in New York (text by Harold Littledale)
- Look at Me (text by Harold Littledale)
- What did I do? (text by Harold Littledale)
- It's a Perfect Day (text by Emily Jacobi)
- I Need Your Magic (text by Emily Jacobi)
- I'm Nobody Now (text by Elaine Sherwood)
- Mary Ann (text by Elaine Sherwood)
- How About It? (text by the composer)
- Deep in the Hidden Heart (text by Elizabeth Aleinikoff)
- Let's Have a Party (text by Emily Jacobi)
- Autumn Girl (text by the composer)
- Chez Vous (text by Sheldon Harnick)