Kati Agócs (1975- )
Kati Agócs (kuh-tee ah-goch) was born in Windsor, Canada, of
Hungarian and American
background, and has been on the composition faculty of the New England
Conservatory in Boston since 2008. Bridging the gap between lapidary
rigor and sensuous lyricism, her music is performed all over the world
by leading musicians and ensembles. The Boston Globe
recently described
it as "moving and taut" and "music of fluidity and austere beauty,"
while Boston's The Hub
Review described her orchestral music as
"gorgeous". The New
York Times has characterized it as "striking" and
"filled with attractive ideas" and has described her vocal music as
possessing "an almost 19th-century naturalness." A citation
from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters for the Charles Ives Fellowship in 2008
praised the "melody, drama, and clear design" of her music, its
"soulful directness", and its "naturalness of dissonance." Her
works have been performed by Eighth Blackbird, the Chamber Music
Society of
Lincoln Center, Xanthos Ensemble, Standing Wave, Lontano
(London), Lisa Bielawa and Boston Modern Orchestra Project,
the Hamilton
Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble de Flûtes Alizé (Montréal), National
Youth Orchestra of Canada, Chamber Ensemble of the Orchestra of St.
Luke's, American Composers Orchestra, Da Capo
Chamber Players, pianist Fredrik Ullén, Duo Concertante, saxophonist
Timothy McAllister, and PRISM Saxophone Quartet, among
others. Agócs
was Composer-in Residence with the National Youth Orchestra of
Canada (2010 season), and with the Spartanburg
Philharmonic Orchestra, through the Music Alive: New Partnerships
program of Meet the
Composer and the League of American Orchestras. Her awards
include an inaugural 2009 Brother Thomas Fellowship
from the Boston Foundation, a 2008 Charles Ives Fellowship, ASCAP
Leonard Bernstein
Fellowship, multiple grants from the
Canada Council for the Arts, a Fulbright Fellowship, Jacob K. Javits
Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Composition
fellowship, a Jerome Foundation commission, Presser Foundation Award,
and honors from ASCAP in their Morton Gould Young Composer Awards.
Fellowships and residencies include the Great Lakes Chamber Music
Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Yale Summer School of Music),
Aspen Music Festival, MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Dartington International
Music Festival (U.K.), and Virginia Arts Festival. In 2004,
she spearheaded a
groundbreaking exchange program between Juilliard and the Liszt Academy
in Budapest (that still continues today), and she has written on recent
American and Hungarian music for Tempo
and The Musical Times. Agócs
earned her Doctor of Musical Arts and Masters degrees from The
Juilliard School, where her principal teacher was Milton Babbitt. She
is also an alumna of the Aspen Music School, Tanglewood Music Festival,
Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific (one of the United World
Colleges), and Sarah Lawrence College, all of which she attended on
full scholarship. From 2006 through 2008 she taught at the School of
Music, Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is on the composition
faculty of The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and
maintains a work studio in the village of Flatrock, near St. John’s,
Newfoundland, Canada.COMPOSITIONS Agócs Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Agócs on Agócs
All The Ends of the World, string trio (2001)
Caritas, flute, cello and piano (2001)
Secret Gardens, guitar (2004)
Imagination of Their Hearts, soprano or mez-sopr, vln, cl, vc & piano (2004) [text: medieval & folk poems in 5 languages]
Coloratura (6 motets), saxophone quartet (2005)
Versprechen (Promise), solo violin (or viola; or cello) (2005)
Every Lover is a Warrior, harp (2005)
As Biddeth Thy Tongue, alto saxophone (2006)
Division of Heaven and Earth, piano (2006)
Immutable Dreams, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2007)
I and Thou, 2 cellos (2007)
Vocalise on a Poem by Dylan Thomas, oboe and viola (2007)
Nostalgia for Airs Unheard, piano (2007)
Requiem Fragments, orchestra (2008)
Supernatural Love, violin and piano (2008)
By the Streams of Babylon, 2 sopranos and chamber orchestra (2008) [text: Psalm 136]
... like treasure hidden in a field, chamber orchestra (2009)
Awakening Galatea, soprano, flute and harp (2009)
Elysium, amplified solo cello, flute choir (or chamber orchestra) and tape (2010)
Perpetual Summer, orchestra (2010)
Shenanigan, orchestra (2011)
Vessel, 3 voices, violin, harp, double bass and 3 percussionists (2011) [10 players???]
WORKS BY GENRE Agócs Links ~ ~ ~ Agócs on Agócs ~ top of page ~
Orchestra
Requiem Fragments, orchestra (2008)
... like treasure hidden in a field, chamber orchestra (2009)
- Chorale
- Peregrination
- Pearl of Great Price
- Cathedral with No Ceiling
- Celestial Machinery
Perpetual Summer, orchestra (2010)
Shenanigan, orchestra (2011)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra or Ensemble
Elysium, amplified solo cello, flute choir (or chamber orchestra) and tape (2010)
Chamber
All The Ends of the World, string trio (2001)
Caritas, flute, cello and piano (2001)
Coloratura (6 motets), saxophone quartet (2005)
- Introit
- Laud
- Hoquetus
- Lamentation
- Fuging Tune
- Hymn
Versprechen (Promise), solo violin (or viola; or cello) (2005)
Immutable Dreams, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (2007)
- "I feel the air of other planets"
- Microconcerto in Memoriam György Ligeti
- Husks
I and Thou, 2 cellos (2007)
Vocalise on a Poem by Dylan Thomas, oboe and viola (2007)
Supernatural Love, violin and piano (2008)
Solo Instrument
Secret Gardens, guitar (2004)
Every Lover is a Warrior, harp (2005)
As Biddeth Thy Tongue, alto saxophone (2006)
Piano
Division of Heaven and Earth, piano (2006)
Nostalgia for Airs Unheard, piano (2007)
Vocal
Imagination of Their Hearts, soprano or mez-sopr, vln, cl, vc & piano (2004) [text: medieval & folk poems in 5 languages]
By the Streams of Babylon, 2 sopranos and chamber orchestra (2008) [text: Psalm 136]
Awakening Galatea, soprano, flute and harp (2009)
Vessel, 3 voices, violin, harp, double bass and 3 percussionists (2011) [10 players???]
Electronic
Elysium, amplified solo cello, flute choir (or chamber orchestra) and tape (2010)
AGÓCS LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Agócs on Agócs ~ top of page ~
Canadian Composer Wins Prestigious U.S. Fellowship (CBC News) also here
Interview with Kati Agócs (Zach Herchen)
Kati Agócs – Six Questions About Women in Composition Now (WSO New Music Festival)
NEC Faculty Composer Kati Agócs to Have Orchestral Work Premiered at Olympics (New England Conservatory)
Composer's website . . . contact Kati Agócs: here
Agócs @ Wikipedia
Agócs @ American Academy of Arts and Letters
Agócs @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project also here
Agócs @ Classical Archives
Agócs @ Composers Collaborative Inc.
Agócs @ composition:today
Agócs @ Facebook
Agócs @ InstantEncore
Agócs @ La Ligue canadienne des compositeurs (LCC)/Canadian League of Composers
Agócs @ Meet the Composer
Agócs @ Meet the Composer Studio
Agócs @ Metropolis Ensemble
Agócs @ MusicWeb International
Agocs @ New England Conservatory
Agócs @ New York City Ballet/New York Choreographic Institute
Agócs @ The New York Times
Agócs @ Sonagrama (in French)
Agócs @ WSO New Music Festival
Publisher
Agócs @ Composer's website
Streaming Audio
Agócs @ Concert Artists Guild
Agócs @ Classical Archives
Agócs @ Meet the Composer
Agócs @ Meet the Composer Studio
Agócs @ minimal exposition
Agócs @ MySpaceMusic/@ Breath Beneath
Agócs @ MySpaceMusic/@ Concert Artists Guild
Agócs @ ReverbNation
Agócs @ Leonardo Turrin
Recordings
Agócs @ ArkivMusic
Agócs @ CD Universe
Agócs @ ClassicsOnline
Video
Agócs @ YouTube
Agócs @ Google Video
~ top of page ~
Agócs on Agócs: Composing Vessel (VIDEO)
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