Stephen Albert (1941-92)
Pulitzer Prize-
and Grammy-winning composer Stephen Albert, whose tragic death in
December of 1992 stunned the music world, was recognized in his
lifetime for a body of work at once powerful, dramatic, colorful, and
deeply emotive. Contemporary in sound, yet firmly rooted in traditional
compositional techniques, Albert's music sought to establish links with
fundamental human emotions and musical archetypes. He drew inspiration
from the rich emotional palette of 19th-century music, and sought to
discover, within the context of a personal 20th-century idiom, new
connections with music of the past. Stephen Albert won the 1985
Pulitzer Prize in Music for his symphony RiverRun,
and from 1985 to 1988 served as composer-in-residence with the Seattle
Symphony. He received commissions from the Chicago, National,
Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Seattle symphonies, The Philadelphia
Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of
Lincoln Center, and the Library of Congress. Among his other awards and
honors were two MacDowell Colony fellowships, a Huntington Hartford
Fellowship, two Guggenheim fellowships, two Rome Prizes, and grants
from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund, the National Endowment for the
Arts, the Ford Foundation, and the Alice M. Ditson Foundation. From
1988 to the time of his death, he was professor of composition at the
Juilliard School of Music. He had also taught in the Lima, Ohio public
schools (under a Ford Foundation grant as composer-in-residence), and
at the Philadelphia Musical Academy (1968-70), Stanford University
(1970-71), and Smith College (1974-76). COMPOSITIONS Stephen Albert Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
Imitations (after Bartók), string quartet (1963)
Supernatural Songs (3 songs), soprano, piano, and chamber orchestra (1964) [text: W.B. Yeats]
Five Wedding Songs, soprano and piano (1964) [1965?]
Winter Songs (4 songs), tenor and orchestra (1965)
Bacchae: A Ceremony in Music, chorus, narrator, soloists, electric guitars, saxophones and orchestra (1967)
Wolf Time, soprano & orch w/amplification (1968) [text: from 'The soothsayings of Vala' (10th century Icelandic edda 'Voluspa']
Illuminations: 2 pianos, brass, harps and percussion (1969)
Orchestra Book, orchestra (1972)
Voices Within, concert group [picc, picc cl, alto sax, cornet, trom, hp, pf, vln, db] and orchestra (1975)
Cathedral Music, concerto for four quartets (1977)
To Wake the Dead, 6 sentimental songs & an interlude, soprano & chmbr ens (1977; rev. 1986) [text: Joyce: Finnegans Wake]
Into Eclipse, tenor and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1981; rev. 1989) [text: Seneca's "Oedipus", adapted by Ted Hughes]
TreeStone, song cycle, soprano, tenor & ensemble [fl/pc/afl, cl/B♭/A/E♭/bs, tpt, hn, perc, hp, pf, str qt, db] (1983) [text: J. Joyce]
Symphony No. 1, "RiverRun" (1983) [source of inspiration: Joyce's Finnegans Wake; shares material & is related to "TreeStone"]
Flower of the Mountain, soprano and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1985) [text: James Joyce] [part of "Distant Hills"]
In Concordiam, violin and orchestra (1986)
Anthems and Processionals, orchestra (1988)
Tribute, a duo in one movement, violin and piano (1988)
The Stone Harp (5 songs), tenor, 2 violas, 2 cellos, harp and percussion [timpani and vibraphone] (1988) [text: John Haines]
Sun's Heat, tenor and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1989) [text: James Joyce] [part of "Distant Hills"]
Distant Hills, tenor, soprano and orch (1985-89) [text: from Joyce's Ulysses] [chamber version titled: "Distant Hills Coming Nigh"]
- Sun's Heat, tenor and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1989) [text: James Joyce]
- Flower of the Mountain, soprano and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1985) [text: James Joyce]
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1990)
Wind Canticle, clarinet and chamber orchestra (1991)
Tapioca Pudding, orchestra (1991)
Rilke Song - On Nights Like This, soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1991)
Ecce puer, sopr[ano], ob[oe], h[or]n & p[ia]no (1992) [text: James Joyce]
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1992) [orchestration completed by Sebastian Currier]
WORKS BY GENRE Stephen Albert Links ~ top of page ~
Orchestra
Orchestra Book, orchestra (1972)
Symphony No. 1, "RiverRun" (1983) [source of inspiration: Joyce's Finnegans Wake; shares material & is related to "TreeStone"]
- Rain Music
- Leafy Speafing
- Beside The Rivering Waters
- RiversEnd
Anthems and Processionals, orchestra (1988)
Tapioca Pudding, orchestra (1991)
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1992) [orchestration completed by Sebastian Currier]
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Voices Within, concert group [picc, picc cl, alto sax, cornet, trom, hp, pf, vln, db] and orchestra (1975)
- A review
- Night crystals
- Song of the ram
- Crystal night
- Review #2
In Concordiam, violin and orchestra (1986)
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1990)
Wind Canticle, clarinet and chamber orchestra (1991)
Chorus w/Orchestra
Bacchae: A Ceremony in Music, chorus, narrator, soloists, electric guitars, saxophones and orchestra (1967)
Chamber
Imitations (after Bartók), string quartet (1963)
Illuminations: 2 pianos, brass, harps and percussion (1969)
Cathedral Music, concerto for four quartets (1977)
- Group I: 2 ampl fl, 2 ampl cellos; II: tpt/picc tpt, 2 hn, trom; III: perc [2 players], ampl hp, ampl gtr; IV: elec org, elec pf, 2 pf
Instrument and Piano
Tribute, a duo in one movement, violin and piano (1988)
Vocal
Supernatural Songs (3 songs), soprano, piano, and chamber orchestra (1964) [text: W.B. Yeats]
- All the stream that's roaring by
- There all the barrel hoops are knit
- As the moon sidles up
Five Wedding Songs, soprano and piano (1964) [1965?]
- ??? [text: William Carlos Williams]
- ??? [text: Robert Frost]
- ??? [text: Rilke]
- ??? [text: Dickinson]
- ??? [text: Roethke]
Winter Songs (4 songs), tenor and orchestra (1965)
- Fire and ice [text: Robert Frost]
- The snow begins [text: William Carlos Williams]
- Stopping by the woods [text: Robert Frost]
- Child of my winter [text: D.W. Snodgrass]
Wolf Time, soprano & orch w/amplification (1968) [text: from 'The soothsayings of Vala' (10th century Icelandic edda 'Voluspa']
- Dark grows the sun
- Interlude
- Dark grows the sun (con't)
- I sit alone
- Interlude
- Red cock crows
- The wolves
To Wake the Dead, 6 sentimental songs & an interlude, soprano & chmbr ens (1977; rev. 1986) [text: Joyce: Finnegans Wake]
- [ensemble: fl/alto fl, cl/bass cl, vln/va, vc, pf, harmonium]
- How It Ends
- Riverrun (ballad of Perse O'Reilly)
- Pray Your Prayers
- Interlude (instrumental)
- Forget, Remember
- Sod's Brood, Mr. Finn
- Passing Out
Into Eclipse, tenor and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1981; rev. 1989) [text: Seneca's "Oedipus", adapted by Ted Hughes]
- Prologue and riddle song
- Oedipus I
- A quiet fate
- Ghosts
- Oedipus II
TreeStone, song cycle, soprano, tenor & ensemble [fl/pc/afl, cl/B♭/A/E♭/bs, tpt, hn, perc, hp, pf, str qt, db] (1983) [text: J. Joyce]
- I am leafy speafing
- A grand funferall
- Seabirds
- Tristopher Tristian
- Fallen griefs
- Anna Livia Plurabelle
Flower of the Mountain (1985) - see "Distant Hills" (1985-89)
The Stone Harp (5 songs), tenor, 2 violas, 2 cellos, harp and percussion [timpani and vibraphone] (1988) [text: John Haines]
- Winter evening
- Wolves
- Wingbeat
- Lemmings
- Children of wind and shadow
Distant Hills, tenor, soprano and orch (1985-89) [text: from Joyce's Ulysses] [chamber vers. titled: "Distant Hills Coming Nigh"]
- Sun's Heat, tenor and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1989) [text: James Joyce]
- Flower of the Mountain, soprano and orchestra (or chamber ensemble) (1985) [text: James Joyce]
Rilke Song - On Nights Like This, soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1991)
Ecce puer, sopr[ano], ob[oe], h[or]n & p[ia]no (1992) [text: James Joyce]
STEPHEN ALBERT LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
Composer Stephen Albert: `Impassioned Man Of Ideas' (The Seattle Times, Melinda Bargreen)
Obituary: Stephen Albert (Peter Dickinson, The Independent)
Stephen Albert, A Composer Who Hears The Audience (Daniel Webster, Philly.com)
Stephen Albert - A Conversation with Bruce Duffie (bruceduffie.com)
When a Composer Breaks the Cocoon (David Owens, The Christian Science Monitor)
Composer website (at G. Schirmer) . . . inquire about Stephen Albert: here
Stephen Albert @ Wikipedia
Stephen Albert @ Answers.com
Stephen Albert @ Audiophile Audition (via Google Advanced Search)
Stephen Albert @ Classical Archives
Stephen Albert @ Classical Composers Database
Stephen Albert @ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music
Stephen Albert @ Facebook
Stephen Albert @ The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music
Stephen Albert @ InstantEncore
Stephen Albert @ Karadar Classical Music
Stephen Albert @ The Kennedy Center
Stephen Albert @ Klassika
Stephen Albert @ The Modern Word
Stephen Albert @ MusicWeb International
Stephen Albert @ Naxos
Stephen Albert @ New Music USA [formerly American Music Center]
Stephen Albert @ New World Records also here
Stephen Albert @ The New York Times
Stephen Albert @ The Pulitzer Prizes [see 1985 & 1987]
Stephen Albert @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Stephen Albert @ G. Schirmer
Stephen Albert @ Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary
Stephen Albert @ Yale University Library/Oral History of American Music (OHAM)
Publisher
Stephen Albert @ G. Schirmer
Stephen Albert @ Carl Fischer
Streaming Audio
Stephen Albert @ Classical Archives
Stephen Albert @ last.fm
Stephen Albert @ Rhapsody.com
Recordings
Stephen Albert @ Amazon.com
Stephen Albert @ ArkivMusic
Stephen Albert @ CD Universe
Stephen Albert @ ClassicsOnline
Stephen Albert @ Discogs
Stephen Albert @ itunes
Stephen Albert @ Naxos
Stephen Albert @ New World Records
Video
Stephen Albert @ YouTube
Stephen Albert @ Google Video
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