Stephen Hartke (1952- )
Stephen Hartke is widely recognized as one of the leading composers of
his generation, whose work has been hailed for both its singularity of
voice and the inclusive breadth of its inspiration. Born in Orange, New
Jersey, he grew up in Manhattan where he began his musical career as a
professional boy chorister, performing with such organizations as the
New York Pro Musica, the New York Philharmonic, the American Symphony
Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Opera. Following studies at Yale, the
University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California at Santa
Barbara, interrupted by stints as advertising manager for several major
music publishers, Hartke taught in Brazil as Fulbright Professor at the
Universidade de Sao Paulo, before joining the University of Southern
California faculty in 1987. Hartke's output is extremely varied,
from the medieval-inspired piano quartet The King of the Sun, and Wulfstan at the Millennium, an abstract liturgy for ten instruments, the blues-inflected violin duo, Oh Them Rats Is Mean in My Kitchen, and the surreal trio, The Horse with the Lavender Eye, to the Biblical satire, Sons of Noah, for soprano, four flutes, four guitars and four bassoons, and his recent cycle of motets for chorus, oboe and strings, Precepts.
He has composed concerti for renowned clarinetist, Richard Stoltzman,
and violinist, Michele Makarski, and his collaboration with
the Hilliard Ensemble has resulted in three substantial works,
including his Symphony No. 3,
commissioned by Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic. Other
major commissions have come from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center, Carnegie Hall and the Harvard Musical Association, the IRIS
Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles
Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber
Orchestra, the Barlow Endowment, Chamber Music America, the Fromm
Foundation, the Institute for American Music at the Eastman School of
Music, Meet The Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, among others. Hartke has
also won the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, two
Koussevitzky Music Foundation Commission Grants, a Guggenheim
Fellowship, the Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and
Letters, the Stoeger Award from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center, the Charles Ives Living from the American Academy of Arts and
Letters, and the Deutsche Bank Berlin Prize from the American Academy
in Berlin. In 2008 Hartke received the first Charles Ives Opera
Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is
Distinguished Professor of Composition at the Thornton School of Music
of the University of Southern California.COMPOSITIONS Hartke Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
[untitled], clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1968)
Symphony No. 1, orchestra (1976)
Caoine, violin (1980)
Four Madrigals on Old Portuguese Texts, chorus (1981)
Two Songs for an Uncertain Age, soprano and orchestra (1982)
Iglesia Abandonada, soprano and violin (1982)
Canções modernistas, soprano, clarinet, bass clarinet and viola (1982)
Alvorada, string orchestra (1983)
Sonata-Variations, violin and piano (1984)
Oh the Rats Is Mean in My Kitchen, violin duo (1985)
Maltese Cat Blues, orchestra (1986)
Precession, 13 instruments (1986)
Pacific Rim, orchestra (1988) [also arr. for wind ensemble, 2010]
The King of the Sun, tableaux for violin, viola, cello and piano (1988)
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1990)
Night Rubrics, phantasy for solo cello (1990)
Wir Küssen Ihnen Tausendmal die Hände, homage to Mozart, clarinet, horn, fortepiano and string trio (1991)
Post-Modern Homages, piano (1984-92)
Concerto for Vioin and Orchestra, "Auld Swaara" (1992)
Un tout petit trompe-l'oreille, guitar (1992)
The Piano Dreams of Empire, piano (1994)
The Ascent of the Equestrian in a Balloon, orchestra (1995)
Wulfstan at the Millennium, music for 10 Players (1995)
Sons of Noah, soprano, 4 flutes, 4 guitars and 4 bassoons (1996)
The Horse with the Lavender Eye, episodes for clarinet, violin and piano (1997)
Sonata, piano (1998)
Tituli, 5 solo male voices, violin and 2 percussionists (1999)
Gradus, bass clarinet, vibraphone, violin, cello, doublebass and piano (1999)
The Rose of the Winds, string octet (1999)
Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain, countertenor, 2 tenors and baritone (2000)
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, "Landscapes with Blues" (2001)
Beyond Words, ricercar for violin, viola, cello and piano (2001)
Two Shetland Bridal Tunes, violin duo (2001)
Symphony No. 3, countertenor, 2 tenors, baritone and orchestra (2003)
Prelude to a Shadow Play, violin, viola, cello and piano (2004)
Suite for Summer, flute, oboe, clarinet, violin and cello (2004)
Percolative Processes, percussion ensemble (2005)
The Greater Good, or, The Passion of Boule de Suif, opera in 2 acts (2003-06)
A Brandenburg Autumn, double deeds, horns, harpsichord and string orchestra (2006)
Three Soliloquies From the Greater Good, 9 Instruments (2006)
Precepts, chorus, oboe, chamber organ and string orchestra (2007)
Meanwhile, incidental music to imaginary puppet plays, flute, clarinet, viola, cello, percussion and piano (2007)
Night Songs For a Desert Flower, string quartet (2009)
From the Fifth Book, string quartet (2011)
Netsuke (6 miniatures), violin and piano (2011)
WORKS BY GENRE Hartke Links ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
The Greater Good, or, The Passion of Boule de Suif, opera in 2 acts (2003-06)
Orchestra
Symphony No. 1, orchestra (1976)
Alvorada, string orchestra (1983)
Maltese Cat Blues, orchestra (1986)
Pacific Rim, orchestra (1988)
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1990)
The Ascent of the Equestrian in a Balloon, orchestra (1995)
Symphony No. 3, countertenor, 2 tenors, baritone and orchestra (2003)
A Brandenburg Autumn, double deeds, horns, harpsichord and string orchestra (2006)
Band
Pacific Rim, wind ensemble (1988/2010) [arr. from work for orchestra]
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Concerto for Vioin and Orchestra, "Auld Swaara" (1992)
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, "Landscapes with Blues" (2001)
Chorus w/Orchestra
Precepts, chorus, oboe, chamber organ and string orchestra (2007)
Choral
Four Madrigals on Old Portuguese Texts, chorus (1981)
Tituli, 5 solo male voices, violin and 2 percussionists (1999)
Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain, countertenor, 2 tenors and baritone (2000)
Chamber
[untitled], clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1968)
Oh the Rats Is Mean in My Kitchen, violin duo (1985)
Precession, 13 instruments (1986)
The King of the Sun, tableaux for violin, viola, cello and piano (1988)
Wir Küssen Ihnen Tausendmal die Hände, homage to Mozart, clarinet, horn, fortepiano and string trio (1991)
Wulfstan at the Millennium, music for 10 Players (1995)
The Horse with the Lavender Eye, episodes for clarinet, violin and piano (1997)
Gradus, bass clarinet, vibraphone, violin, cello, doublebass and piano (1999)
The Rose of the Winds, string octet (1999)
Beyond Words, ricercar for violin, viola, cello and piano (2001)
Two Shetland Bridal Tunes, violin duo (2001)
Prelude to a Shadow Play, violin, viola, cello and piano (2004)
Suite for Summer, flute, oboe, clarinet, violin and cello (2004)
Percolative Processes, percussion ensemble (2005)
Three Soliloquies From the Greater Good, 9 Instruments (2006)
Meanwhile, incidental music to imaginary puppet plays, flute, clarinet, viola, cello, percussion and piano (2007)
Night Songs For a Desert Flower, string quartet (2009)
From the Fifth Book, string quartet (2011)
Instrument and Piano
Sonata-Variations, violin and piano (1984)
Netsuke (6 miniatures), violin and piano (2011)
Solo Instrument
Caoine, violin (1980)
Night Rubrics, phantasy for solo cello (1990)
Un tout petit trompe-l'oreille, guitar (1992)
Piano
Post-Modern Homages, piano (1984-92)
The Piano Dreams of Empire, piano (1994)
Sonata, piano (1998)
Vocal
Two Songs for an Uncertain Age, soprano and orchestra (1982)
Iglesia Abandonada, soprano and violin (1982)
Canções modernistas, soprano, clarinet, bass clarinet and viola (1982)
Sons of Noah, soprano, 4 flutes, 4 guitars and 4 bassoons (1996)
Tituli, 5 solo male voices, violin and 2 percussionists (1999)
Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain, countertenor, 2 tenors and baritone (2000)
Symphony No. 3, countertenor, 2 tenors, baritone and orchestra (2003)
HARTKE LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
And the Pulitzer Prize for the Best Apple of the Year Goes to - an Orange! (Stephen Harke, NewMusicBox)
How Stephen Hartke Found His Voice (Mark Stryker, Free Press)
9/11 Composer Responses: Stephen Hartke (John Clare, Chamber Musician Today)
Pure of Hartke (Diane Krieger, USC News)
Composer's website . . . contact Stephen Hartke: here
Hartke @ Wikipedia
Hartke @ American Academy in Berlin
Hartke @ American Academy of Arts and Letters
Hartke @ American Music Center
Hartke @ Art of the States also here
Hartke @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Hartke @ Classical Archives
Hartke @ Classical Composers Database
Hartke @ Classical Net
Hartke @ ClassicsToday
Hartke @ ECM/between sound and space
Hartke @ Facebook
Hartke @ InstantEncore
Hartke @ LinkedIn
Hartke @ Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hartke @ MusicWeb International
Hartke @ musicianguide.com
Hartke @ Naxos
Hartke @ New World Records
Hartke @ The New York Times
Hartke @ NPR
Hartke @ Orpheus Chamber Orchestra/New Brandenburgs
Hartke @ The Pulitzer Prizes - see 2008
Hartke @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Hartke @ Saint Paul Sunday
Hartke @ USC Thorton School of Music also here
Publisher
Hartke @ Composer's website
Hartke @ Lauren Keiser Music
Streaming Audio
Hartke @ Art of the States
Hartke @ Classical Archives
Hartke @ Richard Faria/Ithaca College
Hartke @ last.fm
Hartke @ NPRmusic
Hartke @ Rhapsody.com
Hartke @ Saint Paul Sunday
Recordings
Hartke @ Composer's website
Hartke @ Amazon.com
Hartke @ ArkivMusic
Hartke @ CD Universe
Hartke @ ClassicsOnline
Hartke @ Discogs
Hartke @ DRAM Online
Hartke @ ECM/between sound and space
Video
Hartke @ YouTube
Hartke @ Google Video
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