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Elizabeth Hoffman (1961-     )

Elizabeth Hoffman has lived and worked in New York City since joining the Arts and Science Faculty at New York University (NYU) in 1998, where she founded and directs the Washington Square Computer Music Studio in the Department of Music. Hoffman’s musical interests center around texture, timbre, tuning, harmony at the border of noise, and spatialization. She has written electroacoustic music since the early 1990s when her primary teachers were Bülent Arel at Stony Brook University (NY, USA), and Diane Thome and Richard Karpen at the University of Washington (WA, USA). In response to a Residency invitation she worked at the Electronic Music Studio of the Musik Akademie Basel (Switzerland) for several months in 1995. Recognition for her electroacoustic music has come from the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Prix Ars Electronica competition, Seattle Arts Commission, and Jerome Foundation. Mixed electroacoustic projects include collaborations with acoustic instrument performers Claire Chase, Elizabeth McNutt, Ivan Goff, Margaret Lancaster, Arthur Campbell, Esther Lamneck, Abbie Conant, and TimeTable Percussion. Hoffman’s electroacoustic music has been released by Neuma Records, Centaur, Innova, and empreintes DIGITALes.

COMPOSITIONS                             Elizabeth Hoffman Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Hoffman on Hoffman
Sculptures, electroacoustic work (1992) [12:00]
Continuities and Discretions, chorus (1993)
Voice of the Rain, electroacoustic work (1993) [16:50]
Tesserae, computer-generated music (1994) [8:45]
Job's Wife, chamber opera in 3 acts (1995) [90:00] [text: James Labe]
Für Junghae, electroacoustic work (1995) [7:00]
Vim, electroacoustic work (1995) [12:05]
    - released on Centaur CRC 2512 [accompanying "Csound instruments and scores" were released on the CD-ROM
        accompanying "The Csound Book" (MIT Press)
Things, chorus (1996) [text: James Labe]
Alchemy, electroacoustic work (1996) [3:00]
Numbers, mezzo-soprano and computer-generated tape (1998) [11:50] [released in "Computer Music Journal", vol 22/4]
The Elderberry Goddess, trombone and tape (2000) [8:50]
Manhattan Breakdown, clarinet, cello, percussion, processing and tape (2000) [18:26]
Sibilance, electroacoustic work (2000) [8:35]
Barrissement d'Éléphant, soprano and baritone saxophones (2002)
Stone's Throw, flute, clarinet, violin, percussion and piano (2001)
Allamuchy, electroacoustic work (2001-02) [9:37]
Geminis, 2 percussionists (2002)
Globeland, videomusic, electroacoustic work (2002) [9:15] [video by Ryan Dorin]
Modus Nodus, flute, violin and cello (2002)
O. A. (Onder Andere), piano (2002)
Waterways, viola and cello (2002)
Allamuchy (version 2), electroacoustic sound (2002) [10:19]
Three Short Stories, alto saxophone (2002-03)
Filiforms, 8-track tape (2004) [16:32]
Metalmorphosis, inverted Chau and Peking Opera gongs and suspended Paiste gong (2004)
FreeSpeech, electroacoustic work (2005, withdrawn) [15:06]
Holonyms, soprano saxophone, electric guitar, piano and percussion (2005)
MISE, 8-track tape (2005) [15:20]
Folly for, flute, processing, and tape (2006) [10:07]
agajaggers, chamber orchestra and 3 percussionists (2006)
Immer Inner, 3 percussionists (2006)
in red weather, 3 percussionists (2006)
Oggin, dimmet, mizzle, for piano, percussion, saxophone and electric guitar (2006)
night slices, piano (2007) [6:48]
Langanaich, Uillean (Irish) pipes and laptop (2008) [12:30]
Pathological Curves, flute (or trumpet), violin, cello, percussion and piano (2009)
PR, electroacoustic work (2009) [3:00]
through ripple glass, clarinet and processing (2009) [11:00]
Vissera, percussion trio and fixed media (2009) [15:00]
Insides, electroacoustic work (2010) [12:03]
Songstressed, electroacoustic work (2010) [11:07]
Tranced Placed, flute and processing (2010) [14:19]
unlaced, piano (2010) [3:00]
sensorias, piano (2010) [3:00]
Sound serrations, violin, cello and piano (2010) [18:46]
Water Spirits, electroacoustic work (2007-11) [10:41]
Soundendipities, electroacoustic work (2008-11) [9:28]
Resonants, electroacoustic work (2010-11) [13:40]
Threads; where the structure falls silent, electroacoustic work (2010-11, withdrawn) [8:10]
assemblage, bass clarinet, piano and percussion (2011)
d-ness, electroacoustic work (2011) [10:17]
red is the rows, 2 violins (2011)


WORKS BY GENRE                                       Elizabeth Hoffman Links    ~ ~ ~    Hoffman on Hoffman     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Job's Wife, chamber opera in 3 acts (1995) [90:00] [text: James Labe]

Orchestra
agajaggers, chamber orchestra and 3 percussionists (2006)

Choral
Continuities and Discretions, chorus (1993)
Things, chorus (1996) [text: James Labe]

Chamber
Manhattan Breakdown, clarinet, cello, percussion, processing and tape (2000) [18:26]
Barrissement d'Éléphant, soprano and baritone saxophones (2002)
Stone's Throw, flute, clarinet, violin, percussion and piano (2001)
Geminis, 2 percussionists (2002)
Modus Nodus, flute, violin and cello (2002)
Waterways, viola and cello (2002)
Metalmorphosis, inverted Chau and Peking Opera gongs and suspended Paiste gong (2004)
Holonyms, soprano saxophone, electric guitar, piano and percussion (2005)
Immer Inner, 3 percussionists (2006)
in red weather, 3 percussionists (2006)
Oggin, dimmet, mizzle, for piano, percussion, saxophone and electric guitar (2006)
Pathological Curves, flute (or trumpet), violin, cello, percussion and piano (2009)
Vissera, percussion trio and fixed media (2009) [15:00]
Sound serrations, violin, cello and piano (2010) [18:46]
assemblage, bass clarinet, piano and percussion (2011)
red is the rows, 2 violins (2011)

Percussion  -  see also "Chamber"
Geminis, 2 percussionists (2002)
Metalmorphosis, inverted Chau and Peking Opera gongs and suspended Paiste gong (2004)
Immer Inner, 3 percussionists (2006)
in red weather, 3 percussionists (2006)
Vissera, percussion trio and fixed media (2009) [15:00]

Solo Instrument
The Elderberry Goddess, trombone and tape (2000) [8:50]
Three Short Stories, alto saxophone (2002-03)
Folly for, flute, processing, and tape (2006) [10:07]
Langanaich, Uillean (Irish) pipes and laptop (2008) [12:30]
through ripple glass, clarinet and processing (2009) [11:00]
Tranced Placed, flute and processing (2010) [14:19]

Piano
O. A. (Onder Andere), piano (2002)
night slices, piano (2007) [6:48]
unlaced, piano (2010) [3:00]
sensorias, piano (2010) [3:00]

Vocal
Numbers, mezzo-soprano and computer-generated tape (1998) [11:50] [released in "Computer Music Journal", vol 22/4]

Incidental/Film
Globeland, videomusic, electroacoustic work (2002) [9:15] [video by Ryan Dorin]

Electronic/Electroacoustic
Sculptures, electroacoustic work (1992) [12:00]
Voice of the Rain, electroacoustic work (1993) [16:50]
Tesserae, computer-generated music (1994) [8:45]
Für Junghae, electroacoustic work (1995) [7:00]
Vim, electroacoustic work (1995) [12:05]
    - released on Centaur CRC 2512 [accompanying "Csound instruments and scores" were released on the CD-ROM
        accompanying "The Csound Book" (MIT Press)
Alchemy, electroacoustic work (1996) [3:00]
Numbers, mezzo-soprano and computer-generated tape (1998) [11:50] [released in "Computer Music Journal", vol 22/4]
The Elderberry Goddess, trombone and tape (2000) [8:50]
Manhattan Breakdown, clarinet, cello, percussion, processing and tape (2000) [18:26]
Sibilance, electroacoustic work (2000) [8:35]
Allamuchy, electroacoustic work (2001-02) [9:37]
Globeland, videomusic (2002) [9:15] [video by Ryan Dorin]
Allamuchy (version 2), electroacoustic sound (2002) [10:19]
Filiforms, 8-track tape (2004) [16:32]
FreeSpeech, electroacoustic work (2005, withdrawn) [15:06]
MISE, 8-track tape (2005) [15:20]
Folly for, flute, processing, and tape (2006) [10:07]
Langanaich, Uillean (Irish) pipes and laptop (2008) [12:30]
PR, electroacoustic work (2009) [3:00]
through ripple glass, clarinet and processing (2009) [11:00]
Vissera, percussion trio and fixed media (2009) [15:00]
Insides, electroacoustic work (2010) [12:03]
Songstressed, electroacoustic work (2010) [11:07]
Tranced Placed, flute and processing (2010) [14:19]
Water Spirits, electroacoustic work (2007-11) [10:41]
Soundendipities, electroacoustic work (2008-11) [9:28]
Resonants, electroacoustic work (2010-11) [13:40]
d-ness, electroacoustic work (2011) [10:17]


ELIZABETH HOFFMAN  LINKS     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Hoffman on Hoffman     ~ ~ ~        Hoffman Reviews
Ideas of Social Architecture in Xenakis' "Evryali" (Elizabeth Hoffman, Xenakis Symposium)                    ~ top of page ~

Composer's website    . . .   contact Elizabeth Hoffman:  here

Elizabeth Hoffman @ Classical Archives
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Discogs
Elizabeth Hoffman @ electrocd.com
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Paul Fisher
Elizabeth Hoffman @ InstantEncore
Elizabeth Hoffman @ LinkedIn
Elizabeth Hoffman @ New York University
Elizabeth Hoffman @ SEAMUS Online
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Timetable Percussion

Publisher
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Composer's website

Streaming Audio
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Composer's website
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Classical Archives
Elizabeth Hoffman @ electrocd.com
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Rhapsody.com
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Timetable Percussion

Recordings
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Composer's website
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Albany Records
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Amazon.com    also     here    and    here    and    here
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Answers.com
Elizabeth Hoffman @ ArkivMusic
Elizabeth Hoffman @ CD Universe
Elizabeth Hoffman @ ClassicsOnline
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Discogs
Elizabeth Hoffman @ electrocd.com
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Innova Recordings
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Music for Tamtams
Elizabeth Hoffman @ World Edition

Video
Elizabeth Hoffman @ YouTube
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Google Video
Elizabeth Hoffman @ Vimeo    also    here
    - Globeland (2002)
    - Vissera (2009)
                                                                                                                       ~ top of page ~
Hoffman on Hoffman: On Composing (VIDEO)








Reviews
Modus Nodus (Albany Records TROY 610)
    Modus Nodus; Barrissement d'Éléphant; Waterways; Geminis;O.A. (Onder Andere); Three Short Stories
American Record Guide (March/April 2004)
Elizabeth Hoffman is a fresh face. Noisy hard-edged atonal music fills her new disc. That said, I cannot easily place her music in a style catagory . . . It carries on the tradition of Varese -  what you might call the "noise" school of composition. Her stryle lies somewhere between the aggressive timbral ugliness that coats Lachenmann's music and the antagonism that inspires much of Carter's music. In I.O. (Onder Andere) (2002), for solo piano, static dissonant chords vie for dominance over each other by wielding brute-force weapons of repetition and loudness. The dense and doleful craggienes of Waterways (2002) brings to mind Carter's string quartets, while its fluttering sound tissue compares to Roger Reynold's Cococino - a shattered landscape string quartet. Hoffman's Barrissement D'Éléphant (2001) is perhaps the most arresting work on the disc. Via extended woodwind techniques  combinded effectively, it conjures images of lethargic wild animals of the jungle. If you're into aggressive timbral exploration - Lachenmann, Ferneyhough, Scelsi - with a hint of Caterian drama - Hoffman's disc might be up your alley.