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Earl Kim (1920-1998)

Earl Kim, composerEarl Kim's compositions have been performed and led by an array of artists, including Perlman, Mehta and Ozawa. Earl Kim attended the University of California, Los Angeles (1940-41), studying music composition and theory with Arnold Schoenberg. He went on to study with Bloch and Sessions at the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his master's degree in 1952. He taught at Princeton University from 1952 until 1967, and at Harvard from 1971 until 1990. A master of calibrated sonorities balanced by silence, Kim demonstrated a special gift for placing words into economical but evocative settings. He valued economy, precision, and quietude; a modernist whose musical language included touches of the 12-tone idiom, he was especially admired for his vocal works, selecting texts of distinction by authors like Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Rilke, Anne Sexton, and his favorite, Samuel Beckett. A student of Roger Sessions, Ernst Bloch, and Arnold Schoenberg, Kim taught composers such as Peter Maxwell Davies, Harrison Birtwistle, and Bernard Rands at Princeton and served as a composer-in- residence at major music centers and festivals (Aspen, Dartmouth, Marlboro, and Tanglewood) and academic institutions (Brandeis, Hartt College, and Princeton).
-  The Los Angeles Philharmonic

COMPOSITIONS                                                            Kim Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre
The Road, song cycle, baritone and piano (????, withdrawn)
Sonata, violin and piano (????, withdrawn)
Sonata, cello and piano (????, withdrawn)
Two Bagatelles, piano (1948-50)
Four Bagatelles, piano (1950; pub. 1954)
Movement, string quartet (1952) [dissertation]
Four Letters, baritone and piano (1954?) [text: Frank Horne]
Letters Found Near a Suicide (3 songs), soprano/baritone and piano (1954) [text: F. Horne] [see "Four Letters"]
Dialogues, piano and orchestra (1959)
Exercises en route, stage work, soprano, fl/picc, ob, cl, vln, vc, perc, actors, dancers and film (1961?-70) [Beckett]
    - Dead Calm, soprano, picc, ob, cl, vln, vc, perc (1961)
    - Gooseberries, soprano, fl, ob, cl, vc, perc (1965?/1967?; fp 1967)
    - she said, soprano, fl, ob, cl, vc, perc (1965?/1967?; fp 1967)
    - Rattling On, soprano, fl, ob, cl, vln, vc, perc (1967?/1970?; fp 1970)
    - They are Far Out, soprano, vln, vc, perc (1963?/1966?; fp 1966)
Narratives, female speaker, actor, 2 trpts, trom, 2 vlns, 2 vc, pf, TV and lights (1973-78) [text: Beckett]
    - Monologues, piano, violin and cello (1976)
    - Melodrama 1, female voice and piano (1974) (1973?) (fp 1979)
    - Lines [Lines from Lessness], soprano (1978; fp 1979)
    - Eh Joe, a television play, female speaker, actor,  woman's voice, 2 violins, 2 cellos, 2 trumpets and trombone (1974; fp 1975)
    - Melodrama 2, female speaker, 2 violins and piano (June 1975) (fp 1979) [text: from Beckett's "Enough"]
    - Duet, trombone and cello (1978) (1976?) (fp 1979) [text: Beckett's "Act Without Words"]
    - Earthlight, romanza, high soprano, violin con sordino, piano and lights (1973) [text: Samuel Beckett]
Violin Concerto (1979)
Caprices (12), violin (1980)
Now and Then, soprano, flute, viola and harp (1981)
Where Grief Slumbers, soprano, harp & str orch (1982; arr. sop, hp, 4vln, 2va, 2vc, 1989) [7 songs/text: G. Apollinaire; Rimbaud]
Footfalls, opera in 1 act, soprano, mezzo-soprano, 2 pianos and harpsichord (1983) (1981?) (fp 1985) [text: S. Beckett]
Cornet: A Tale of Love and Death, narrator and orchestra (1983) [text: Rilke]
Scenes From Childhood [August 1945], brass quintet (1984)
Scenes From a Movie, soprano, baritone, violin, cello and piano (1986-88) [text: R.M. Rilke]
    - I: The 7th Dream (1986)
    - II: The 11th Dream (1988)
Three Poems in French, soprano and string quartet (1989) [text: Verlaine; Baudelaire]
Four Lines from Mallarmé, voice, flute, vibraphone and 4 percussionists (1989)
Some Thoughts on Keats and Coleridge, chorus (1990)
Scenes from a Movie, baritone, chorus, harp and string orchestra (1991) [text: R.M. Rilke]
    - III: The 26th Dream (1991)
Dear Linda, female voice, flute, cello, marimba, piano and percussion (1992) [text: A. Sexton]
The White Hour, chamber orchestra (1998)


WORKS BY GENRE                                                            Kim Links     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Footfalls, opera in 1 act, soprano, mezzo-soprano, 2 pianos and harpsichord (1983) (1981?) (fp 1985) [text: S. Beckett]

Orchestra
Cornet: A Tale of Love and Death, narrator and orchestra (1983) [text: Rilke]
The White Hour, chamber orchestra (1998)

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Dialogues, piano and orchestra (1959)
Violin Concerto (1979)

Chorus w/Orchestra
Scenes from a Movie, baritone, chorus, harp and string orchestra (1991) [text: R.M. Rilke]
    - III: The 26th Dream (1991)

Choral
Some Thoughts on Keats and Coleridge, chorus (1990)

Chamber
Movement, string quartet (1952) [dissertation]
Monologues, piano, violin and cello (1976) [from "Narratives", 1973-78]
Duet, trombone and cello (1978) (1976?) (fp 1979) [text: Beckett's "Act Without Words"]
Scenes From Childhood [August 1945], brass quintet (1984)

Instrument and Piano
Sonata, violin and piano (????, withdrawn)
Sonata, cello and piano (????, withdrawn)

Solo Instrument
Caprices (12), violin (1980)

Piano
Two Bagatelles, piano (1948-50)
    - Allegro scherzando (1950)
    - Andante sostenuto (1948)
Four Bagatelles, piano (1950; pub. 1954)

Vocal
The Road, song cycle, baritone and piano (????, withdrawn)
Four Letters, baritone and piano (1954?) [text: Frank Horne]
    - To All of You
    - To Telie
    - To James
    - To Wanda
Letters Found Near a Suicide (3 songs), soprano/baritone and piano (1954) [text: F. Horne] [see "Four Letters"]
    - To All of You
    - To Wanda
    - To Telie
Exercises en route, stage work, soprano, fl/picc, ob, cl, vln, vc, perc, actors, dancers and film (1961?-70) [Beckett]
    - Dead Calm, soprano, picc, ob, cl, vln, vc, perc (1961)
    - Gooseberries, soprano, fl, ob, cl, vc, perc (1965?/1967?; fp 1967)
    - she said, soprano, fl, ob, cl, vc, perc (1965?/1967?; fp 1967)
    - Rattling On, soprano, fl, ob, cl, vln, vc, perc (1967?/1970?; fp 1970)
    - They are Far Out, soprano, vln, vc, perc (1963?/1966?; fp 1966)
Narratives, female speaker, actor, 2 trpts, trom, 2 vlns, 2 vc, pf, TV and lights (1973-78) [text: Beckett]
    - Monologues, piano, violin and cello (1976)
    - Melodrama 1, female voice and piano (1974) (1973?) (fp 1979)
    - Lines [Lines from Lessness], soprano (1978; fp 1979)
    - Eh Joe, a television play, female speaker, actor,  woman's voice, 2 violins, 2 cellos, 2 trumpets and trombone (1974; fp 1975)
    - Melodrama 2, female speaker, 2 violins and piano (June 1975) (fp 1979) [text: from Beckett's "Enough"]
    - Duet, trombone and cello (1978) [text: Beckett's "Act Without Words"] (1976)
    - Earthlight, romanza, high soprano, violin con sordino, piano and lights (1973) [text: Samuel Beckett]
Now and Then, soprano, flute, viola and harp (1981)
    - On the meadow [text: A. Chekhov]
    - thither [text: Beckett]
    - Roundelay [text: Beckett]
    - thither (reprise) [text: Beckett]
    - Among the Deepening Shades [text: William Butler Yeats]
Where Grief Slumbers, soprano, harp & str orch (1982; arr. sop, hp, 4vln, 2va, 2vc, 1989) [7 songs/text: G. Apollinaire; Rimbaud]
    - Listen to it rain
    - from Drunken Boat
    - It's raining
    - Ophelia
    - The Farewell
    - The Departure
     -The girl with orange lips
Scenes From a Movie, soprano, baritone, violin, cello and piano (1986-88) [text: R.M. Rilke]
    - I: The 7th Dream (1986)
    - II: The 11th Dream (1988)
Three Poems in French, soprano and string quartet (1989) [text: Verlaine; Baudelaire]
    - En Sourdine [text: Paul Verlaine]
    - Recueillement [text: Charles Baudelaire]
    - Colloque Sentimental [text: Paul Verlaine]
Four Lines from Mallarmé, voice, flute, vibraphone and 4 percussionists (1989)
Dear Linda, female voice, flute, cello, marimba, piano and percussion (1992) [text: A. Sexton]


KIM  LINKS                                                            Works by Genre      ~ top of page ~
Earl Kim, 78, Noted Composer Of Austere and Dazzling Works (Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times)
Earl Kim, Professor of Music Emeritus, Dies at 78 (Harvard University Gazette)
Memorial Minute -- Earl Kim (The Harvard Gazette)
Obituary: Earl Kim (Martin Anderson, The Independent)
Remembering Earl Kim (James Primosch, Deconstructing Jim)

Composer website (@ Theodore Presser)   . . .   inquire about Earl Kim:  here

Kim @ Wikipedia
Kim @ Answers.com
Kim @ Art of the States    or     here
Kim @ Beckett and Aesthetics (Daniel Albright, Cambridge Univ Pr, books.google.com)
Kim @ Boston Composers Project: A Bibliography of Contemporary Music (Linda Blotner, et al, MIT Pr, books.google.com)
Kim @ Brave New Works
Kim @ Classical Archives
Kim @ Classical Net
Kim @ ClassicsToday (via Google Advanced Search)
Kim @ Hollywood Bowl
Kim @ InstantEncore
Kim @ Klassika
Kim @ The Los Angeles Philharmonic
Kim @ Monday Evening Concerts
Kim @ MusicWeb International
Kim @ Naxos
Kim @ New Music USA [formerly American Music Center]
Kim @ The New York Times
Kim @ New World Records
Kim @ Theodore Presser
Kim @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Kim @ Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

Publisher
Kim @ Independent Music Publishers
Kim @ Merion Music [Theodore Presser, sole agents]
Kim @ Mobart Music Publications
Kim @ Palindrome Press
Kim @ Theodore Presser

Streaming Audio
Kim @ Classical Archives
Kim @ Connections/Listening Gallery
Kim @ last.fm
Kim @ Qobus Player    also     here    and     here
Kim @ Rhapsody.com (via Google Advanced Search)
Kim @ Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

Recordings
Kim @ Amazon.com
Kim @ ArkivMusic
Kim @ CD Universe
Kim @ ClassicsOnline
Kim @ Discogs
Kim @ itunes (via Google Advanced Search)
Kim @ Naxos
Kim @ New World Records

Video
Kim @ YouTube    and     here
Kim @ Google Video
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