Karl Korte (1928- )
The music of Karl Korte
has a scope and a variety that makes classification of it difficult.
Professor Emeritus of Composition at the University of Texas at Austin
and recently a Visiting Professor of Music at Williams College, he is
now retired from teaching and lives in Cambridge, N.Y. Born in Ossining, NY, and raised in
Englewood, N.J. his father was a sculptor and was responsible for his
earliest exposure to classical music. In high school, his musical
influences and activities were mostly in the areas of jazz and popular
music, and he played the trumpet in a variety of bands and orchestras.
After discharge from the Army, where he played trumpet with the First
Army Band, he entered the Juilliard School where his teachers included
Peter Mennin, William Bergsma and Vincent Persichetti. Later teachers
include Geofreddo Petrassi, Otto Luening and Aaron Copland. Over the
years he has created a body of work that ranges from chamber music to
symphonies, as well as choral works ranging from oratorios to a number
of short works intended for school and church use. Much of this music
has attracted attention through publication, performance, recordings
and many significant national and international prizes and awards: two
Guggenheim Fellowships, Fulbright Grants to Italy and New Zealand,
Grants from the Ford Foundation Young Composer's in Residence Program,
a gold medal in the Queen Elizabeth International Composition
Competition, Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, First
Prize in the Missouri Contemporary Music Competition, as well as awards
from the National Flute Association, the Vanguard Arts competition and
the Tampa Bay Composer's Forum. In 2002 his Four Songs of Experience
(Blake) for treble voices and piano won "Top Honors" in the Waging
Peace Through Singing international competition. In addition to his
acoustic compositions, Korte has written many works making use of
electronic media. In the mid '80s, with the ready
availability of digital recording and processing equipment, the
composer returned to electronic music, and created a number of
compositions using this new technology. Although several of these works
are for tape alone, most of his compositions in this area involve the
use of a live instrumentalist whose pallet of sounds has been
"extended" through the addition of a taped electronic accompaniment.
According to the composer, "For me, one of the most interesting
aspects of using the computer as a
compositional tool is its powerful ability to extend the vocabulary of
existing musical instruments by blurring the distinctions between
sounds which have been acoustically ("naturally") created by a musical
instrument and those that have been electronically manufactured. For
the performer this may mean extending the boundaries between what is
physically possible on an acoustic instrument and what is not and for
the listener it often means a blurring of such distinctions. If in
listening to these compositions one sometimes finds it difficult or
impossible to tell where these boundaries lie, at least in part, I
consider that I have been successful."COMPOSITIONS Korte Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
String Quartet No. 1 (1951?)
Concertato on a Choral Theme, brass, timpani and string orchestra (1955)
Three Miniatures, piano (1958)
Fantasy, violin and piano (1958) [1959?]
For a Young Audience, orchestra (1959)
Quintet, oboe and strings [string quartet??] (1960)
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1961)
Four Blake Songs, female chorus and piano (1961) / From William Blake : four settings from Songs of innocence
Ceremonial Prelude and Passacaglia, band (1962)
Nocturne and March, from the Blue Ridge, band (1962)
Southwest, a dance overture, orchestra (1962)
Four and Eight, woodwind quintet (1962) ["Two 'encores' for Donna (4) and Eric (8)"]
Song and Dance, double string orchestra (pub. 1963) [open strings & first position]
Prairie Song, trumpet and band (1963)
Introductions, brass quintet (1962)
Mass for Youth, chorus and orchestra/or piano/or organ (1963) [same as "Missa St. Dominick"]
Missa St. Dominick, chorus and organ (1963?) ["The patron saint of youth"] [same as "Mass for Youth"?]
Four Poems from Songs of Innocence, 3-part female chorus and piano (1964) [text: William Blake]
Sing to the Lord a New Song, chorus (pub. 1965)
Sing Praises to the Lord, chorus (1965?)
Rats!, 2-part children's chorus and piano, with opt. perc (pub. 1966) [text: Robert Browning, from "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"]
Marching on Tiptoes, piano (pub. 1966)
String Quartet No. 2 (pub. 1966) [1969?]
Matrix-7, woodwind quintet, piano and percussion (1967)
Symphony No. 3, orchestra (1968)
May the Sun Bless Us (4 songs) male voices, brass and percussion (1968) [text: R. Tagore]
Songs of Wen I -To (3 songs), high voice and piano (1968)
Aspects of Love (8 songs), chorus and piano (1968) [1965?]
Sappho Says, for mezzo-soprano, women's chorus, flute and piano (1968)
Dialogue, alto saxophone and tape (1969)
Carols New Fashioned (2 songs), chorus and piano, with opt. guitar or harp (1969)
Gestures, solo electric brass, solo percussion, piano and band (1970)
Psalm XIII, chorus and tape (1970)
Facets, saxophone quartet (1970)
Rondino, oboe and violin (pub. 1971)
I think you would have understood, trumpet, jazz ensemble/band and tape (1971)
Remembrances, flute/alto fl/piccolo and tape (synthesized and processed sound) (1971)
Pale Is This Good Prince, oratorio, soprano, narrator, chorus, 2 pianos and perc (4 players) (1973)[in memory of Jean Casadesus]
The Time Is Now, SATB [chorus?/solo voices?] and electric guitar (1973)
Symmetrics, saxophone and 4 percussionists (1973)
Libera me, chorus and orchestra (1974)
Of Time and Season, a cantata in one movement, vocal soloists (STB), chorus, marimba and piano (1975; pub. 1983)
Trio, violin, cello and piano (1976) [1977?]
Fibers, wind ensemble (1977)
Concerto for Piano and Winds (1977)
Concertino, bass trombone, winds and percussion (1978)
Music for a New Christmas (5 songs), mixed & treble voices and brass/or keyboard (1982)
Music for a New Easter (5 songs), mixed & treble voices and brass/or keyboard (1982)
The Whistling Wind, mezzo-soprano and tape/CD (1982; pub. 1984) [text: Wang Xiaoni]
Double Concerto, flute, double bass and tape (1983; rev. 1984)
Voci, violin, clarinet and piano (1984)
Demiola, bassoon and tape/CD (1984)
Te Maori, 6 etudes for solo clarinet, with tape of New Zealand bird calls (1985)
Five New Zealand Songs , medium voice and piano (1988)
Evocation and Dance, trombone and tape (1988)
Colloquy, flute/bass flute/piccolo and tape/CD (1988)
Epigrams (12 pieces), piano (1989)
Three Psalm Settings, chorus (1989) [text: Psalms 57, 66 & 69]
Homage - Bud Powell, piano and tape/CD (1989)
Texarkana Theme and Variations on a Texas Folksong, wind ensemble (1991)
Meeting the Enemy, tape (1993) [created from the sounds of childrens voices, sporting events and the wind]
Birds of Aotearoa, tape (1993) [created from the extraordinary calls of the Kakako bird in New Zealand] [1987???]
Extensions, solo percussion and tape/CD (1994)
The Freda Variations, woodwind quintet (1997)
Wired Dance, piano and tape/CD (1998)
Viola Dance, viola and piano (2000; rev. 2006 as "Viola Redux")
- Viola Redux, viola and piano (2006)
Distant Pentachords, flute, alto flute, wind chimes and digital sound (CD) (2000)
Four Songs of Experience, female voices, female chorus and piano (2001) [text: Blake]
Holy Thursday, chorus and piano (2001) [text: Blake]
Three Blake Songs, high voice and piano (2001)
SHIKI (The Four Seasons), chorus (SATB or SSA), soloists and tape (2002) [text: Haiku from early women's nature poetry]
Two Makams, violin and guitar (2003) [2004?]
Evocations, a Trio (3 pieces), violin, cello and guitar (2004) ["Travelogues"]
Revisitation, fantasy on a Revolutionary War melody, trumpet and organ (2004)
Virtual Voices, violin, guitar and pre-recorded digital sounds (2007)
WORKS BY GENRE Korte Links ~ top of page ~
Orchestra
Concertato on a Choral Theme, brass, timpani and string orchestra (1955)
For a Young Audience, orchestra (1959)
- Prelude
- Dance
- Song
- Fanfare and hymn
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1961)
Southwest, a dance overture, orchestra (1962)
Song and Dance, double string orchestra (pub. 1963) [open strings & first position]
Symphony No. 3, orchestra (1968)
Band
Ceremonial Prelude and Passacaglia, band (1962)
Nocturne and March, from the Blue Ridge, band (1962)
Prairie Song, trumpet and band (1963)
Gestures, solo electric brass, solo percussion, piano and band (1970)
I think you would have understood, trumpet, jazz ensemble/band and tape (1971)
Fibers, wind ensemble (1977)
Texarkana Theme and Variations on a Texas Folksong, wind ensemble (1991)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra or Band or Ensemble
Prairie Song, trumpet and band (1963)
Gestures, solo electric brass, solo percussion, piano and band (1970)
I think you would have understood, trumpet, jazz ensemble/band and tape (1971)
Concerto for Piano and Winds (1977)
Concertino, bass trombone, winds and percussion (1978)
Double Concerto, flute, double bass and tape (1983; rev. 1984)
Choral
Four Blake Songs, female chorus and piano (1961) / From William Blake : four settings from Songs of innocence
Mass for Youth, chorus and orchestra/or piano/or organ (1963) [same as "Missa St. Dominick"]
Missa St. Dominick, chorus and organ (1963?) ["The patron saint of youth"] [same as "Mass for Youth"?]
- Kyrie
- Gloria
- Credo
- Sanctus et Benedictus
- Agnus Dei
Four Poems from Songs of Innocence, 3-part female chorus and piano (1964) [text: William Blake]
- Piping down the valleys
- Infant Joy (a cappella)
- A Cradle Song
- Spring
Sing to the Lord a New Song, chorus (pub. 1965)
Sing Praises to the Lord, chorus (1965?)
Rats!, 2-part children's chorus and piano, with opt. perc (pub. 1966) [text: Robert Browning, from "The Pied Piper of Hamelin"]
May the Sun Bless Us (4 songs) male voices, brass and percussion (1968) [text: R. Tagore]
- I am restless
- Hissing serpents
- When this is done
- May the sun bless us
Sappho Says, mezzo-soprano, female chorus, flute and piano (1968)
Aspects of Love (8 songs), chorus and piano (1968) [1965?]
- Rise up, my love, chorus a cappella [text: from the Song of Solomon]
- Shall I?, female chorus and piano [text: Sappho]
- I will make you brooches, chorus and piano [text: R.L. Stevenson]
- Marriage, 2-part female/male/or mixed chorus and piano [text: Ralph Waldo Emerson]
- Wine of the Grape, tenor solo and piano [text: Li T'ai Po/T'ang Dynasty] (1965)
- Bitter is my lot, male chorus a cappella [text: Shao Ch'ang Heng/Ch'ing dynasty]
- Jenny kiss'd me, male chorus and piano [text: James Henry Leigh Hunt]
- My silks and fine array, chorus and piano [text: William Blake]
Carols New Fashioned (2 songs), chorus, guitar, and piano/or harp (1969)
- Lullay litel child,
- Make we mere as we may
Psalm XIII, chorus and tape (1970)
Pale Is This Good Prince, oratorio, soprano, narrator, chorus, 2 pianos and perc (4 players) (1973)[in memory of Jean Casadesus]
[based upon "Love Songs and Tomb Songs of Ancient Egypt" by Milton Kessler with Gerald E. Kadish]
The Time Is Now, SATB [chorus?/solo voices?] and electric guitar (1973) [text: Eve Merriam]
Libera me, chorus and orchestra (1974)
Of Time and Season, a cantata in one movement, vocal soloists (STB), chorus, marimba and piano (1975; pub. 1983)
Music for a New Christmas (5 songs), mixed & treble voices and brass/or keyboard (1982)
- Come thou long expected Jesus [text: Charles Wesley]
- New Coventry Carol [text: traditional]
- Make we joy [text: traditional 15th century]
- This is the month and this the happy morn [text: John Milton]
- Tomorrow shall by my dancing day: Christmas version [text: traditional]
Music for a New Easter (5 songs), mixed & treble voices and brass/or keyboard (1982)
- A song of sunshine (Calvary and Easter) [text: anonymous]
- O Lord turn not thy face (Lent: contrition) [text: John MarcKant]
- Sing my tongue the glorious battle [text: Venantius Fortunatus]
- Come, ye faithful, raise the strain (Easter) [text: St. John of Damascus]
- Tomorrow shall be my dancing day [text: traditional 17th century]
Three Psalm Settings, chorus (1989) [text: Psalms 57, 66 & 69]
Four Songs of Experience, female voices, female chorus and piano (2001) [text: Blake]
- Holy Thursday
- The Fly
- Infant Sorrow
- Voice of the Ancient Bard
Holy Thursday, chorus and piano (2001) [text: Blake]
SHIKI (The Four Seasons), chorus (SATB or SSA), soloists and tape (2002) [text: Haiku from early women's nature poetry]
(electronic score created from fragments of koto, percussion and other sounds)
- Haru (Spring)
- Natsu (Summer)
- Aki (Autumn)
- Fyeu (Winter)
Chamber
String Quartet No. 1 (1951?)
Quintet, oboe and strings [string quartet??] (1960)
Four and Eight, woodwind quintet (1962) ["Two 'encores' for Donna (4) and Eric (8)"]
Introductions, brass quintet (1962)
String Quartet No. 2 (pub. 1966) [1969?]
Matrix-7, woodwind quintet, piano and percussion (1967)
Facets, saxophone quartet (1970)
Rondino, oboe and violin (pub. 1971)
Symmetrics, saxophone and 4 percussionists (1973)
Trio, violin, cello and piano (1976) [1977?]
Concertino, bass trombone, winds and percussion (1978)
Voci, violin, clarinet and piano (1984)
Double Concerto, flute, double bass and tape (1983; rev. 1984)
The Freda Variations, woodwind quintet (1997)
Distant Pentachords, flute, alto flute, wind chimes and digital sound (CD) (2000)
Two Makams, violin and guitar (2003) [2004?]
- No. 1: Fast
- No. 2: Slow
Evocations, a Trio (3 pieces), violin, cello and guitar (2004) ["Travelogues"]
- Te Maori
- Aki
- Cyprus
Virtual Voices, violin, guitar and pre-recorded digital sounds (2007)
Instrument and Piano or Organ
Fantasy, violin and piano (1958)
Viola Dance, viola and piano (2000; rev. 2006 as "Viola Redux")
- Viola Redux, viola and piano (2006)
Revisitation, fantasy on a Revolutionary War melody, trumpet and organ (2004)
Solo Instrument
Dialogue, alto saxophone and tape (1969)
Remembrances, flute/alto fl/piccolo and tape (synthesized and processed sound) (1971)
Demiola, bassoon and tape/CD (1984)
Te Maori, 6 etudes for solo clarinet, with tape of New Zealand bird calls (1985)
- Oriori
- Tui
- Paatere I
- Poi
- Paatere II
- Waiata tangi
Evocation and Dance, trombone and tape (1988)
Colloquy, flute/bass flute/piccolo and tape/CD (1988)
Extensions, solo percussion and tape/CD (1994)
Piano
Three Miniatures, piano (1958)
- Dance
- Song
- Hymn
Marching on Tiptoes, piano (pub. 1966)
Epigrams (12 pieces), piano (1989)
- Book I
- Complete with Batteries
- Icicles
- Vashti
- Lullaby for Leah
- Figgity
- Funk
- Book II
- Tommorow
- Blues Lullaby
- In Memorium
- Pinwheel
- Big Little Cowboy
- Reflections
Homage - Bud Powell, piano and tape/CD (1989)
Wired Dance, piano and tape/CD (1998)
Vocal
Songs of Wen I -To (3 songs), high voice and piano (1968)
- I wanted to come home
- The laundry song
- Forget her
The Whistling Wind, mezzo-soprano and tape/CD (1982; pub. 1984) [text: Wang Xiaoni]
Five New Zealand Songs , medium voice and piano (1988)
- Response [text: Mary Urusla Bethell]
- My mother spinning [text: Peter Olds]
- Judas Escariot [text: R.A.K. Mason]
- My father today [text: Sam Hunt]
- Girl, boy, flower, bicycle [text: M.K. Joseph]
Three Blake Songs, high voice and piano (2001)
- ???
- ???
- ???
Electroacoutic
Dialogue, alto saxophone and tape (1969)
Psalm XIII, chorus and tape (1970)
Remembrances, flute and tape (1971)
The Whistling Wind, mezzo-soprano and tape/CD (1982; pub. 1984) [text: Wang Xiaoni]
Demiola, bassoon and tape/CD (1984)
Double Concerto, flute, double bass and tape (1983; rev. 1984)
Evocation and Dance, trombone and tape (1988)
Colloquy, flute/bass flute/piccolo and tape/CD (1988)
Extensions, solo percussion and tape/CD (1994)
Homage - Bud Powell, piano and tape/CD (1989)
Meeting the Enemy, tape (1993) [created from the sounds of childrens voices, sporting events and the wind]
Birds of Aotearoa, tape (1993) [created from the extraordinary calls of the Kakako bird in New Zealand]
Wired Dance, piano and tape/CD (1998)
Distant Pentachords, flute, alto flute, wind chimes and digital sound (CD) (2000)
Virtual Voices, violin, guitar and pre-recorded digital sounds (2007)
KORTE LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
Karl Korte - Age No Barrier to Creating Music (Bob Schneider, Guitar Plus International)
Composer's website . . . contact Karl Korte: krkorte(at)gmail(dot)com
Korte @ Wikipedia
Korte @ American Music Center
Korte @ Bowling Green State University
Korte @ Classical Archives
Korte @ Classical Guitar Review
Korte @ Facebook
Korte @ Gilder-Music Web Dictionary of Composers
Korte @ The Grenada Revolution Online
Korte @ InstantEncore
Korte @ Modern Classical
Korte @ MusicWeb International
Korte @ Naxos
Korte @ New World Records
Korte @ The New York Times
Korte @ operas.com.ar
Korte @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Korte @ Sigma Alpha Iota
Korte @ University of Texas Libraries
Publisher
Korte @ Composer's website/publisher listings
Korte @ Elkan-Vogel Inc. (A subsidiary of Theodore Presser)
Korte @ Galaxy Music Corp./E.C. Schirmer
Korte @ International Trombone Association Manuscript Press
Korte @ Jaymar Music Limited
Korte @ K-note Press (Karl Korte)
Korte @ Seesaw Music [a division of Subito Music]
Korte @ Subito Music
Korte @ E.C. Schirmer
Streaming Audio
Korte @ Composer's website
Korte @ Classical Archives
Korte @ last.fm
Korte @ Rhapsody.com
Recordings
Korte @ Composer's website
Korte @ ArkivMusic
Korte @ CDeMusic
Korte @ CD Universe
Korte @ ClassicsOnline
Korte @ Discogs
Korte @ DRAM Online
Korte @ New World Records
Korte @ Smithsonian Folkways
Video
[none at the moment]
Karl Korte News and Reviews
Karl Korte - Age No Barrier to Creating Music
by Bob Schneider, Guitar Plus International/May 2011
Although Karl Korte, emeritus professor at the University of Texas at Austin will be 83 years young on 25 August 2011, he continues to be productive and successful in his field. Karl demonstrates like other composers before him e.g. Elliot Carter, Aaron Copland (his teacher), Camille Saint Saens, Igor Stravinsky, George Philip Telemann, that age is no barrier to creating music.
His latest project on Centaur Records "The Guitar Music of Karl Korte" performed by the violin and guitar ensemble Duo46 with guest artist Austrian cellist Erick Huetter is receiving critical acclaim. American Record Guide says about the recording of the three works Evocations, Two Makams and Virtual Voices, "I found it compelling"; Fanfare Magazine, "richly rewarding"; WRUV, "lovely works"; Albany Times Union, "a winning trio". And Baker and Taylor, a library review service, recommended the recording for its "2011 CD Hotlist". Karl currently is working on a largescale work created (with computer assistance) entirely from the recorded sounds of wind; a companion piece to his earlier work, "Drops of Water". Korte has received many national and international awards including two Guggenheim fellowships, Fulbright Awards to Italy and New Zealand, and a Gold Medal from the Belgium Government in the Queen Elizabeth International Composition Competition. His is a voice that, while still
representative of our time, remains faithful to older and established concepts of such elements as melody, harmony and rhythm.
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