Robert McCauley (1958- )
From
his sophomore year in 1979 at New England Conservatory of Music to his
middle fifties today, the trends and techniques in art in the 20th/21st
century inspire Robert McCauley’s music more than the pieces created by
other living composers, be they peers, professors, or
professionals. Atonal, angular melodies
from universities (however you label them), Minimalism from either U.S.
coast, and the New Spiritualism from Eastern Europe have never centered
his compositional vocabulary. Robert always wants to create music
never heard before. That could mean appropriating the historical
styles of other earlier composers and fusing them with wild
juxtapositions, transformations, and jump cuts into one surreal sound
world (as a surreal content dictates a surreal form.) That could
mean stretching 38 seconds of speech into a 4-minute segment (still at
the same pitch), pairing both parts as a theme and variant, and then
layering the altered source with a string orchestra to enrich and
harmonize the inherent music from the dark spoken word. These
procedures imitate the early floor to ceiling, black and white
portraits of Chuck Close. That could mean taking a Mozart a cappella
chorus, doubling the melody at the half step, stripping all other
original voices away, supplying contemporary day-glo triads,
clusters,accompaniment patterns, and scoring it for chamber orchestra,
duplicating the processes of Andy Warhol or Keith Haring. That
could even mean composing be a highly personal and intense expose of
the child abuse suffered at the hands his distant unfeeling father for
full orchestra, narrator, and MP3s with the confessional voice of a
singer/songwriter. Yet, in all his works previously created and yet to
come, melody is key! Robert writes for the traditional classical
musician who wants to surprise and delight the audience, not impress
them with the composer’s audio gyrations. There is no
greater joy than writing a good tune with great harmony, and in his
world that can range from the popular (he has a country song published
by Lighthouse Music Company in Austin, TX) to the much longer, lyrical
symphonic theme for the modern canon of serious music. He has the
meticulous eye and ear of a connoisseur, the skills of a craftsman, and
he is looking for the next great trends in art or literature to inspire
and lead him to even better music.COMPOSITIONS Robert McCauley Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
Dances After Andy Warhol, piano (1978)
Portfolio for Wind Quintet (7 mvts) (1979; rev. 1994)
Salon Music for Violin-Piano Duo (1982; fp. 1984)
After Beethoven, string quartet (1986)
The Sonorous Object, built from the skin of three dead love songs, does not exist …, orchestra, w/2 soprano soloists (1989)
The Tausig Series, piano (1989; rev. 1995) [in 3 books, 3 short pieces each]
Keening 4/19/95 (Oklahoma City Mix), electroacoutic work (1996) [written in response to victims of bombing in Oklahoma City]
Passacaglia for Mixed Brass Ensemble and Synthesizer (1997) [4 hns, 4 tpts, 3 trom, euphonium, tuba & off stage synthesizer]
Three Disquieting Cabaret Songs, mezzo-soprano and piano (1999)
Popular Forms for 2 Pianos and Percussion (1999) [original version of "Popular Forms for Orchestra"]
- Popular Forms for Orchestra (1999)
SilkScream, flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, synthesizer, electric guitar, electric bass and drumset (2000)
My American Childhood, narrator, orchestra and compact disc (2002)
The Big Louise, cycle of poems & cabaret songs, soprano & pf (2002) [text: R.McCauley] [deals w/sexual issues in America today]
Six Koechel Numbers, chamber orchestra (2003)
A Poet's Life, tenor and piano (2004) [text: Frank O'Hara]
Symphony of Simple Forms, orchestra (2005)
Three French Tangos for Piano Solo (2006) [arr. 2007 for violin and piano]
Fugue Metamorphosis, piano (2007)
Two Passionate Sonnets, voice and piano (2008)
For Clara's Eye's and Hands, a speculative fiction, violin, cello and piano (2009)
Kamrick Variations for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano (2010)
Concerto for Piccolo, 2 Pianos and Percussion (2010)
AMERICAN MONOCHROME — Paintings in Black and White, orchestra and mp3 files (2011)
Three Pieces – Four Brass for Trumpet, Horn in F, Trombone and Tuba (2011)
WORKS BY GENRE Robert McCauley Links ~ top of page ~
Orchestra
The Sonorous Object, built from the skin of three dead love songs, does not exist …, orchestra, w/2 soprano soloists (1989)
Popular Forms for Orchestra (1999) [from original version for 2 pianos and percussion]
- Academix
- Sao Paulo In Day-Glo
- Stark Raving
My American Childhood, narrator, orchestra and compact disc (2002)
- In The Playroom
- Songs My TV Taught Me
- Cries From The Past
Six Koechel Numbers, chamber orchestra (2003)
- K.439 #6
- K.Anh.25
- K.492
- K.414a
- K.618
- K.567 #5
Symphony of Simple Forms, orchestra (2005)
- Almost Symphonic
- Intermezzo
- Rondo with Round
AMERICAN MONOCHROME — Paintings in Black and White, orchestra and mp3 files (2011)
- Obsessive Loops (Cy Twombly)
- Transfigured Portrait Parts 1 & 2 (Chuck Close)
- Dance Graffiti (Keith Haring)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra or Ensemble
Concerto for Piccolo, 2 Pianos and Percussion (completed 10/9/2010)
- Initial Pages (Daydreams & Cadences)
- Central Pages (Pipeaux Variations)
- Final Pages (Mosquito Dance)
Chamber
Portfolio for Wind Quintet (7 mvts) (1979; rev. 1994)
After Beethoven, string quartet (1986)
Passacaglia for Mixed Brass Ensemble and Synthesizer (1997) [4 hns, 4 tpts, 3 trom, euphonium, tuba & off stage synthesizer]
Popular Forms for 2 Pianos and Percussion (1999) [original version of "Popular Forms for Orchestra"]
- Academix
- Sao Paulo In Day-Glo
- Stark Raving
SilkScream, flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, synthesizer, electric guitar, electric bass and drumset (2000)
For Clara's Eye's and Hands, a speculative fiction, violin, cello and piano (2009)
- Alt-Brahms
- Yet Another Intermezzo
- Cadenza
- Czech/Liszt
Kamrick Variations for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano (2010)
Concerto for Piccolo, 2 Pianos, and Percussion (2010)
Three Pieces – Four Brass for Trumpet, Horn in F, Trombone and Tuba (2011)
- Fanfare Toccata
- Shades and Spectres
- Chaconne on an Augmented Fourth
Instrument and Piano
Salon Music for Violin-Piano Duo (1982; fp. 1984)
Three French Tangos, violin and piano (2006) [arr. 2007 from original work for piano]
- ...musculaire,viril
- ...misterious,changeante
- ...scintillar,brillant
Piano
Dances After Andy Warhol, piano (1978)
The Tausig Series, piano (1989; rev. 1995) [in 3 books, 3 short pieces each]
- Book I
- Prelude
- Ballade
- Mazurka
- Book II
- Vogelied
- Phantasiestücke
- Waldszene
- Book III
- Üngarische Tanz
- Ballade
- Intermezzo
Popular Forms for 2 Pianos and Percussion (1999) [original version of "Popular Forms for Orchestra"]
Three French Tangos for Piano Solo (2006)
- ...musculaire,viril
- ...misterious,changeante
- ...scintillar,brillant
Fugue Metamorphosis, piano (2007)
Vocal
Three Disquieting Cabaret Songs, mezzo-soprano and piano (1999)
- Crimefighter’s Lullabye
- The Professor
- Cows
The Big Louise, a cycle of poems & cabaret songs, soprano & pf (2002) [text: R.McCauley] [deals w/sexual issues in Amer. today]
- Places For Sex
- Homemaker
- The Big Louise
- A Shadow On The Wall
- A Lesson In Foreplay
- Kissing and Screaming
- Bi-Curious
- The Blue Brush
- Dangerous Liason
- A Final Poem
A Poet's Life, tenor and piano (2004) [text: Frank O'Hara]
- Why I Am Not a Painter
- To The Poem
- Thoughts On Poetry #1
- A Young Poet
- The Sad Thing About Life
- As Planned
- At Joan's
- Essay On Style
- Thoughts On Poetry #2
- A True Account of Talking To The Sun On Fire Island
Two Passionate Sonnets, voice and piano (2008)
- Cartography
- Les Vieux Amants
Electronic
Keening 4/19/95 (Oklahoma City Mix), electroacoutic work (1996) [written in response to victims of bombing in Oklahoma City]
ROBERT MCCAULEY LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
Composer's website . . . contact Robert McCauley: here
Robert McCauley @ American Music Center
Robert McCauley @ Facebook
Robert McCauley @ LinkedIn
Robert McCauley @ MySpaceMusic
Robert McCauley @ OrchestraList
Publisher
Robert McCauley @ Composer's website
Streaming Audio
Robert McCauley @ Composer's website - check under individual work listings
Robert McCauley @ MySpaceMusic
Recordings
[none at the moment]
Video
Robert McCauley @ YouTube
The Kamrick Variations - Part 1 & Part 2
Robert McCauley @ Google Video
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