Christopher Rouse (1949-2019)
American composer
Christopher Rouse started out at as a rock &
roll drummer. However, It was not
long until his love for classical composing took over and he enrolled
in the Oberlin Conservatory. Having received a degree in composition in
1971, he continued with graduate work at Cornell University.
He
has taught at the Eastman School of Music since
1981, began
teaching composition at the Juilliard School in 1997 and became
co-composer in residence at the Aspen Music Festival in
1999. In a
successful career as a composer he has won many awards, including the
Pulitzer Prize for his Trombone Concerto in 1993. Rouse
is best
known for his large body of concertos and
symphonic works. He has been described as "the Stephen King of
composition," since many of his works from the late 1980s and early
1990s dealt with issues of death, horror, tragedy, and mythology.
His music is dramatic in an almost Mahlerian sense -- a side effect
of which seems to be that his music is the loudest and boldest of his
time. One orchestra playing his music called in OSHA because orchestra
members thought the volume level was too loud and, therefore, unsafe.
That said, Rouse has written some of the most beautiful and touching
music of any composer of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A
New York Times article stated, "Rouse has written some of the most
anguished, most memorable music around."
- Naxos & DJ Sparr, All
Music Guide
COMPOSITIONS Rouse Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ Rouse on Rouse
Morpheus, cello (1975)
Ogoun Badagris, 5 percussion (1976)
Quattro Madrigali, 8 voices (1976)
Ku-Ka-Ilimoku, 4 percussion (1978)
Mitternachtslieder, bass-baritone and chamber ensemble (1979)
Liber Daemonum, organ (1980)
String Quartet No. 1 (1982)
Rotae Passionis, fl/pic/alto fl/perc, cl/Eb cl/bass clar/perc, vln, va, vc, pf/perc and 1 perc (1982)
The Surma Ritornelli, fl/picc, cl/bass cl, hn, trpt, trom, vln, vc, db, pf/perc and 2 perc (1983)
Lares Hercii, violin and harpsichord (1983)
Gorgon, orchestra (1984)
Phantasmata, orchestra (1981–85)
- The Evestrum of Juan de la Cruz in the Sagrada Familia, 3 A.M.
- The Infernal Machine (1981)
- Bump, orchestra (1985)
Double Bass Concerto (1985)
Symphony No. 1, orchestra (1986)
Phaethon, orchestra (1986)
Little Gorgon, piano (1986)
Jagannath, orchestra (1987)
Artemis, brass quintet (1988)
Bonham, 8 percussion (1988)
String Quartet No. 2 (1988)
Iscariot, chamber orchestra (1989)
Concerto per Corde, string orchestra (1990)
Karolju, chorus and orchestra (1990)
Trombone Concerto (1990–91) [1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner]
Violin Concerto (1991)
Cello Concerto (1992–93)
Flute Concerto (1993)
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1994)
Envoi, orchestra (1995)
Ricordanza, cello (1995)
Compline, flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet (1996)
Two Goldberg Variations II, cello and piano (1996)
Valentine, flute (1996)
Der gerettete Alberich, fantasy, percussion and orchestra (1997)
Mime, snare drum (1997)
Kabīr Padāvalī – Kabīr Songbook, soprano, off-stage percussion and orchestra (1997–98)
Seeing (concerto), piano and orchestra (1998)
Concert de Gaud, guitar and orchestra (1998–99)
Rapture, orchestra (1999–2000)
Clarinet Concerto (2001)
Rapturedux, 8 or more celli (2001)
The Nevill Feast, orchestra (2002–03)
Oboe Concerto (2003–04)
Friandises, dance work (2005) [also as work for orchestra]
Wolf Rounds, band (2006)
Requiem, baritone, children's chorus, chorus and orchestra (2007)
Concerto for Orchestra (2006–08)
Odna Zhizn, orchestra (2009)
String Quartet No. 3 (2009)
Symphony No. 3, orchestra (2010–11)
Prospero's Rooms, orchestra (2012)
Heimdall's Trumpet (Trumpet Concerto) (2012)
Symphony No. 4, orchestra (2013)
Supplica, orchestra (2013)
Thunderstuck, orchestra (2013)
Organ Concerto (2014)
Symphony No. 5, orchestra (2015)
Berceuse Infinie, orchestra (2016)
Bassoon Concerto (2017)
Symphony No. 6, orchestra (2019)
WORKS BY GENRE Rouse Links ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Friandises, dance work (2005) [also as work for orchestra]
Orchestra
Gorgon, orchestra (1984)
Phantasmata, orchestra (1981–85)
- The Evestrum of Juan de la Cruz in the Sagrada Familia, 3 A.M.
- The Infernal Machine (1981)
- Bump, orchestra (1985)
Symphony No. 1, orchestra (1986)
Phaethon, orchestra (1986)
Jagannath, orchestra (1987)
Iscariot, chamber orchestra (1989)
Concerto per Corde, string orchestra (1990)
Symphony No. 2, orchestra (1994)
Envoi, orchestra (1995)
Rapture, orchestra (1999–2000)
The Nevill Feast, orchestra (2002–03)
Friandises, orchestra (2005) [ from dance work]
Concerto for Orchestra (2006–08)
Zhizn, orchestra (2010)
Odna Zhizn, orchestra (2009)
Symphony No. 3, orchestra (2010–11)
Prospero's Rooms, orchestra (2012)
Symphony No. 4, orchestra (2013)
Supplica, orchestra (2013)
Thunderstuck, orchestra (2013)
Symphony No. 5, orchestra (2015)
Berceuse Infinie, orchestra (2016)
Symphony No. 6, orchestra (2019)
Band
Wolf Rounds, band (2006)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Double Bass Concerto (1985)
Trombone Concerto (1990–91) [1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner]
Violin Concerto (1991)
Cello Concerto (1992–93)
Flute Concerto (1993)
Der gerettete Alberich, fantasy, percussion and orchestra (1997)
Seeing (concerto), piano and orchestra (1998)
Concert de Gaud, guitar and orchestra (1998–99)
Clarinet Concerto (2001)
Oboe Concerto (2003–04)
Heimdall's Trumpet (Trumpet Concerto) (2012)
Organ Concerto (2014)
Bassoon Concerto (2017)
Chorus w/Orchestra
Karolju, chorus and orchestra (1990)
Requiem, baritone, children's chorus, chorus and orchestra (2007)
Choral
Quattro Madrigali, 8 voices (1976)
Chamber
Ogoun Badagris, 5 percussion (1976)
Ku-Ka-Ilimoku, 4 percussion (1978)
String Quartet No. 1 (1982)
Rotae Passionis, fl/pic/alto fl/perc, cl/Eb cl/bass clar/perc, vln, va, vc, pf/perc and 1 perc (1982)
The Surma Ritornelli, fl/picc, cl/bass cl, hn, trpt, trom, vln, vc, db, pf/perc and 2 perc (1983)
Lares Hercii, violin and harpsichord (1983)
Artemis, brass quintet (1988)
Bonham, 8 percussion (1988)
String Quartet No. 2 (1988)
Compline, flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet (1996)
Two Goldberg Variations II, cello and piano (1996)
Rapturedux, 8 or more celli (2001)
String Quartet No. 3 (2009)
Solo Instrument
Morpheus, cello (1975)
Ricordanza, cello (1995)
Valentine, flute (1996)
Percussion
Ogoun Badagris, 5 percussion (1976)
Ku-Ka-Ilimoku, 4 percussion (1978)
Bonham, 8 percussion (1988)
Der gerettete Alberich, fantasy, percussion and orchestra (1997)
Mime, snare drum (1997)
Kabīr Padāvalī – Kabīr Songbook, soprano, off-stage percussion and orchestra (1997–98)
Piano/Organ
Little Gorgon, piano (1986)
Liber Daemonum, organ (1980)
Vocal
Mitternachtslieder, bass-baritone and chamber ensemble (1979)
Kabīr Padāvalī – Kabīr Songbook, soprano, off-stage percussion and orchestra (1997–98)
ROUSE LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
Christopher Rouse: Q & A (Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore City Paper)
Christopher Rouse's "Der Gerettete Alberich" (Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times)
Going to Eleven - Nothing Against Tradition (Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox)
How Christopher Rouse Does His Thing (David Salvage, Sequenza21)
Composer's website
Rouse @ Wikipedia
Rouse @ Answers.com
Rouse @ Art of the States
Rouse @ Boosey & Hawkes
Rouse @ Classical Archives
Rouse @ Classical Composers Database
Rouse @ ClassicalSource.com
Rouse @ Classical Net
Rouse @ ClassicsToday
Rouse @ composition:today
Rouse @ Dilettante Music
Rouse @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Rouse @ Facebook
Rouse @ Ionarts
Rouse @ Johns Hopkins University
Rouse @ The Living Composers Project
Rouse @ MusicWeb International
Rouse @ musicianguide.com
Rouse @ MySpaceMusic
Rouse @ NationMaster
Rouse @ Naxos
Rouse @ New World Records
Rouse @ The New York Times
Rouse @ Nonesuch Records
Rouse @ Peabody Institute
Rouse @ Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Rouse @ Present Music
Check also - Music Sage http://www.musicsage.org/
Streaming Audio
Rouse @ Composer's website
Rouse @ Classical Archives
Rouse @ last.fm
Rouse @ Rhapsody
Recordings
Rouse @ ArkivMusic
Rouse @ ClassicsOnline
Rouse @ YouTube
Rouse on Rouse: @ La Jolla Music Society: SummerFest
Rouse on Rouse: Interview with Soli Deo Gloria CEO Chandler Branch
Rouse on Rouse: On Rapture (New York Philharmonic)
Rouse on Rouse: On Composing (New York Philharmonic)
Rouse on Rouse: Interview with Susan Elliott, Editor of MusicalAmerica.com
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