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Joseph Schwantner (1943-     )

Joseph Schwantner, composer The career of Joseph Schwantner is perhaps as prestigious as that of any living American composer at the turn of the twenty-first century. Although trained in the high-serialist school, the mid-1970s saw Schwantner abandon that style in favor of a distinctly coloristic, harmonically rich, but solidly tonal (albeit often "pantonal") sound. His voice throughout the 1970s and 1980s is often characterized by rich, dark brass scoring, lurching polyrhythms, and mesmerizing ostinati. One favorite technique is the employment of "ringing sonorities," or sounds that are articulated loudly then suppressed and sustained. These sounds resonate with Schwantner's evocative titles like From a Dark Millennium (1980), Aftertones of Infinity (1978), and Wild Angels of the Open Hills (1978). His timbral palette is further enhanced by the use of nontraditional instruments like crystal glasses, water gongs, and bowed cymbals. Schwantner's style in the 1990s combined occasional excursions into disorienting atonal and vaguely serialist areas with weighty and often overpowering tonal blocks, and continued to explore new timbres.His honors include a Pulitzer Prize (for Aftertones of Infinity), a Guggenheim Fellowship, and no less than six Composers Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. His commissions include compositions for the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, San Diego Symphony, AT&T, New York International Festival of the Arts, and Naumburg and Fromm Foundations, and his works have been performed by such ensembles as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Schwantner's New Morning for the World (1982), composed in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., was perhaps the most oft-performed and well-known pieces for narrator and orchestra since Copland's Lincoln Portrait.
-  Jeremy Grimshaw/AllMusic

COMPOSITIONS                                     Schwantner Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Schwantner on Schwantner
Nonet, piano and chamber ensemble (1964-65)
August Canticle, orchestra (1965???)
Concertino, alto saxophone and 3 chamber ensembles (1965) - ????
Diaphonia intervallum, alto sax, flute, piano, clarinet, 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos and double bass (1966)
Chronicon, bassoon and piano (1968)
Music for Soprano, Brass and Percussion (1968)
Consortium (I), flute, clarinet, violin, viola and cello (1970)
Enchiridion, violin and piano (pub. 1970)
Modus caelestis (Consortium III), 12 flutes, 12 strings, 3 percussionists, celeste and piano (1972)
Shadows II (Consortium VI), baritone and 8 players (1973)
In Aeternum II, organ (1972; pub. 1974)
Shadows (Consortium V), [piano quartet] (1973)
Autumn Canticles (Consortium VII), violin, cello and piano (1974)
Entropy, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet and cello (pub. 1974)
In Aeternum (Consortium IV), cello solo and four players (1975)
Canticle of the Evening Bells (Consortium IX), flute solo, ob/EH, cl, bsn, tpt, hrn, trb, pf, perc, vln, va, vc, db (1976)
Elixir (Consortium VIII), flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano (1976)
... and the mountains rising nowhere, band (1977)
Aftertones of Infinity, orchestra (1978) [Pulitzer Prize winner for 1979]
Wild Angels of the Open Hills, a cycle of five songs, soprano, flute and harp (1978) [text: Ursula LeGuin]
Sparrows, soprano and chamber ensemble [fl/picc, cl, vln va, vc, pf, hp, perc] (1978) [text: Issa]
From a Dark Millennium, band (1980)
Wind Willow, Whisper, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1980)
Two Poems of Agueda Pizarro, soprano and piano (1980)
- Black Anemones, flute and piano (arr. 1981 from 2nd song in "Two Poems of Agueda Pizarro", 1980]
Through Interior Worlds, flute/alto fl, oboe/EH, clarinet, violin, viola, cello & piano (1981) [arr. 1991 as "a ballet for orchestra"]
    - Through Interior Worlds, a ballet for orchestra (1991) [from 1981 chamber work]
Music of Amber, flute, clarinet/bass cl, violin, cello, piano and percussion (1981)
New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom, narrator & orch (or chamber orch or band) (1982) [text: M.L. King, Jr]
Consortium II, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion (1982)
Magabunda (Witchnomad) (4 songs), soprano & orchestra (1983) [text: Agueda Pizarro] [see also "2 Poems of Agueda Pizarro"]
Distant Runes and Incantations, amplified piano and orchestra (1984) [also arr. for chamber ensemble]
Dreamcaller (3 songs), soprano, violin solo and orchestra (1984)
Toward Light, an orchestral set (3 pieces) (1986)
A Sudden Rainbow, orchestra (1986)
Soaring, flute and piano (1986)
Veiled Autumn (Kindertodeslied), piano (1987) [pub. in "Changing Faces" piano anthology]
From afar..., a fantasy for guitar and orchestra" (1988)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1988)
Freeflight "Fanfares" & "Fantasy", orchestra (1989)
A Play of Shadows, flute and chamber orchestra (1990)
Velocities (Moto Perpetuo), marimba (1990; rev. 2006)
Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (1994) [also arr. for percussion and wind ensemble, or 2 pianos]
Evening Land, symphony for orchestra and soprano (1995) [text: Pär Lagerkvist]
In Memory's Embrace, an elegy for string orchestra (1996)
In evening's stillness ..., band (1996)
Beyond Autumn, a poem horn and orchestra (1999)
September Canticle "Fantasy" (In Memoriam) for Organ, Brass, Percussion, Amplified Piano and Strings (2002)
Angelfire "Fantasy" for Amplified Violin and Orchestra (2002)
Recoil, wind ensemble (2004)
Morning's Embrace, orchestra (2005)
Rhiannon's Blackbirds, flute/picc, clarinet/bass cl, violin/viola, cello, piano and percussion (2006)
Silver Halo, flute quartet [fl/energy chimes; fl/picc/energy chimes; alto fl; bass fl] (2007)
Chasing Light..., chamber orchestra (2008)
Looking Back, flute and piano (2009)
The Poet's Hour... Solioquy, violin and string orchestra (2011) ["Reflections on Thoreau"]
Concerto for Percussion Section, Timpani and Orchestra (2011)
Taking Charge, flute/piccolo, percussion and piano (2012)


WORKS BY GENRE                                     Schwantner Links     ~ ~ ~    Schwantner on Schwantner      ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Through Interior Worlds, a ballet for orchestra (1991) [from 1981 chamber work]

Orchestra
August Canticle, orchestra (1965???)
Aftertones of Infinity, orchestra (1978) [1979 Pulitzer Prize winner]
Through Interior Worlds, a ballet for orchestra (1991) [from 1981 chamber work]
New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom, narrator & orch (or chamber orch or band) (1982) [text: M.L. King, Jr]
Toward Light, an orchestral set (1986)
    - Someday Memories
    - Toward Light (Soliloquy)
    - Shadowed Images
A Sudden Rainbow, orchestra (1986)
Freeflight "Fanfares" & "Fantasy", orchestra (1989)
Evening Land, symphony for orchestra and soprano (1995) [text: Pär Lagerkvist]
In Memory's Embrace, an elegy for string orchestra (1996)
September Canticle "Fantasy" (In Memoriam) for Organ, Brass, Percussion, Amplified Piano and Strings (2002)
Morning's Embrace, orchestra (2005)
Chasing Light..., chamber orchestra (2008)

Band
... and the mountains rising nowhere, band (1977)
From a Dark Millennium, band (1980)
In evening's stillness ..., band (1996)
Recoil, wind ensemble (2004)

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Concertino, alto saxophone and 3 chamber ensembles (1965) - ????
Distant Runes and Incantations, amplified piano and orchestra (1984) [also arr. for chamber ensemble]
From afar..., a fantasy for guitar and orchestra" (1988)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1988)
A Play of Shadows, flute and chamber orchestra (1990)
Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (1994) [also arr. for percussion and wind ensemble, or 2 pianos]
Beyond Autumn, a poem horn and orchestra (1999)
Angelfire "Fantasy" for Amplified Violin and Orchestra (2002)
The Poet's Hour... Solioquy, violin and string orchestra (2011) ["Reflections on Thoreau"]
Concerto for Percussion Section, Timpani and Orchestra (2011)

Chamber
Nonet, piano and chamber ensemble (1964-65)
Diaphonia intervallum, alto sax, flute, piano, clarinet, 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos and double bass (1966)
Consortium (I), flute, clarinet, violin, viola and cello (1970)
Modus caelestis (Consortium III), 12 flutes, 12 strings, 3 percussionists, celeste and piano (1972)
Shadows (Consortium V), [piano quartet] (1973)
Autumn Canticles (Consortium VII), violin, cello and piano (1974)
Entropy, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet and cello (pub. 1974)
In Aeternum (Consortium IV), cello solo and four players (1975)
Canticle of the Evening Bells (Consortium IX), flute solo, ob/EH, cl, bsn, tpt, hrn, trb, pf, perc, vln, va, vc, db (1976)
Elixir (Consortium VIII), flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano (1976)
Wind Willow, Whisper, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1980)
Through Interior Worlds, flute/alto fl, oboe/EH, clarinet, violin, viola, cello & piano (1981) [arr. 1991 as "a ballet for orchestra"]
Music of Amber, flute, clarinet/bass cl, violin, cello, piano and percussion (1981)
        I. Wind, Willow, Whisper..
        II. Sanctuary
Consortium II, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion (1982)
Distant Runes and Incantations, fl, cl, 2 vln, va, vc, pf, perc (1984) [arr. from work for piano and orchestra]
Rhiannon's Blackbirds, flute/picc, clarinet/bass cl, violin/viola, cello, piano and percussion (2006)
Silver Halo, flute quartet [fl/energy chimes; fl/picc/energy chimes; alto fl; bass fl] (2007)
Taking Charge, flute/piccolo, percussion and piano (2012)

Instrument and Piano
Chronicon, bassoon and piano (1968)
Enchiridion, violin and piano (pub. 1970)
Black Anemones, flute and piano (arr. 1981 from 2nd song in "Two Poems of Agueda Pizarro", 1980]
Soaring, flute and piano (1986)
Looking Back, flute and piano (2009)

Solo Instrument
Velocities (Moto Perpetuo), marimba (1990; rev. 2006)

Piano
In Aeternum II, organ (1972; pub. 1974)
Veiled Autumn (Kindertodeslied), piano (1987) [pub. in "Changing Faces" piano anthology]

Vocal
Music for Soprano, Brass and Percussion (1968)
Shadows II (Consortium VI), baritone and 8 players (1973)
Wild Angels of the Open Hills, a cycle of five songs, soprano, flute and harp (1978) [text: Ursula LeGuin]
    - Wild Angels of the Open Hills
    - Angels of the Shadowed Ancient Land
    - There
    - Coming of Age
    - The Hawk Shapes the Wind
Sparrows, soprano and chamber ensemble [fl/picc, cl, vln va, vc, pf, hp, perc] (1978) [text: Issa]
Two Poems of Agueda Pizarro, soprano and piano (1980)
    - Shadowinnower
    - Black Anemones
Magabunda (Witchnomad) (4 songs), soprano & orchestra (1983) [text: Agueda Pizarro] [see also "2 Poems of Agueda Pizarro"]
    - Shadowinnower
    - Blancolvido
    - Black Anemones
    - Magabunda
Dreamcaller (3 songs), soprano, violin solo and orchestra (1984)
    - ???
    - ???
    - ???


SCHWANTNER  LINKS                           Works by Genre     ~ ~ ~    Schwantner on Schwantner       ~ top of page ~
An Analysis of Joseph Schwantner's Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (Shawn Hart, UNT Digital Library)
A Conductor's Guide to the Wind Music of Joseph Schwantner (Nikk Pilato, Florida State University)
Joseph Schwantner’s "Looking Back" (Cynthia Folio, Temple University)
New Morning for the World: Daybreak of Freedom: An Exploration . . . (Mark Feezell)
Unity and Pluralism in Selected Works by Joseph Schwantner (Cynthia Folio, ex-tempore.org)

Composer's website   . . .   contact Joseph Schwantner:  here

Schwantner @ Wikipedia
Schwantner @ Answers.com
Schwantner @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Schwantner @ Classic Cat
Schwantner @ Classical Archives
Schwantner @ Classical Composers Database
Schwantner @ Classical Net
Schwantner @ ClassicsToday
Schwantner @ Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers
Schwantner @ Ford Made in America
Schwantner @ InstantEncore
Schwantner @ The Kennedy Center
Schwantner @ Klassika
Schwantner @ Los Angeles Philharmonic
Schwantner @ MusicWeb International
Schwantner @ Naxos
Schwantner @ NewMusicBox
Schwantner @ New Music USA [formerly American Music Center]
Schwantner @ The New York Times
Schwantner @ NPRmusic
Schwantner @ PSNY/European American Music Distributors
Schwantner @ The Pulitzer Prizes  -  see 1979
Schwantner @ Schott Music
Schwantner @ WGBH/Open Vault    also    here
Schwantner @ Wind Repertory Project

Publisher
Schwantner @ Composer's website/publisher listings - at bottom of works page
Schwantner @ American Composers Alliance
Schwantner @ Atherton Hill Press
Schwantner @ J. Boonin
Schwantner @ Dorn Productions
Schwantner @ Helicon Music [sole agent, European American Music]
Schwantner @ Edition Peters
Schwantner @ PSNY/European American Music Distributors
Schwantner @ Schott Music

Streaming Audio
Schwantner @ Classical Archives
Schwantner @ last.fm
Schwantner @ MySpaceMusic (via Google Advanced Search)
Schwantner @ NPRmusic
Schwantner @ PRX (Public Radio Exchange)
Schwantner @ Rhapsody.com
Schwantner @ SoundCloud

Recordings
Schwantner @ Composer's website
Schwantner @ Amazon.com
Schwantner @ ArkivMusic
Schwantner @ CD Universe
Schwantner @ ClassicsOnline
Schwantner @ Discogs
Schwantner @ GIA Publications
Schwantner @ Innova Records
Schwantner @ itunes (via Google Advanced Search)
Schwantner @ Naxos
Schwantner @ New World Records

Video
Schwantner @ YouTube
Schwantner @ Google Video
Schwantner @ Vimeo (via Google Advanced Search)
     ~ top of page ~
Schwantner on Schwantner: Made in America (VIDEO)







Schwantner on Schwantner: Talking w/Evelyn Glennie about Percussion Concerto (VIDEO)







Schwantner on Schwantner: Interview with Terry Joy/KUNR (streaming audio)
Joseph Schwantner, composerComposers Speak on the Web at Pytheas
                            ~ click on composer picture to listen ~






. . . and check out more    Composers Speak on the Web    at Pytheas

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