Bernard Rands
Encyclopedia
Bernard Rands is a composer of contemporary classical music
.
Rands studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez
and Bruno Maderna
in Darmstadt
, Germany
, and with Luigi Dallapiccola
and Luciano Berio
in Milan
, Italy
.
He held residencies at Princeton University
, the University of Illinois
, and York University
before emigrating to the United States in 1975; he became a U.S. citizen in 1983. In 1984, Rands's Canti del Sole, premiered by Paul Sperry, Zubin Mehta
, and the New York Philharmonic
, won the Pulitzer Prize for Music
.
He has since taught at the University of California, San Diego
, the Juilliard School
, Yale University
, and Boston University
. From 1988 to 2005 he taught at Harvard University
, where he is Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music Emeritus. His notable students include Beth Denisch
, Paul Dresher
, Bun-Ching Lam
, Michael Daugherty
, Jing Jing Luo
, Sidney Corbett
, Daron Hagen
, Marc Mellits
, Vic Hoyland
, Dominic Muldowney
, Roger Marsh and Robert Scott Thompson
.
Rands has received many awards for his work, and was elected and inducted into The American Academy of Arts and Letters
in 2004. From 1989 to 1995 he was composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra
.
Rands's music is widely recorded. The recording of his Canti D'Amor by the men's vocal ensemble Chanticleer
won a Grammy Award
in 2000.
Rands is married to American composer Augusta Read Thomas
.
commission, which premièred under Gerard Schwarz
on 7 December 2010 at Benaroya Hall
, Seattle, alongside works by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
.
Rands studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
and Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna
Bruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and with Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions.-Biography:Dallapiccola was born at Pisino d'Istria , to Italian parents....
and Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
He held residencies at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, and York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
before emigrating to the United States in 1975; he became a U.S. citizen in 1983. In 1984, Rands's Canti del Sole, premiered by Paul Sperry, Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, and the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, won the Pulitzer Prize for Music
Pulitzer Prize for Music
The Pulitzer Prize for Music was first awarded in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer did not call for such a prize in his will, but had arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year...
.
He has since taught at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. From 1988 to 2005 he taught at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he is Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music Emeritus. His notable students include Beth Denisch
Beth Denisch
Beth Denisch is an American composer. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from North Texas State University in Denton, TX, and an MM and a DMA from Boston University, where her teachers in composition were John Harbison and Bernard Rands. She has taught at UMass Dartmouth, and Northeastern...
, Paul Dresher
Paul Dresher
Paul Joseph Dresher is an American composer. Dresher received his B.A. in music from the University of California, Berkeley and his M.A. in composition from the University of California, San Diego, where he studied with Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds, Pauline Oliveros, and Bernard Rands.He also...
, Bun-Ching Lam
Bun-Ching Lam
Lam Bun-Ching is a composer, pianist, and conductor.She holds a B.A. degree in piano performance from the Chinese University of Hong Kong . She obtained a scholarship from the University of California at San Diego, where she studied composition with Bernard Rands, Robert Erickson, Roger Reynolds,...
, Michael Daugherty
Michael Daugherty
Michael Kevin Daugherty is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. Influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism, Daugherty is one of the most colorful and widely performed American concert music composers of his generation...
, Jing Jing Luo
Jing Jing Luo
Jing Jing Luo is a female Chinese composer. Born in China, Luo received an undergraduate degree in Shanghai and postgraduate degrees from the New England Conservatory and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Luo's fellowships have come from the Asian Council on the Arts, the New York...
, Sidney Corbett
Sidney Corbett
Sidney Corbett is an American composer based in Germany.- Biography :He studied music and philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, and earned his doctorate from Yale University in 1989. From 1985-88 Corbett studied at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg with György Ligeti...
, Daron Hagen
Daron Hagen
Daron Aric Hagen , is an American composer, conductor, pianist, educator, librettist, and stage director of contemporary classical music and opera.- Early life and education :...
, Marc Mellits
Marc Mellits
Marc Mellits is an American composer and musician.Mellits was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied at the Eastman School of Music from 1984 to 1988, the Yale School of Music from 1989 to 1991, Cornell University from 1991 to 1996, and at Tanglewood in the summer of 1997...
, Vic Hoyland
Vic Hoyland
Vic Hoyland is an English composer.He was born in Wombwell, Yorkshire, England.Educated at Hull and York universities , Hoyland was Haywood Fellow at the University of Birmingham where he is currently Reader in Composition.Influenced by Luciano Berio and Franco Donatoni, Hoyland has composed...
, Dominic Muldowney
Dominic Muldowney
Dominic Muldowney is a British composer.-Biography:He studied at the universities of Southampton and York , and took private lessons with Harrison Birtwistle. From 1974 to 1976 he was composer-in-residence to the Southern Arts Association...
, Roger Marsh and Robert Scott Thompson
Robert Scott Thompson
Robert Scott Thompson is a composer of ambient, instrumental and electroacoustic music. He earned the B.Mus. degree from the University of Oregon and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at San Diego. His primary teachers include Bernard Rands, Roger Reynolds, Joji Yuasa and...
.
Rands has received many awards for his work, and was elected and inducted into The American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 250-member honor society; its goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Located in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York, it shares Audubon Terrace, its Beaux Arts campus on...
in 2004. From 1989 to 1995 he was composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
.
Rands's music is widely recorded. The recording of his Canti D'Amor by the men's vocal ensemble Chanticleer
Chanticleer (ensemble)
Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome...
won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 2000.
Rands is married to American composer Augusta Read Thomas
Augusta Read Thomas
Augusta Read Thomas is an American composer.Augusta Read Thomas was born in Glen Cove, New York. She attended The Green Vale School and later moved on to St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and then studied composition with Jacob Druckman at Yale University and at the Royal Academy of...
.
Opera
- Belladonna (1999)
- opera in two acts, with a libretto by Leslie Dunton Downer, commissioned by the Aspen Festival. Première: 1999, Aspen Music Festival, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
- opera in two acts, with a libretto by Leslie Dunton Downer, commissioned by the Aspen Festival. Première: 1999, Aspen Music Festival, Colorado
- Vincent (c.1973-2010)
- opera based on the life of Vincent van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
, with lbretto by J. D. McClatchy, commissioned by Indiana UniversityIndiana UniversityIndiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. Première performances: 8-9, 15–16 April 2011, Bloomington, IndianaBloomington, IndianaBloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
.
- opera based on the life of Vincent van Gogh
Orchestral
- Per Esempio (1969)
- commissioned by the West Riding Youth OrchestraWest Riding of YorkshireThe West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
, YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
- commissioned by the West Riding Youth Orchestra
- Wildtrack 1 (1969)
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
for the 1969 York Festival, premièred under Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
(dedicated to Gilbert AmyGilbert AmyGilbert Amy is a French composer and conductor. In 1954 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris where he was taught and influenced by Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud and studied piano with Yvonne Loriod and fugue with Simone Plé-Caussade. His first compositions date from 1955...
)
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Agenda (1970)
- commissioned by the Department of Education and Science for the London Schools Symphony OrchestraLondon Schools Symphony OrchestraThe London Schools Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra with musicians drawn from students in London schools, and featuring professional conductors and soloists. It was founded in 1951. Its founder and original director was the late Dr Leslie Russell, at one time assisted by Niso Ticciati....
- commissioned by the Department of Education and Science for the London Schools Symphony Orchestra
- Metalepsis 2 (1971), for mezzo-soprano, small choir & chamber orchestra
- commissioned by the London SinfoniettaLondon SinfoniettaThe London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, who gave the première in 1972 with soprano Cathy BerberianCathy BerberianCatherine Anahid Berberian was an American soprano and composer. She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music composed, among others, by Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Sylvano Bussotti, Darius Milhaud, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati , Igor Stravinsky.She also interpreted...
, conducted by Luciano BerioLuciano BerioLuciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
at the English Bach FestivalBach FestivalBach Festivals are annual classical music festival held to celebrate the memory of the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Various locations throughout the world held a festival dedicated to Bach...
- commissioned by the London Sinfonietta
- Mésalliance (1972), for piano solo & orchestra
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, premièred by pianist Roger WoodwardRoger WoodwardRoger Woodward AC OBE is an Australian classical concert pianist.-Biography:Roger Woodward was born in 1942 in Chatswood, a suburb of Sydney, the youngest of four children to Gladys and Frank Woodward...
under Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Wildtrack 2 (1973), for soprano solo & orchestra
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, and premièred at the 1973 Cheltenham FestivalCheltenham FestivalThe Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
under John Pritchard.
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Aum (1974), for harp solo & chamber orchestra
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
for Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
's series of contemporary concerts at RoundhouseRoundhouseA roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Madrigali (1977), for chamber orchestra
- commissioned by the National Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Washington D.C., and premièred at the Kennedy Center. The work has most recently been performed by the Jungen Philharmonie Zentralschweiz and the University of Nottingham PhilharmoniaUniversity of NottinghamThe University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
.
- commissioned by the National Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Washington D.C., and premièred at the Kennedy Center. The work has most recently been performed by the Jungen Philharmonie Zentralschweiz and the University of Nottingham Philharmonia
- Canti Lunatici (1981), for soprano solo & orchestra
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
for soprano Dorothy Dorow, premièred under Rands in 1981
- commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
- Canti del Sole (1983), for tenor solo & orchestra
- full version commissioned by the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, and premièred under Zubin MehtaZubin MehtaZubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
and tenor Paul SperryPaul SperryPaul E. Sperry is a conservative pundit, author, investigative journalist, and Stanford University Hoover Institute media fellow. In the wake of the Fort Hood Shooting, he gave an interview to Coast to Coast AM on November 7, 2009, about his co-authored book Muslim Mafia.-Clinton incident:In 1999,...
in 1983. The work won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for MusicPulitzer Prize for MusicThe Pulitzer Prize for Music was first awarded in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer did not call for such a prize in his will, but had arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year...
.
- full version commissioned by the New York Philharmonic
- Le Tambourin: Suites 1 & 2 (1984)
- the two suites were commissioned respectively by the Fromm Foundation for the San Diego SymphonySan Diego SymphonyThe San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. On 6 December 1910, it gave its first concert as the San Diego Civic Orchestra.Currently, the Symphony performs over 100 concerts each season...
and the Koussevitzky FoundationSerge KoussevitzkySerge Koussevitzky , was a Russian-born Jewish conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.-Early career:...
for the Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, who premièred the complete work under Ricardo Muti in 1984. The work was awarded first place in the 1986 Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards. The work has since been performed widely by many orchestras, including (most recently) the Buffalo Philharmonic.
- the two suites were commissioned respectively by the Fromm Foundation for the San Diego Symphony
- Ceremonial 2 (1986)
- 15-minute work commissioned by Suntory HallSuntory HallThe Suntory Hall is a concert hall complex consisting of the "Main Hall" and the "Small Hall" located in the Ark Hills complex, near the U.S. Embassy and TV Asahi in the Akasaka district of northern Minato, a ward in Tokyo, Japan...
, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
; premièred there in 1989
- 15-minute work commissioned by Suntory Hall
- Fanfare for a Festival (1986)
- commissioned by the Colorado Music FestivalColorado Music FestivalThe Colorado Music Festival is a classical music festival in Boulder, Colorado. It was founded in 1976 by the Vienna-born conductor and violinist, Giora Bernstein and presents an annual summer season of concerts in Boulder's Chautauqua Auditorium performed by the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra...
, BoulderBoulderIn geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
, for the 10th anniversary festival
- commissioned by the Colorado Music Festival
- Hiraeth (1987), for cello solo & orchestra
- commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival, premièred by cellist Yehuda HananiYehuda HananiYehuda Hanani is an Israeli-American cellist. He is a Professor of Violoncello at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and an international soloist and master class teacher. Hanani studied with Leonard Rose at Juilliard and with Pablo Casals.At the age of 19, Hanani was taken...
with the Aspen Festival Orchestra conducted by Rands. Subsequent performances took place with HananiYehuda HananiYehuda Hanani is an Israeli-American cellist. He is a Professor of Violoncello at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and an international soloist and master class teacher. Hanani studied with Leonard Rose at Juilliard and with Pablo Casals.At the age of 19, Hanani was taken...
the BBC National Orchestra of WalesBBC National Orchestra of WalesThe BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
soon after.
- commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival, premièred by cellist Yehuda Hanani
- ...body and shadow... (1988)
- commissioned by the Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony OrchestraThe Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
, and premièred under Seiji OzawaSeiji Ozawais a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
at Symphony HallSymphony Hall, BostonSymphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999...
in 1989. Emily Freeman Brown and the Bowling Green Philharmonia have since taken the work into their repertoire.
- commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra
- London Serenade (1988)
- written as a gift for conductor Edwin London, who premièred the work with the Cleveland Chamber SymphonyCleveland Chamber SymphonyThe Cleveland Chamber Symphony is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, and has presented over 200 performance premieres.-History:...
. Recent performances have been given by the Verge Ensemble and the Buffalo Philharmonic.
- written as a gift for conductor Edwin London, who premièred the work with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony
- Bells (1989), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- commissioned by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic
- Ceremonial 3 (1991)
- commissioned by the Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, premièred under Riccardo MutiRiccardo MutiRiccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
. Subsequent performances have taken place by the Bristol University Symphony OrchestraUniversity of BristolThe University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
- commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra
- Canti dell'Eclisse (1992), for bass solo & orchestra
- commissioned by the Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, premièred under Gerard SchwarzGerard SchwarzGerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
with bass Thomas PaulThomas PaulThomas Paul was a Baptist minister in Boston, Massachusetts, affiliated with the African Meeting House and the Education Society for the People of Colour. Paul lived in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood. His children included activist Susan Paul....
. The work has since been championed by Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra ProjectBoston Modern Orchestra ProjectThe Boston Modern Orchestra Project is a full professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, and is widely recognized as the premiere orchestra in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing, and recording new music of the 20th and 21st centuries...
.
- commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra
- Ceremonial (1992–93), for wind band
- commissioned by the University of Michigan Symphony BandUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, Ann Arbor. A widely performed work, Ceremonial has most recently been performed by the concert bandConcert bandA concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
s of the Oberlin Conservatory, Boston ConservatoryBoston ConservatoryThe Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...
, Columbus State UniversityColumbus State UniversityColumbus State University is a public institution of higher learning located in Columbus, Georgia. Founded as Columbus College in 1958, the university was established and is administered by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and is fully accredited by the Commission on...
, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, New England Conservatory, DePaul UniversityDePaul UniversityDePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
, University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and Florida International UniversityFlorida International UniversityFlorida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
, among numerous others.
- commissioned by the University of Michigan Symphony Band
- Tre Canzoni senza Parole (1993)
- commissioned by the Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, premièred under Rands in 1992. The Oregon SymphonyOregon SymphonyThe Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
has since championed this work.
- commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra
- ...where the murmurs die... (1993)
- commissioned by the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, premièred under Leonard SlatkinLeonard SlatkinLeonard Edward Slatkin is an American conductor and composer.-Early life and education:Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His father Felix Slatkin was the violinist, conductor and founder of the Hollywood String Quartet,...
at Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
in December 1993
- commissioned by the New York Philharmonic
- Canzoni (1995)
- commissioned by the Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, premièred under Wolfgang SawallischWolfgang SawallischWolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
in Philadelphia. A further performance was given by the same forces at the 1995 BBC Proms in the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra
- Interludium (1995), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- commissioned as part of the Requiem of ReconciliationRequiem of ReconciliationThe Requiem of Reconciliation was a collaborative work written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. It sets the Roman Catholic mass for the dead in fourteen sections, each written by a different composer from a country involved in the war...
, premièred in 1995 by the Israel Philharmonic under Helmuth RillingHelmuth RillingHelmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
- commissioned as part of the Requiem of Reconciliation
- Symphony (1995)
- commissioned by the Los Angeles PhilharmonicLos Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, premièred under Esa-Pekka SalonenEsa-Pekka SalonenEsa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
in 1995
- commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Cello Concerto (1996)
- commissioned by the Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony OrchestraThe Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
for Mstislav RostropovichMstislav RostropovichMstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
, premièred under Seiji OzawaSeiji Ozawais a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
in 1997. Recent performances have taken place at Symphony CenterSymphony CenterSymphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Symphony Center includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and...
with the Chicago Symphony under Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, with cellist Johannes MoserJohannes MoserJohannes Moser is a German cellist.He has been hailed as “greatly gifted” by the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times described him as an “imaginative soloist . ....
.
- commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra
- Fanfare (1996)
- commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony
- Requiescant (1996), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- 30-minute work, originally commissioned by the B.B.C. for the 1985 Proms Season, but wasn't completed in time. It was re-commissioned in 1995 for the Philadelphia Choral Society
- Triple Concerto (1997), for piano, cello & percussion soli & orchestra
- commissioned by the Core Ensemble and the Cleveland Chamber SymphonyCleveland Chamber SymphonyThe Cleveland Chamber Symphony is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, and has presented over 200 performance premieres.-History:...
with funds provided by the Meet the Composer Consortium Program, premièred by those forces conducted by Edwin London
- commissioned by the Core Ensemble and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony
- apókryphos (2002), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- major 40-minute work setting texts by Paul CelanPaul CelanPaul Celan was a poet and translator...
, Heinrich HeineHeinrich HeineChristian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, Nelly SachsNelly SachsNelly Sachs was a Jewish German poet and playwright whose experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokeswoman for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews...
, Franz WerfelFranz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
and English translations of extracts from the ApocryphaApocryphaThe term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
. Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and premièred at Symphony CenterSymphony CenterSymphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Symphony Center includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and...
in May 2003 with soprano Angela DenokeAngela DenokeAngela Denoke is a German opera singer .She studied at the University of Music and Drama of Hamburg. Her first contract was at the Theater Ulm , where she sang Fiordiligi , Donna Anna and Agathe in , among other roles...
under Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
(choral director: Duain Wolfe). Further performances have taken place in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in 2010, at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus, Großer SaalKonzerthaus, ViennaThe Konzerthaus in Vienna was opened 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both tradition and innovative musical styles.In 1890 the first ideas for a Haus für Musikfeste came about...
by the Staatskapelle BerlinStaatskapelle BerlinThe Staatskapelle Berlin is a German orchestra, the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera .The orchestra traces its roots to 1570, when Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg established an orchestra at his court...
and Staatsopernchor BerlinBerlin State OperaThe Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, again with Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
conducting.
- major 40-minute work setting texts by Paul Celan
- Unending Lightning (2002), for wind band
- commissioned by the Eastman School of MusicEastman School of MusicThe Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
- commissioned by the Eastman School of Music
- Chains Like the Sea (2008)
- commissioned by the New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, premièred under Lorin MaazelLorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
at Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
in October 2008
- commissioned by the New York Philharmonic
- Danza Petrificada (2009–10)
- commissioned by the Chicago Symphony and premièred under Ricardo Muti at Symphony CenterSymphony CenterSymphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Symphony Center includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and...
, May 5–7 & 10, 2011.
- commissioned by the Chicago Symphony and premièred under Ricardo Muti at Symphony Center
- Adieu (2010), for brass quintetBrass quintetA brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The most common instrumentation is two trumpets or cornets, one horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass trombone....
& string orchestra- commissioned by the Seattle SymphonySeattle SymphonyThe Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
, who will première the work under Gerard SchwarzGerard SchwarzGerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
at Benaroya HallBenaroya HallBenaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2500-seat performance venue, as well as the Nordstrom Recital Hall, which seats roughly 500...
, Seattle, Washington on 7 December 2010.
- commissioned by the Seattle Symphony
Chamber
- Actions for Six (1962), for flute, viola, cello, harp & two percussion
- written for the 1963 Darmstadt Festival; premièred by the Kranichsteiner Ensemble under Bruno MadernaBruno MadernaBruno Maderna was an Italian conductor and composer. For the last ten years of his life he lived in Germany and eventually became a citizen of that country.-Biography:...
- written for the 1963 Darmstadt Festival; premièred by the Kranichsteiner Ensemble under Bruno Maderna
- Espressione IV. (1964), for two pianos
- premièred at the 1965 Darmstadt FestivalDarmstadt New Music Summer SchoolInitiated in 1946 by Wolfgang Steinecke, the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, Darmstadt , held annually until 1970 and subsequently every two years, encompass both the teaching of composition and interpretation and include premières of new works...
by Aloys and Alfons KontarskyAloys and Alfons KontarskyAloys and Alfons Kontarsky were German duo-pianist brothers who were associated with a number of important world premieres of contemporary works. They had an international reputation for performing modern music for two pianists, although they also performed the standard repertoire and they...
- premièred at the 1965 Darmstadt Festival
- Ballad 1 (1970), for mezzo-soprano solo, flute, trombone, piano, percussion & contrabass
- written for SONOR ensemble, a group formed by Rands. Text by Gilbert SorrentinoGilbert SorrentinoGilbert Sorrentino was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and editor.In over twenty-five works of fiction and poetry, Sorrentino explored the comic and formal possibilities of language and literature...
.
- written for SONOR ensemble, a group formed by Rands. Text by Gilbert Sorrentino
- Tableau (1970), for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, viola & cello
- as all get out (1972), for miscellaneous instrumental ensemble
- notated as a graphic scoreGraphic notationGraphic notation is the representation of music through the use of visual symbols outside the realm of traditional music notation. Graphic notation evolved in the 1950s, and it is often used in combination with traditional music notation...
; the duration of the work can be anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes
- notated as a graphic score
- déjà (1972), for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, viola & cello
- Response - Memo 1B (1973), for contrabass & tape / two contrabassi
- Cuaderno (1974), for string quartet
- étendre (1974), for solo contrabass, flute, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, electric organ, percussion, violin, viola & cello
- 15-minute work, based on Rands' Memo 1 (for solo double bass, from 1971), and was written for bassist Bertram TuretzkyBertram TuretzkyBertram Turetzky is a contemporary American double bass soloist, teacher, and author of The Contemporary Contrabass , a book that looked at a number of new and interesting ways of playing the double bass including featuring it as a solo performance vehicle with no other instrumental...
and commissioned by the Claremont Festival, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
- 15-minute work, based on Rands' Memo 1 (for solo double bass, from 1971), and was written for bassist Bertram Turetzky
- Scherzi (1974), for clarinet, piano, violin & cello
- commissioned by the Capricorn Ensemble with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great BritainArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
- commissioned by the Capricorn Ensemble with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain
- Obbligato - Memo 2C (1980), for trombone & string quartet
- ...in the receding mist... (1988), for flute, harp, violin, viola & cello
- commissioned by the Arts Council of Great BritainArts Council of Great BritainThe Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
for the ONDINE Ensemble, and is dedicated to Jacob DruckmanJacob DruckmanJacob Druckman was an American composer born in Philadelphia. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood and later continued his studies at the École Normale de...
on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. Premièred in Washington D.C. in November 1988. Recent performances have been given by the Boston Musica VivaBoston Musica VivaBoston Musica Viva is a Boston, Massachusetts-based music ensemble founded by its Music Director, Richard Pittman, in 1969 and dedicated to contemporary music.-Composers and compositions:...
under Richard Pittman, the North/South Consonance EnsembleNorth/South Consonance EnsembleThe North/South Consonance Ensemble is an American chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music from the Americas. It was founded in 1980 and is based in New York City...
under Max LifchitzMax LifchitzMax Lifchitz is a classical pianist, composer, and conductor.He was born and grew up in Mexico City. Following one year of study in Mexico, he came to the United States in 1966 and studied at the Juilliard School, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan.In 1980, he founded the...
, the Verge Ensemble (BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, New York), the Dal Nienete New Music Group (ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
), and ensembles at the Indiana University School of Music and the Arizona State UniversityArizona State UniversityArizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
.
- commissioned by the Arts Council of Great Britain
- ...and the rain... (1992), for horn, harp, violin, viola & cello
- String Quartet No. 2 (1994)
- commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music SocietyPhiladelphia Chamber Music SocietyThe Philadelphia Chamber Music Society is a non-profit chamber music and recital forum. It was created, in 1986, by Anthony Checchia and Philip Maneval, its Artistic Director and Executive Director respectively...
for the Mendelssohn Quartet (who, in 2003, recorded the work on BIS RecordsBIS RecordsBIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden.BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings....
). The work has since been taken up by the Fifth House Ensemble, DePaul UniversityDePaul UniversityDePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
, ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
- commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
- ...sans voix parmi les voix... (1995), for flute, harp & viola
- commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association in honour of the 70th birthday of Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
- commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association in honour of the 70th birthday of Pierre Boulez
- Concertino (1996), for oboe solo, flute, clarinet, harp, two violins, viola & cello
- commissioned by Network for New Music with generous support from Anni Baker; premièred in 1998 conducted by Jan Krzywicki. Recent performances have taken place with the Dal Neiete New Music Group (ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign New Music Ensemble, ensembles from the University of NevadaUniversity of Nevada, RenoThe University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
, the University of IowaUniversity of IowaThe University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(who recorded the work on Capstone RecordsCapstone RecordsCapstone Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Richard Brooks in 1986, and was based in Brooklyn, New York...
in 2006) and the Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and at the June in Buffalo Festival (New York).
- commissioned by Network for New Music with generous support from Anni Baker; premièred in 1998 conducted by Jan Krzywicki. Recent performances have taken place with the Dal Neiete New Music Group (Chicago
- Fanfare (1997), for brass quintet
- commissioned by the Atlantic Brass QuintetAtlantic Brass QuintetThe Boston-based Atlantic Brass Quintet is a five-piece chamber music ensemble which was founded in 1985, by John Manning, Joseph Foley, John Faieta and Bob Rasmussen...
- commissioned by the Atlantic Brass Quintet
- String Quartet No. 3 (2003)
- commissioned by the Eastman School of MusicEastman School of MusicThe Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
(financial support from the Howard Hanson FoundationHoward HansonHoward Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music...
) for the Ying QuartetYing QuartetThe Ying Quartet is an American string quartet. The Ying siblings from Winnetka, Illinois, formed the quartet in 1988 while studying at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. The quartet began performing in the farm town of Jesup, Iowa, as the first artists involved in the National...
. Premièred by that ensemble in January 2004 at Symphony SpaceSymphony SpaceSymphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre or the 160-seat Leonard Nimoy Thalia theater. Programs include music, dance, theater, film, and literary readings...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- commissioned by the Eastman School of Music
- Prelude (2004), for flute, viola & harp
- commissioned for the 2004 June in Buffalo Festival
- ...now again... (2006), for mezzo-soprano solo, flute, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, harp, violin, viola & cello
- commissioned by Network for New Music, and premièred by that ensemble in November 2006 with mezzos-soprano Janice FeltyJanice FeltyJanice Felty is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She is known for her interpretations of contemporary composers like John Adams, Philip Glass, John Harbison, and Judith Weir....
- commissioned by Network for New Music, and premièred by that ensemble in November 2006 with mezzos-soprano Janice Felty
- PRISM (Memo 6B) (2008), for saxophone quartet
- 10-minute work commissioned by the New York State Arts CouncilNew York State Council on the ArtsThe New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
for the Prism Quartet. Premièred: 21 November 2008 in Philadelphia, by the same artists.
- 10-minute work commissioned by the New York State Arts Council
- Scherzi No. 2 (2008), for clarinet, piano, violin & cello
- 18-minute work
Vocal
- Ballad 1 (1970), for mezzo-soprano solo & ensemble
- written for SONOR ensemble, a group formed by Rands. Text by Gilbert SorrentinoGilbert SorrentinoGilbert Sorrentino was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and editor.In over twenty-five works of fiction and poetry, Sorrentino explored the comic and formal possibilities of language and literature...
.
- written for SONOR ensemble, a group formed by Rands. Text by Gilbert Sorrentino
- Ballad 2 (1970), for female voice & piano
- commissioned by Jane ManningJane ManningJane Manning OBE is an English concert and opera soprano, writer on music, and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music. She has been described by one critic as "the irrepressible, incomparable, unstoppable Ms...
- commissioned by Jane Manning
- Metalepsis 2 (1971), for mezzo-soprano solo, small choir & chamber orchestra
- commissioned by the London SinfoniettaLondon SinfoniettaThe London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
, who gave the première in 1972 with soprano Cathy BerberianCathy BerberianCatherine Anahid Berberian was an American soprano and composer. She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music composed, among others, by Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Sylvano Bussotti, Darius Milhaud, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati , Igor Stravinsky.She also interpreted...
, conducted by Luciano BerioLuciano BerioLuciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
at the English Bach FestivalBach FestivalBach Festivals are annual classical music festival held to celebrate the memory of the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Various locations throughout the world held a festival dedicated to Bach...
- commissioned by the London Sinfonietta
- Ballad 3 (1973), for soprano & tape (plus bell)
- Wildtrack 2 (1973), for soprano solo & orchestra
- Canti Lunatici (1980), for soprano & ensemble/orchestra
- déjà 2 (1980), for female voice solo & ensemble
- Canti del Sole (1984), for tenor solo & ensemble/orchestra
- Canti dell'Eclisse (1992), for bass solo & ensemble/orchestra
- Walcott Songs (2004), for mezzo-soprano & cello
- song-cycle to texts by Derek WalcottDerek WalcottDerek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
, commissioned by the Tanglewood Summer Music FestivalTanglewood Music FestivalThe Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts....
; premièred in the Seiji Ozawa HallTanglewoodTanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
in January 2005 by Abigail Fischer (mezzo-soprano) and Norman Fischer (cello)
- song-cycle to texts by Derek Walcott
- ...now again... (2006), for mezzo-soprano & ensemble
- commissioned by Network for New Music, and premièred by that ensemble in November 2006 with mezzos-soprano Janice FeltyJanice FeltyJanice Felty is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She is known for her interpretations of contemporary composers like John Adams, Philip Glass, John Harbison, and Judith Weir....
- commissioned by Network for New Music, and premièred by that ensemble in November 2006 with mezzos-soprano Janice Felty
Choral
- ...among the voices... (1988), for S.A.T.B. choir & harp
- commissioned by Robert PageRobert PageRobert Page may refer to:*Robert Page , British filmmaker; created Lover's Guide*Robert Page , Canadian New Democratic Party politician*Robert Page , American politician, U.S...
, who led the première in Cleveland in April 1988 with Paula Page (harp) and the Page Singers. Text by Samuel BeckettSamuel BeckettSamuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
.
- commissioned by Robert Page
- Bells (1989), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- commissioned by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic
- Canti d'Amor (1991), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
- commissioned by ChanticleerChanticleer (ensemble)Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome...
, premièred in 2000 in San Francisco by that group. Sets texts from James JoyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's Chamber MusicChamber Music (book)Chamber Music is a collection of poems by James Joyce, published by Elkin Matthews in May, 1907. The collection originally comprised thirty-four love poems, but two further poems were added before publication .-Summary:Although it is widely reported that the title refers to the sound of urine...
.
- commissioned by Chanticleer
- Introit (1992), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
- brief 2-minute work, commissioned by the Howard University ChapelHoward UniversityHoward University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. Text by George HerbertGeorge HerbertGeorge Herbert was a Welsh born English poet, orator and Anglican priest.Being born into an artistic and wealthy family, he received a good education that led to his holding prominent positions at Cambridge University and Parliament. As a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert excelled in...
.
- brief 2-minute work, commissioned by the Howard University Chapel
- Interludium (1995), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- commissioned as part of the Requiem of ReconciliationRequiem of ReconciliationThe Requiem of Reconciliation was a collaborative work written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. It sets the Roman Catholic mass for the dead in fourteen sections, each written by a different composer from a country involved in the war...
, premièred in 1995 by the Israel Philharmonic under Helmuth RillingHelmuth RillingHelmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
- commissioned as part of the Requiem of Reconciliation
- Requiescant (1996), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- 30-minute work, originally commissioned by the B.B.C. for the 1985 Proms Season but not completed in time. It was re-commissioned in 1995 for the Philadelphia Choral Society
- Melancholy Madrigal (2001), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
- commissioned by the Cambridge Madrigal Singers, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, premièred in 2001 in Cambridge by that group.
- commissioned by the Cambridge Madrigal Singers, Massachusetts
- apókryphos (2002), for soprano solo, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra
- major 40-minute work setting texts by Paul CelanPaul CelanPaul Celan was a poet and translator...
, Heinrich HeineHeinrich HeineChristian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, Nelly SachsNelly SachsNelly Sachs was a Jewish German poet and playwright whose experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokeswoman for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews...
, Franz WerfelFranz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
and English translations of extracts from the ApocryphaApocryphaThe term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
. Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and premièred at Symphony CenterSymphony CenterSymphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, Symphony Center includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and...
in May 2003 with soprano Angela DenokeAngela DenokeAngela Denoke is a German opera singer .She studied at the University of Music and Drama of Hamburg. Her first contract was at the Theater Ulm , where she sang Fiordiligi , Donna Anna and Agathe in , among other roles...
under Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
(choral director: Duain Wolfe). Further performances have taken place in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in 2010, at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus, Großer SaalKonzerthaus, ViennaThe Konzerthaus in Vienna was opened 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both tradition and innovative musical styles.In 1890 the first ideas for a Haus für Musikfeste came about...
by the Staatskapelle BerlinStaatskapelle BerlinThe Staatskapelle Berlin is a German orchestra, the orchestra of the Berlin State Opera .The orchestra traces its roots to 1570, when Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg established an orchestra at his court...
and Staatsopernchor BerlinBerlin State OperaThe Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, again with Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
conducting.
- major 40-minute work setting texts by Paul Celan
- My Child (2003), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
- a movement from apókryphos
- Trinity (2008), for a cappella male-voice choir
- commissioned by the Cornell University Glee ClubCornell University Glee ClubThe Cornell University Glee Club is the oldest student organization at Cornell University, having been organized shortly after the first students arrived on campus in 1868. The CUGC is a sixty-member chorus for male voices, with repertoire including classical, folk, 20th century music, and...
, and premièred under Scott TuckerScott TuckerScott Tucker is a former international freestyle swimmer from the United States, who participated in two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1996...
in September 2008 in IthacaIthacaIthaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- commissioned by the Cornell University Glee Club
Solo Instrumental
- Tre Espressione (1960), for piano
- Formants 1 - Les Gestes (1965), for harp
- Memo 1 (1971), for contrabass
- commissioned by Barry GuyBarry GuyBarry John Guy is a British composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras in the UK and Europe...
; premièred at the English Bach FestivalBach FestivalBach Festivals are annual classical music festival held to celebrate the memory of the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Various locations throughout the world held a festival dedicated to Bach...
, OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1972
- commissioned by Barry Guy
- Memo 2 (1973), for trombone
- Memo 3 (1989), for cello
- Memo 4 (1997), for flute
- commissioned by Ekkehart Trenknner for Judith Pierce, who gave the work's première in 1997
- Memo 5 (1975), for piano
- Memo 6 (1999), for alto saxophone
- Memo 7 (2000), for female voice
- Memo 8 (2000), for oboe
- HBDZ (2001), for piano
- Preludes (2007), for piano
- Three Piano Pieces (2010)
Music Theatre
- Ballad 2 (1970), for female voice & piano
- commissioned by Jane ManningJane ManningJane Manning OBE is an English concert and opera soprano, writer on music, and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music. She has been described by one critic as "the irrepressible, incomparable, unstoppable Ms...
- commissioned by Jane Manning
- Ballad 3 (1973), for soprano & tape (plus bell)
- Memo 2B (1980), for trombone and female mime
- Memo 2D (1980), for trombone, string quartet and female mime
Educational
- Sound Patterns 1 (1967), for voices & hands
- Sound Patterns 2 (1967), for voices, percussion and miscellaneous instruments
- Per Esempio (1969), for youth orchestra
- Sound Patterns 3 (1969), for voices (project)
- Sound Patterns 4 (1969), for miscellaneous instrumental groups (graphic score)
- Agenda (1970), for youth orchestra
Current Projects
Rands has most recently completed a Seattle SymphonySeattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
commission, which premièred under Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz is an American conductor. He was music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011.In 2007 Schwarz was named music director of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, having served as principal conductor since 2005...
on 7 December 2010 at Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2500-seat performance venue, as well as the Nordstrom Recital Hall, which seats roughly 500...
, Seattle, alongside works by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich.
External links
- Bernard Rands official site
- Bernard Rands page from Art of the States site
Listening
- Art of the States: Bernard Rands two works by the composer