Erica Muhl
Encyclopedia
Composer and conductor Erica Muhl (b. October 26, 1961) is Associate Dean and Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California
Thornton School
of Music in Los Angeles
.
—noted not only for his long creative partnership with Douglas Sirk, but also for his historic feud with Orson Welles—and her mother, Barbara, an author and opera singer. Her parents associated with Stravinsky, Schnabel, Stokowski, Rozsa, Previn, and Mancini. She trained both as a composer and conductor, with much completed in Europe. At sixteen she was invited for private composition study with Nadia Boulanger
in Paris
.
After returning to California
to earn her B.M., she traveled again to Europe for graduate studies at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, studying with the Italian composer Franco Donatoni
. In 1991, she completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Southern California.
In Los Angeles, she studied conducting privately with the emigre German conductor Fritz Zweig (1893-1984). For the Italian opera repertoire, she studied in Rome with Walter Cataldi-Tassoni, a student of Mascagni.
Critic Martin Perlich
interviewed Erica Muhl on KCSN in Los Angeles and called her "astonishingly brilliant" for her accessible, yet intense and beautifully-crafted scores. Their "iridescent palette" is (as critic Paul Hertelendy describes it) "...a contemporary foray into impressionism, mysticism, veiled allure and the shimmering colors of a concert orchestra". The color and expression in her music range from the febrile shock and defiance of "Consolation" (for chamber orchestra) to the sly, intellectual humor of "Truccorchestra", the latter conducted by the late Sergiu Comissiona.
Awards have been granted to her by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Whitaker Foundation, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Charles Ives Center for American Music and Opera America.
Muhl has served as Assistant Conductor for Los Angeles Opera Theater, for Seattle Opera's regular season, and the Seattle Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival’s complete "Der Ring des Nibelungen."
Erica Muhl is widely-traveled, speaks French and Italian, and is an avid equestrienne. She is married, and resides in Los Angeles with her son and husband.
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Thornton School
USC Thornton School of Music
The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...
of Music in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Early years
Muhl grew up in Los Angeles, where her father Edward Muhl was the head of Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
—noted not only for his long creative partnership with Douglas Sirk, but also for his historic feud with Orson Welles—and her mother, Barbara, an author and opera singer. Her parents associated with Stravinsky, Schnabel, Stokowski, Rozsa, Previn, and Mancini. She trained both as a composer and conductor, with much completed in Europe. At sixteen she was invited for private composition study with Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
After returning to California
California
California 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...
to earn her B.M., she traveled again to Europe for graduate studies at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, studying with the Italian composer Franco Donatoni
Franco Donatoni
Franco Donatoni was an Italian composer.Born in Verona, he started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local Music Academy...
. In 1991, she completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Southern California.
In Los Angeles, she studied conducting privately with the emigre German conductor Fritz Zweig (1893-1984). For the Italian opera repertoire, she studied in Rome with Walter Cataldi-Tassoni, a student of Mascagni.
Career
2007 premieres featured a major work for String Quartet inspired by Beethoven's Op. 132, called "Prism 132" played (and commissioned) by San Francisco's Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. She conducted the premiere of her lyrical nocturne for orchestra "The Sea and All its Fullness" in 2006. In 2005, the premiere of her chamber work, "...to a Thin Edge" (commissioned and performed by the Orchestra of St. Lukes in New York City) evoked a strongly positive response from audience and critics. Other recent appearances include the premiere of her symphonic work, "Fleet," which she conducted at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles as part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's "Sounds About Town" series.Critic Martin Perlich
Martin Perlich
Martin Perlich, born 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio is an American broadcaster and writer. He attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio and Columbia University where he studied music history with composer Douglas Moore....
interviewed Erica Muhl on KCSN in Los Angeles and called her "astonishingly brilliant" for her accessible, yet intense and beautifully-crafted scores. Their "iridescent palette" is (as critic Paul Hertelendy describes it) "...a contemporary foray into impressionism, mysticism, veiled allure and the shimmering colors of a concert orchestra". The color and expression in her music range from the febrile shock and defiance of "Consolation" (for chamber orchestra) to the sly, intellectual humor of "Truccorchestra", the latter conducted by the late Sergiu Comissiona.
Awards have been granted to her by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Whitaker Foundation, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Charles Ives Center for American Music and Opera America.
Muhl has served as Assistant Conductor for Los Angeles Opera Theater, for Seattle Opera's regular season, and the Seattle Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival’s complete "Der Ring des Nibelungen."
Erica Muhl is widely-traveled, speaks French and Italian, and is an avid equestrienne. She is married, and resides in Los Angeles with her son and husband.
Recordings
- Range of Light: Selected Chamber Works by Erica Muhl 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:...
conducted by Erica Muhl and Erik Forrester Albany TROY 667 08G092 (2004)