Jan Bach
Encyclopedia
Jan Bach is an American
composer
. He taught at the University of Tampa
(Florida) from 1965 to 1966 and at Northern Illinois University
in DeKalb, Illinois
(music theory
and composition) from 1966 to 2002. His primary performing instrument
is the horn
, and he is especially renowned for his horn pieces and especially well-known among hornists. He also plays the piano
.
degree in 1959 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and a Doctor of Musical Arts
degree
in composition there in 1971. He also studied with Aaron Copland
and Roberto Gerhard
at Tanglewood
in 1961 and with Thea Musgrave
in Aldeburgh and London in 1974.
Student Composers first prize. He later won the Koussevitsky competition at Tanglewood
, the Harvey Gaul Composition Contest, the Mannes College opera competition, the Sigma Alpha Iota
choral composition award, first prize at the First International Brass Congress in Montreux
, Switzerland
, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
and the Illinois Arts Council, the Brown University
choral composition award, first prize in the Nebraska Sinfonia chamber orchestra competition, and first prize in the New York City Opera
competition. He has been nominated six times for the Pulitzer Prize
in music.
In 1982, he was awarded a Presidential Research Professorship grant. He was Northern Illinois University
's nominee for the National CASE Professor of the Year award six times.
Rick Anderson in the Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association (June 2007), p. 925-926, calls Bach "one of America's somewhat hidden treasures" noting the "two sides, equally important, of Bach's musical personality...his seriousness...and his humor". Barry Kilpatrick in the American Record Guide (January–February 2007), p. 55-56 remarks that "[Bach] writes difficult music, to be sure. I think it's a prime motivation, judging by his own comments about how both the Horn Concerto and the French Suite might be the most difficult works ever written for horn. Perhaps this motivation comes from the fact that he is a horn player. Whatever the reason, the result is that only the highest level of player can seem in command of the pieces. Everyone else can only try hard."
for the New York City Opera
Company in 1980. His first opera, The System, premiered in New York at the Mannes College of Music
on March 5, 1974.
His orchestral compositions include: Burgundy Variations, 1968; Sprint, 1982; Alla Breve, 1984; Escapade, 1984; Romeo and Juliet, 1984; and Estampie, 1988.
His band and wind ensemble compositions include: Dionysia, 1964; Recitative and March, viola soloist and wind ensemble, 1966; and The Eve of St. Agnes, 1976.
His chamber music includes Divertimento, oboe and bassoon, 1956 ; String Trio, 1956; Quartet for Stings, 1957; Quintet for Oboe and Strings, 1958, Four Two-Bit Contraptions, flute and horn, 1964, Skizzen, wind quintet, 1967, and Triple Play for brass trio, commissioned by the Zephyr Brass Trio in 2006.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He taught at the University of Tampa
University of Tampa
The University of Tampa , is a private, co-educational university in Downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2006, the University celebrated its 75th anniversary...
(Florida) from 1965 to 1966 and at Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
in DeKalb, Illinois
DeKalb, Illinois
DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War....
(music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
and composition) from 1966 to 2002. His primary performing instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
is the horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, and he is especially renowned for his horn pieces and especially well-known among hornists. He also plays the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
.
Education
Jan Bach earned a Bachelor of MusicBachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
degree in 1959 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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 a Doctor of Musical Arts
Doctor of Musical Arts
The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is a doctoral academic degree in music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in composition there in 1971. He also studied with Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and Roberto Gerhard
Roberto Gerhard
Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder was a Catalan Spanish composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Robert Gerhard.-Life:...
at Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood 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 1961 and with Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave CBE is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music.-Biography:Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Thea Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger...
in Aldeburgh and London in 1974.
Awards
In 1957 he won the BMIBroadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Student Composers first prize. He later won the Koussevitsky competition at Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood 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...
, the Harvey Gaul Composition Contest, the Mannes College opera competition, the Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...
choral composition award, first prize at the First International Brass Congress in Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and the Illinois Arts Council, the Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
choral composition award, first prize in the Nebraska Sinfonia chamber orchestra competition, and first prize in the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
competition. He has been nominated six times for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in music.
In 1982, he was awarded a Presidential Research Professorship grant. He was Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
's nominee for the National CASE Professor of the Year award six times.
Compositional style
According to James P. Cassaro writing in the New Grove Dictionary of Music, "a predominant aspect of [Bach's] work is his charming and inexhaustible sense of humour." Cassaro goes on to remark that "in all genres, Bach's works display both structural clarity and a subtle use of instrumental timbre."Rick Anderson in the Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association (June 2007), p. 925-926, calls Bach "one of America's somewhat hidden treasures" noting the "two sides, equally important, of Bach's musical personality...his seriousness...and his humor". Barry Kilpatrick in the American Record Guide (January–February 2007), p. 55-56 remarks that "[Bach] writes difficult music, to be sure. I think it's a prime motivation, judging by his own comments about how both the Horn Concerto and the French Suite might be the most difficult works ever written for horn. Perhaps this motivation comes from the fact that he is a horn player. Whatever the reason, the result is that only the highest level of player can seem in command of the pieces. Everyone else can only try hard."
Compositions
His second opera, The Student from Salamanca, was produced by Beverly SillsBeverly Sills
Beverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
for the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
Company in 1980. His first opera, The System, premiered in New York at the Mannes College of Music
Mannes College of Music
Mannes College The New School for Music is The New School university's music conservatory. While the university's main campus is located in Greenwich Village, New York City, Mannes maintains its main academic building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan....
on March 5, 1974.
His orchestral compositions include: Burgundy Variations, 1968; Sprint, 1982; Alla Breve, 1984; Escapade, 1984; Romeo and Juliet, 1984; and Estampie, 1988.
His band and wind ensemble compositions include: Dionysia, 1964; Recitative and March, viola soloist and wind ensemble, 1966; and The Eve of St. Agnes, 1976.
His chamber music includes Divertimento, oboe and bassoon, 1956 ; String Trio, 1956; Quartet for Stings, 1957; Quintet for Oboe and Strings, 1958, Four Two-Bit Contraptions, flute and horn, 1964, Skizzen, wind quintet, 1967, and Triple Play for brass trio, commissioned by the Zephyr Brass Trio in 2006.
Publishers
His publishers include Boosey & Hawkes, Carl Fischer, Associated Music, Meadow Music, Galaxy-Highgate, M. M. Cole, Mentor Music, Trevco Music, and Tuba Press.Discography
- The Happy Prince; Limited Classics LCI-101(LP)
- The New York Brass Quintet; Crystal Records S210 (LP)
- Introducing the Bowie Brass Quintet, BBQ 101 (CD, DDD)
- The Meridian Arts Ensemble; Channel Classics RecordsChannel Classics RecordsChannel Classics Records is a record label from the Netherlands, specializing in classical music. The managing director and producer is C. Jared Sacks, who grew up in Boston. Sacks was schooled as a professional horn player at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam...
CCS 2191 (CD, DDD) - Heavy Metal; Grammofon AB BIS
- Premieres; University of Wisconsin Recordings UW103 (LP)
- Clockworks; Grammofon AB BIS CD-699 (CD, DDD)
- Is This the Way to Carnegie Hall; Crystal Records S350 (LP)
- 20th Century Wind Chamber Music; Centaur Recordings CRC 2225 (CD, DDD)
- American Wind Music; Centaur Recordings CRC 2085 (CD, DDD)
- Opening Concert, 1979 Aldeburgh Festival; BBC In Recital #546 (TAPE)
- Chamber Music for Harp, Flute, and Strings; MChP-2 (CD, DDD)
- In the Shadow of a Miracle; Sierra Records SXCD 5005 (CD, DDD)
- Garten Von Freuden und Traurigkeit; Cavalli Records CD 237 (CD, DDD)
- Eu-Fish; Albany Records TROY 162 (CD, DDD)
- Obsessions; Nippon Acoustic Records NAR 2004 (CD, DDD)
- Premier!; Summit Records DCD 187 (CD, DDD)
- Contrasts for Trumpets; Doyen Recordings DOY CD 009 (CD, DDD)
- Jubilee; WSSNJ-9701 (CD, DDD)
- Spring!Flowers!; AFS Digital Media Services, RED ROSE RECORDS (CD, DDD)
- Paul Freeman Introduces Exotic Concertos; Albany Records TROY 521 (CD,DDD)
- My Very First Solo; Arktos Recordings, ARKTOS 200367 (CD,DDD)