Biography

Marga Richter was born in Reedsburg, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, the daughter of soprano Inez Chandler-Richter (1885–1956). She studied piano at the MacPhail School of Music in Minneapolis with Irene Hellner and with Helena Morsztyn in New York

New York

New 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...

. She entered the Juilliard School of Music in 1945 and studied composition with William Bergsma

William Bergsma

-Biography:After studying piano with his mother, a former opera singer, and then the viola, Bergsma moved on to study composition; his most significant teachers were Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers. Bergsma attended Stanford University for two years before moving on to the Eastman School of...

 and Vincent Persichetti

Vincent Persichetti

Vincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...

 and piano with Rosalyn Tureck

Rosalyn Tureck

Rosalyn Tureck was an American pianist and harpsichordist who was particularly associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach...

, graduating with a BS and then MS degree in 1951. After completing her studies, she taught music appreciation at Nassau Community College from 1971–72, and later began working as a composer full-time.

Richter co-founded the Long Island Composers Alliance in 1972 with Herbert Deutsch

Herbert Deutsch

Herbert A. Deutsch is an American composer, inventor, and educator. Currently professor emeritus of electronic music and composition at Hofstra University, he is best known for co-inventing the Moog Synthesizer with Bob Moog in 1964....

 and served as its co-director, president and vice-president. Pianist Michael Skelly is her son.

Honors and awards

• Annual awards from ASCAP since 1966
• Two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (1977, 1979)
• Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund grant
• Meet the Composer grant
• National Federation of Music Clubs grant

Works

Richter composes for orchestra, ballet, opera, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble and solo instrument and her compositions have been performed internationally. Selected works include:

• Abyss (1 act ballet, choreography by Stuart Hodes), orchestra, 1964
• Bird of Yearning (1 act ballet, choreography by Stuart Hodes), orchestra, 1967
• Riders to the Sea (1 act chamber opera, libretto by John Millington Synge) 1996
• Concerto for Piano and Violas, Cellos and Basses, 1955
• Lament, string orchestra, 1956
• Aria and Toccata, viola, string orchestra, 1957
• Variations on a Sarabande, 1959
• Eight Pieces for Orchestra, large orchestra, 1961 (version of piano work)
• Darkening of the Light for viola solo (1961)
• Suite for solo viola (1962)
• Bird of Yearning, small orchestra (28 players), 1967 (version of ballet)
• Concerto No. 2 Landscapes of the Mind I, piano, large orchestra, 1968–74
• Fragments, 1978
• Country Auction, symphonic band, 1976
• Blackberry Vines and Winter Fruit, 1976
• Spectral Chimes/Enshrouded Hills, 3 quintets, orchestra, 1978–80
• Düsseldorf Concerto, flute, harp, viola, small orchestra (timpani, percussion, strings), 1981–82
• Out of Shadows and Solitude, large orchestra, 1985
• Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark, 1991
• Variations and Interludes on Themes from Monteverdi and Bach (concerto), violin, cello, piano, large orchestra, 1992
• Three Songs of Madness and Death (text by John Webster), mixed chorus, 1955;
• Psalm 91, mixed chorus, 1963
• Variations on a Theme by Neithart von Reuenthal, piano, 1974
• Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark No. 2, piano, 1992
• Soundings, harpsichord or piano, 1965
• Short Prelude in Baroque Style, harpsichord or piano 1974

Discography

Richter's works have been recorded and issued on CD including:

• London Philharmonic Orchestra
  London Philharmonic Orchestra
  The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
  
  , Blackberry Vines and Winter Fruit, Leonarda
• Seattle Symphony, Out of Shadows and Solitude, MMC-Master Musicians Collective
• Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Spectral Chimes/Enshrouded Hills and Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark, MMC

External links

• Catalog of works
• Interview with Marga Richter by Bruce Duffie, July 18, 1996