Quincy Porter
Encyclopedia
Quincy Porter was an American
composer
and teacher of classical music.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut
, he went to Yale University
where his teachers included Horatio Parker
and David Stanley Smith
. Porter received two awards while studying music at Yale: the Osborne Prize for Fugue, and the Steinert Prize for orchestral composition. He performed the winning composition, a violin concerto, at graduation. Porter earned two degrees at Yale, an A.B. from Yale College and a Mus. B from the music school.
After graduation he spent a year in Paris, studying at Schola Cantorum
, then went to New York where he studied with Ernest Bloch
and Vincent d'Indy
. In 1923 Porter joined the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music
where he was later appointed head of the Theory Department. He remained there until 1928 when he resigned to focus on composition. Returning to Paris on a Guggenheim Fellowship
Porter began composing in earnest. During his 3 years in Paris he composed Blues Lointains (1928), the Suite for Viola Alone (1930), his 3rd String Quartet (1930), 4th String Quartet (1931), his 2nd Violin Sonata (1929), and his Piano Sonata (1930).
In 1931 Porter returned to the United States, first rejoining the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, then teaching at Vassar
, where he was appointed a professor in 1932. Six years later Porter became dean (1938-42) and then director (1942-46) of the New England Conservatory of Music
, and in 1946 returned to Yale, as professor, to teach until 1965. Porter also served, from 1958 until his death, as chairman of the board of directors of the American Music Center
, which he had founded with Howard Hanson
and Aaron Copland
in 1939. He died in Bethany, Connecticut
.
He wrote a substantial amount in the "absolute (established) forms", including nine string quartet
s (1923–1953), several concertos (including one for harpsichord
, one for viola
, and one for two pianos, the latter work receiving the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for Music
), and two symphonies
. His later music--while tonal
--is harmonically
acerbic and dissonant
.
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...
and teacher of classical music.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, he went to 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...
where his teachers included Horatio Parker
Horatio Parker
Horatio William Parker was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the teacher of Charles Ives....
and David Stanley Smith
David Stanley Smith
David Stanley Smith was an American composer.Smith started his studies with Horatio Parker in 1895 at Yale University, where his friends included Charles Ives, and was appointed organist at the Center Church in New Haven...
. Porter received two awards while studying music at Yale: the Osborne Prize for Fugue, and the Steinert Prize for orchestral composition. He performed the winning composition, a violin concerto, at graduation. Porter earned two degrees at Yale, an A.B. from Yale College and a Mus. B from the music school.
After graduation he spent a year in Paris, studying at Schola Cantorum
Schola Cantorum
The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private music school in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera...
, then went to New York where he studied with Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer.-Life:Bloch was born in Geneva and began playing the violin at age 9. He began composing soon afterwards. He studied music at the conservatory in Brussels, where his teachers included the celebrated Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe...
and Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy
Vincent d'Indy was a French composer and teacher.-Life:Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy was born in Paris into an aristocratic family of royalist and Catholic persuasion. He had piano lessons from an early age from his paternal grandmother, who passed him on to Antoine François Marmontel and...
. In 1923 Porter joined the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
where he was later appointed head of the Theory Department. He remained there until 1928 when he resigned to focus on composition. Returning to Paris on a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
Porter began composing in earnest. During his 3 years in Paris he composed Blues Lointains (1928), the Suite for Viola Alone (1930), his 3rd String Quartet (1930), 4th String Quartet (1931), his 2nd Violin Sonata (1929), and his Piano Sonata (1930).
In 1931 Porter returned to the United States, first rejoining the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, then teaching at Vassar
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, where he was appointed a professor in 1932. Six years later Porter became dean (1938-42) and then director (1942-46) of the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
, and in 1946 returned to Yale, as professor, to teach until 1965. Porter also served, from 1958 until his death, as chairman of the board of directors of the American Music Center
American Music Center
The American Music Center is a non-profit organization which aims to promote the creating, performing, and enjoying new American music. The organization was founded in 1939 by composers Marion Bauer, Aaron Copland, Howard Hanson, Harrison Kerr, Otto Luening, and Quincy Porter.The organization has a...
, which he had founded with Howard Hanson
Howard Hanson
Howard 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...
and 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"...
in 1939. He died in Bethany, Connecticut
Bethany, Connecticut
Bethany is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,040 at the 2000 census. Bethany was first settled in 1717 but it was not until May 1832 that Bethany separated from Woodbridge to become incorporated as a town. This slightly remote, sparsely populated,...
.
He wrote a substantial amount in the "absolute (established) forms", including nine string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s (1923–1953), several concertos (including one for harpsichord
Harpsichord concerto
A harpsichord concerto is a piece of music for an orchestra with the harpsichord in a solo role Sometimes these works are played on the modern piano; see piano concerto...
, one for viola
Viola concerto
The viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments, usually an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Early examples of the viola concerto include, among others, Georg Philipp Telemann's concerto in G major, and several concertos by the Stamitz clan...
, and one for two pianos, the latter work receiving the 1954 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...
), and two symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
. His later music--while tonal
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
--is harmonically
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
acerbic and dissonant
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
.
Selected works
- Symphonies
- Symphony no. 1, 1934
- Symphony no. 2, 1962
- Other orchestral
- Ukrainian suite, 1925
- Dance in Three-Time, 1937
- Music for Strings, 1941
- New England Episodes, 1958
- Concertos
- Concerto concertante, for two pianos and orchestra, 1953 (http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/music.mss.0015)
- Harpsichordconcerto, 1959
- Viola concerto, 1948
- Fantasy on a Pastoral Theme for Organ and Strings, 1943
- Concerto for Wind Orchestra, 1959
- Chamber music
- Nine string quartets from 1922-3 (no. 1 in E minor), 1925, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1958)
- Piano Quintet, 1927
- Quintet for harpsichord and strings, 1961
- Oboe quintet (Elegiac), 1966
- Clarinet quintet, 1929
- Two violin sonatas (1926, 1929; second recorded in the 1950s and more recently, 1st given its premiere recording in the late 1990s) (also an early sonata from 1919 has been recorded)
- Suite for viola alone, 1930
- Piano sonata (1930)
- Sonata for horn and piano, 1946
- Sextet on a Slavic folk-theme, 1947
- Blues Lointains for flute and piano (1928)
Books
- Porter, Quincy. Study of sixteenth century counterpoint, based on the works of Orlando di Lasso. Boston: Loomis. 3rd ed. pub. around 1948.
General Reference
- The Quincy Porter papers at the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Yale University
- Biography at the New England Conservatory
- Biography There has been a recording released of the 7th quartet since this was written in 1999.
- Notes to the recording on New World of Porter's Dance in Three Time
Recordings
- Quincy Porter: The Complete Viola Works, Eliesha Nelson, viola with Douglas Rioth, harp and John McLaughlin WilliamsJohn McLaughlin WilliamsJohn McLaughlin Williams is a Grammy award-winning American orchestral conductor and violinist.He attended the Boston University School of Music, the New England Conservatory and is a graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Music. His violin studies were with Dorothy Delay, conducting with Carl...
, conductor, piano/harpsichord, violin (2009) - Quincy Porter: String Quartets 1 – 4, Ives Quartet (2007)
- Quincy Porter: Complete String Quartets, Potomac String Quartet; Steven Honigberg, cello; George Marsh, violin; Sally McLain, violin; Tsuna Sakamoto, viola (2007)
- Quincy Porter: Symphony No. 1: Poem & Dance; Symphony No. 2, Sinfonia Varsovia; Ian Hobson, conductor (2003)
- Robert Ward: Festive Ode; Prairie Overture; Sacred Songs for Pantheists; Quincey Porter: New England Episodes, Conductors: William Strickland, Zdzislav Szostak; performer: Sylvia Stahlman
- American Music for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Composers: Morton Gould, Walter Piston, Quincy Porter; Conductor, David Amos; Artists: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Joshua Pierce, Dorothy Jonas (1999)
- Quincy Porter: The Unpublished Manuscripts for Violin & Piano, Quincy Porter, John Owings, and Fritz Gearhart (1998)
- Ernest Bloch: Concerti Grossi 1 & 2/ Quincy Porter: Ukrainian Suite, Ernest Bloch, Quincy Porter, Donald Barra, and San Diego Chamber Orchestra (1994)
- Violin Sonatas: Copland, Piston, Porter; Linda Rosenthal, violin with Lisa Bergman, piano (1993)
- American Chamber Music by Diamond, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, David Schifrin, Hermann Ives, Bernard Herrmann, Quincy Porter, and Charles Ives (1992)