Robert Greenberg
Encyclopedia
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...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and musicologist who was born in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, NY. He has composed more than 45 works for a variety of instruments and voices, and has recorded a number of lecture series on music history
Music history
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...
and music appreciation
Music appreciation
Music appreciation is teaching people what to listen for and to appreciate different types of music. Usually music appreciation classes involve some history lessons to explain why people of a certain era liked the music that they did...
for The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company is a Chantilly, Virginia company that produces recordings of lectures by university professors and high-school teachers. It sells the courses in CD, DVD, MPEG-4, and MP3 formats.- Background :...
.
Biography
Greenberg earned a B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton UniversityPrinceton 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....
and received a Ph.D. in music composition, from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where he studied with Olly Wilson
Olly Wilson
Olly Woodrow Wilson, Jr. is a prominent American composer of contemporary classical music, pianist, double bassist, and musicologist. He is one of the preeminent living composers of African American descent.-Life:...
. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, California State University, East Bay
California State University, East Bay
California State University, East Bay is a public university located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The university, as part of the 23-campus California State University system, offers over 100 areas of study...
, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, formerly the California Conservatory of Music, founded in 1917, is a music school, with an enrollment of about 400 students. It was launched by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgehead in the remodeled home of Lillian's parents on Sacramento Street. It was called the...
, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature and Director of the Adult Extension Division. Dr. Greenberg is currently Music Historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances.
He has received numerous awards, including three Nicola De Lorenzo Prizes in composition, and three Meet the Composer
Meet the Composer
Meet the Composer is an American organization founded in 1974 by the composer John Duffy as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts. It seeks to assist composers in making a living through writing music by sponsoring commissioning, residency, education, and audience interaction...
grants. Additionally, he has received commissions from the Koussevitzky Foundation of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, the Alexander String Quartet
Alexander String Quartet
The Alexander String Quartet is the premier quartet of San Francisco. Formed in New York in 1981, the Alexander Quartet was the first American string quartet to win the London International String Quartet Competition, winning both the audience prize and the jury's highest prize...
, XTET, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players
San Francisco Contemporary Music Players
The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players is an ensemble of classically trained instrumentalists that commissions, performs, and records innovative new music, including music that integrates electronic and acoustic sounds.-History:...
.
A number of his works have been performed across the globe in locations such as 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...
, San Francisco, 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...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago 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...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, 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...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and The Netherlands. His music was published by the now defunct Fallen Leaf Press and CPP/Belwin (now part of Alfred Publishing Company) and is recorded on the Innova Recordings label.
Greenberg has lectured for some of the most prestigious musical and arts organizations in the United States, and is the resident composer and music historian for National Public Radio’s “Weekend All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
.” He is also the Music Historian in Residence at San Francisco Performances
San Francisco Performances
San Francisco Performances is an organization which showcases chamber music, vocal and instrumental recitals, jazz and contemporary dance in the San Francisco Bay area. It was founded by Ruth Felt in 1979...
, and hosts their "Saturday Morning Series" (a lecture combined with performances) with the Alexander String Quartet.
Dr. Greenberg has recorded a number of lecture series for The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company is a Chantilly, Virginia company that produces recordings of lectures by university professors and high-school teachers. It sells the courses in CD, DVD, MPEG-4, and MP3 formats.- Background :...
on music history and the appreciation of music. He often relates the musical topics to other areas such as history, politics as well as to other music from different periods. Referring to Greenberg's lively style and sense of humor, The Bangor Daily News
Bangor Daily News
The Bangor Daily News is an American newspaper that was founded on June 18, 1889; in 1900 the paper merged with the Bangor Whig and Courier. The Bangor Publishing Co. publishes the paper in Bangor, Maine, in addition to two weekly papers distributed by the BDN and several others distributed by the...
has described him as "the Elvis of music history and appreciation."
He is an artistic adviser at Composers, Inc.
List of compositions
- Breaths, Voices and Cadenze (1981) String quartet #1
- By various means (1983) for clarinet quartet
- Passacaglia
- Theme and variations
- Chaconne
- Quasi un madrigale (1985) four Italian songs for soprano and piano
- Il palatino / Aldo Palazzeschi
- Poesia d'amore / Salvatore Quasímodo
- La trombettina / Corrado Govoni
- Quasi un madrigale / Salvatore Quasímodo
- Child's Play (1988) String quartet #2 "...which captures the imaginative and playful energy of his daughter Rachel (then two years old)."
- I. Games (fast) 8:06
- II. Intermezzo: Dreams of Gold (Sogni d'oro) (slow) 5:35
- III. Dances (very fast) 6:51
- The Passing Years (1989?) five songs for baritone and piano
- God gave me
- East Broadway
- The passing years
- Rabbi Elimelech
- At my wedding
- It Don’t Mean a Thing (1990) for percussion sextet "...combines the sounds and style of Japanese Taiko drumming with the rhythmic swing of Duke Ellington."
- In Shape (1990) concerto in three movements for two pianos and marimba
- Wedge
- Labyrinth
- Spike
- Dude ‘Tudes (1991) for solo piano "...attempts to transfer into sound some of the many moods and activities of his 22-month old son Samuel."
- I. Orneriness/Contrary motion
- II. Building blocks/Chords 'n' stuff
- III. Dreams of play/Trills and tremolos
- IV. Dancin' fool/Quarter-minute waltz
- V. Angel's hair/Legato
- VI. Cruisin' with the dude/Octaves-R-Us.
- Iron balconies and lilies (1992) for flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, violoncello, soprano, and piano
- Prelude: A city by the sea / Anna Margolin
- Youth: Hay mowing / Moyshe Kulbak; When Grandma, may she rest in peace, died / Moyshe Kulbak
- Love songs: Longing / Rachel Korn; Ancient murdress night / Anna Margolin
- Children: If I had the Emperor's might, Lullaby / Traditional Folk song; Toys / Abraham Sutskever
- Age: Old age / Jacob Gladstein; Rest / Jacob Isaac segal
- On Trial (1994) concerto for solo vibraphone, flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, violin, viola, and violoncello
- Among Friends (1995) String quartet #3. Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation
- Funny Like a Monkey (2001) for piano quartet (string trio PLUS piano) "...coined by my 15 year-old daughter in order to address ... attempts at humor by both her younger brother and her hopelessly antiquated father."
- I. Knock Yourself Out
- II. Flutterby
- III. Morph (with apologies to J. B.)
External links
- Robert Greenberg bio at The Teaching Company. Includes list of Greenberg's courses.
- Robert Greenberg bio at Keynote Speakers