Stefans Grové
Encyclopedia
Stefans Grové is a South African composer. "He is regarded by many as Africa's greatest living composer, possesses one of the most distinctive compostional voices of our time".
(then still called the South African College of Music) first with William Henry Bell
and then with Erik Chisholm
. Compositions from this time include a ballet suite for orchestra (1944), the String quartet in D major (1945), and a czardas for violin and piano (1946?).
As the first South African recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, Grové had the opportunity of going to Harvard University
where he completed his Master's degree. His teachers there included Thurston Dart
and Walter Piston
. Works that Grové composed under their guidance won him the G. Arthur Knight Prize and the New York Bohemian Prize. These were awarded for the Pianoforte trio and the Sonata for pianoforte and cello respectively. Grové attended Aaron Copland
's composition class at the Tanglewood
Summer School and studied the flute at the Longy School of Music
. After these studies, beginning in 1956, Grové taught at the Bard College
for two years, and then at the Peabody Institute
in Baltimore
for a further eight. While working at the Bard College, Grové also took up a post as choirmaster for the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church, where he pursued an interest in the performance of early music—most notably the cantatas of J.S. Bach. A similar venture was undertaken with a group that Grové founded in 1962, the Pro Musica Rara.
While abroad, Grové evidently had a viable platform for the performance of his music. Thus, his Elegy for strings was performed in the Washington Gallery in 1952; the Three inventions for the piano was featured at the Salzburg ISCM Festival of 1953; the Sonata for flute and piano was played at Cambridge, Massachusetts
in 1954; the Harp quintet at Guildhall, London
, in 1954; the Partita for orchestra in Brussels, in 1964; the First Symphony was led by Max Rudolph with the Cincinnati Orchestra in 1966; the Violin Concerto was performed that same year in Baltimore, Gabriel Banat being the soloist; and the Sinfonia concertante was recorded in 1973 by the Radio Orchestra of South-West Australia.
as well as the South African College of Music
. He returned to South Africa permanently in 1972 and, the following year, was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria
.
Grové was one of the first white South African composers to incorporate elements of black African music into his own style, "venturing far beyond mere couleur locale to forge a unique creative synthesis of the indigenous and the "Western"."
Grové's 'African' stylistic phase was result of a Damascus moment when he overheard a song sung by an African streetworker. The melody haunted him and inspired the Sonata on African Motives for violin and pianoforte (1984). Some other works composed in Grové's afrocentirc style are, the Dance Rhapsody (1986), Liedere en danse van Afrika (1990), 7 Boesman-liedere for soprano and string quartet (1990), Gesang van die Afrika-geeste (1993), Nonyana, the Ceremonial Dancer for piano (1994), Afrika Hymnus I for organ (1995), and Afrika Hymnus II for organ (1996).
Remembering the African element in Grové's mature style, one can trace his development "from Debussy and Ravel through to Bartok and the neo-classicism of Hindemith, with passing passions for Messiaen and a more lasting fascination for Bach and early counterpoint". He undoubtedly had a better exposure to European and American avant-garde than his contemporaries and that difference can be noticed in the quality of his music. His work, Glimpses. Five Miniatures for Piano (2004) was performed at the ISCM World Music Days in Hong Kong
in November 2007.
and Hubert du Plessis. But beyond that, and arguably more significantly, Grové has managed to shape a "hybrid style" for himelf, beginning a new creative phase in a time when it must have amounted to a radical move on his part: he was a white composer—working in a country that was still functioning at the height of P.W. Botha's apartheid administration—whose new style was rejecting any notions of apartheid (separateness) by fusing white South African (Western) and black South African (African) musical languages. Unlike van Wyk and du Plessis, he was "prepared to consider and eventually to develop consistently a rapprochement between his Western art and his physical, African space".
Early life
In Bethlehem, where Grové was born, his mother worked as a music teacher and his father as a school principal. Grové's musical education began at school and his first compositional efforts date from that time. He eventually trained as a pianist and organist, with the guidance from his mother's brother, D.J. Roode. As a student he remained an avid reader of musical scores (often without the assistance of accompanying soundtracks) which not only informed his own development as a composer but may also have developed his talent for sight-reading at the piano.Life and works
In 1942 Grové moved to Klerksdorp where he worked as a teacher church organist for two years. Thereafter he relocated to study composition at the University of Cape TownUniversity of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
(then still called the South African College of Music) first with William Henry Bell
William Henry Bell
William Henry Bell, known largely by his initials, W H Bell , was an English composer, conductor and lecturer....
and then with Erik Chisholm
Erik Chisholm
Professor Erik William Chisholm was a Scottish composer and conductor often known as "Scotland’s forgotten composer"...
. Compositions from this time include a ballet suite for orchestra (1944), the String quartet in D major (1945), and a czardas for violin and piano (1946?).
As the first South African recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, Grové had the opportunity of going to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where he completed his Master's degree. His teachers there included Thurston Dart
Thurston Dart
Robert Thurston Dart , was a British musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. From 1964 he was Professor of Music at King's College London....
and Walter Piston
Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston Jr., , was an American composer of classical music, music theorist and professor of music at Harvard University whose students included Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter....
. Works that Grové composed under their guidance won him the G. Arthur Knight Prize and the New York Bohemian Prize. These were awarded for the Pianoforte trio and the Sonata for pianoforte and cello respectively. Grové attended 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"...
's composition class at the 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...
Summer School and studied the flute at the Longy School of Music
Longy School of Music
The Longy School of Music of Bard College is a conservatory located near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and Boston...
. After these studies, beginning in 1956, Grové taught at the Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
for two years, and then at the Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
for a further eight. While working at the Bard College, Grové also took up a post as choirmaster for the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church, where he pursued an interest in the performance of early music—most notably the cantatas of J.S. Bach. A similar venture was undertaken with a group that Grové founded in 1962, the Pro Musica Rara.
While abroad, Grové evidently had a viable platform for the performance of his music. Thus, his Elegy for strings was performed in the Washington Gallery in 1952; the Three inventions for the piano was featured at the Salzburg ISCM Festival of 1953; the Sonata for flute and piano was played at Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1954; the Harp quintet at Guildhall, London
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
, in 1954; the Partita for orchestra in Brussels, in 1964; the First Symphony was led by Max Rudolph with the Cincinnati Orchestra in 1966; the Violin Concerto was performed that same year in Baltimore, Gabriel Banat being the soloist; and the Sinfonia concertante was recorded in 1973 by the Radio Orchestra of South-West Australia.
Afrocentrism
Grové returned to South Africa for a sabbatical in 1960 when he lectured at both the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher EducationPotchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education
The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education was a medium-sized South African university located in Potchefstroom. Tuition was mainly in Afrikaans...
as well as the South African College of Music
South African College of Music
The South African College of Music, abbreviated as SACM, is a department of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town. It is located on the University's Lower Campus in Rondebosch, Cape Town.-Study opportunities:...
. He returned to South Africa permanently in 1972 and, the following year, was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria is a multi campus public research university located in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa...
.
Grové was one of the first white South African composers to incorporate elements of black African music into his own style, "venturing far beyond mere couleur locale to forge a unique creative synthesis of the indigenous and the "Western"."
Grové's 'African' stylistic phase was result of a Damascus moment when he overheard a song sung by an African streetworker. The melody haunted him and inspired the Sonata on African Motives for violin and pianoforte (1984). Some other works composed in Grové's afrocentirc style are, the Dance Rhapsody (1986), Liedere en danse van Afrika (1990), 7 Boesman-liedere for soprano and string quartet (1990), Gesang van die Afrika-geeste (1993), Nonyana, the Ceremonial Dancer for piano (1994), Afrika Hymnus I for organ (1995), and Afrika Hymnus II for organ (1996).
Remembering the African element in Grové's mature style, one can trace his development "from Debussy and Ravel through to Bartok and the neo-classicism of Hindemith, with passing passions for Messiaen and a more lasting fascination for Bach and early counterpoint". He undoubtedly had a better exposure to European and American avant-garde than his contemporaries and that difference can be noticed in the quality of his music. His work, Glimpses. Five Miniatures for Piano (2004) was performed at the ISCM World Music Days in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in November 2007.
Writing
Apart from his work as a composer, Grové is also a fine writer whose essays and short fiction has received praise from no less a figure than André P. Brink. He has also been active as a music critic, most notably for the newspapers Rapport and Beeld.Legacy
Although he is still alive it is already possible to trace a legacy in Grové's work. First, he forms part of a troika of white Afrikaans composers who are considered as "founding fathers of South African art music". The other two composers in this category are Arnold van WykArnold van Wyk
Arnoldus Christiaan Vlok van Wyk was a South African art music composer, one of the first notable generation of such composers along with Hubert du Plessis and Stefans Grové.-Early Life:...
and Hubert du Plessis. But beyond that, and arguably more significantly, Grové has managed to shape a "hybrid style" for himelf, beginning a new creative phase in a time when it must have amounted to a radical move on his part: he was a white composer—working in a country that was still functioning at the height of P.W. Botha's apartheid administration—whose new style was rejecting any notions of apartheid (separateness) by fusing white South African (Western) and black South African (African) musical languages. Unlike van Wyk and du Plessis, he was "prepared to consider and eventually to develop consistently a rapprochement between his Western art and his physical, African space".