American composer (1941?1992)
Stephen Joel Albert
(6 February 1941 ? 27 December 1992)
[1]
was an American
composer
. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning
Symphony No. 1
RiverRun
(1983) and his
Cello Concerto
(1990), written for
Yo-Yo Ma
. He died suddenly in a 1992 automobile accident, having just sketched out his
Second Symphony
. The work was subsequently completed by
Sebastian Currier
, and his death sparked musical tributes from composer colleagues such as
Aaron Jay Kernis
and
Christopher Rouse
.
Life and career
[
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]
Born in
New York City
, Albert began his musical training on the piano, French horn, and trumpet as a youngster. He first studied composition at the age of 15 with Elie Siegmeister,
[2]
and enrolled two years later at the
Eastman School of Music
, where he studied with
Darius Milhaud
and
Bernard Rogers
(1958?1960) Following composition lessons in
Stockholm
with
Karl-Birger Blomdahl
, Albert studied with
Joseph Castaldo
at the
Philadelphia Musical Academy
(BM 1962); in 1963 he worked with George Rochberg at the
University of Pennsylvania
. In 1965 he won a
Rome Fellowship
to study in Rome at the
American Academy
.
[3]
From 1985 to 1988 he worked as the
Seattle Symphony
's
composer-in-residence
.
[1]
[4]
His notable students included
Daniel Asia
and
Dan Coleman
.
Albert was killed in an automobile accident in
Truro, Massachusetts
on
Cape Cod
on 27 December 1992.
[5]
[6]
[7]
Awards and honors
[
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]
Stephen Albert won the 1985
Pulitzer Prize for Music
for his
Symphony No. 1,
RiverRun
.
[5]
[6]
He posthumously won a
Grammy Award
in 1995 in the
Best Classical Contemporary Composition
category for his
Cello Concerto
as performed by
Yo-Yo Ma
[8]
in a 1990 recording with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman.
[9]
Aaron Jay Kernis
dedicated his 1993 composition for
piano quartet
Still Movement with Hymn
in memory of Albert.
[10]
The slow movement of
Christopher Rouse
's 1994
Symphony No. 2
is also dedicated to the memory of Albert, who was a colleague and close friend of Rouse.
[11]
Works
[
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]
A number of Albert's works were based on
James Joyce
texts.
Finnegans Wake
inspired three of Albert's pieces:
To Wake the Dead
,
TreeStone
, and
Symphony RiverRun
.
[12]
Albert's paired "Distant Hills" arias
Flower of the Mountain
and
Sun's Heat
were based on
Ulysses
, and the song "Ecce Puer" from Joyce's poem of the same name.
[13]
His famous
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra
started out as a request by the Baltimore Symphony in 1987 for a 15-minute orchestral piece. In 1988 the commission was changed to a concerto for Yo-Yo Ma. The composer credited Ma with his help completing the work. Albert started with material drawn two earlier works from 1988, "Anthem and Processionals" and "The Stone Harp." He started the composition in 1989 and finished in 1990. The premiere was on 31 March 1990 and featured Yo-Yo Ma along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Zinman. A revised version was featured on a 1993 album, "The New York Album."
[13]
According to Yo-Yo Ma, the composition was a "kind of catharsis." It incorporated struggles in his life, including his writer's blocks and the death of his father. The work is dedicated to the memory of his father.
[13]
Orchestral
[
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]
Concertante
[
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]
- Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra
(1990) ? 30 minutes
- Distant Hills
(orchestra version) (1989) ? 31 minutes
- Flower of the Mountain
from "Distant Hills" (orchestra version) (1985) ? 16 minutes
- In Concordiam
(1986) ? 17 minutes
- Into Eclipse
(orchestra with voice version) (1981) ? 30 minutes
- Sun's Heat
from "Distant Hills" (orchestra version) (1989) ? 15 minutes
- Winter Canticle
(1991) ? 14 minutes
- Wolf Time
(1968) ? 20 minutes
Ensemble (7 or more players)
[
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]
- Distant Hills
(chamber version) (1989) ? 31 minutes
- Flower of the Mountain
from "Distant Hills" (chamber version) (1985) ? 16 minutes
- Sun's Heat
from "Distant Hills" (chamber version) (1989) ? 15 minutes
- TreeStone
(1983) ? 45 minutes
Chamber
[
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]
- Tribute
(1988) ? 9 minutes
Choral
[
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]
- Bacchae: A Ceremony in Music
(1967) ? 8 minutes
Vocal
[
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]
- Ecce Puer
(1992) ? 6 minutes
- Rilke Song ? On Nights Like This
(1991) ? 5 minutes
- The Stone Harp
(1988) ? 14 minutes
- To Wake the Dead
(1977) ? 25 minutes
- Wedding Songs
(1964) ? 10 minutes
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
Randel, Don Michael, ed. (1996).
"Albert, Stephen (Joel)"
.
The Harvard biographical dictionary of music
. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. pp.
11
.
ISBN
0-674-37299-9
.
- ^
"Albert, Stephen Joel".
Who Was Who in America, 1993?1996, vol. 11
. New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who. 1996. p.
3
.
ISBN
0-8379-0225-8
.
- ^
"History of the Rome Prize in Music Composition"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
13 February
2015
.
- ^
"Stephen Albert"
. G. Schirmer Inc. October 1996
. Retrieved
28 December
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Kozinn, Allan (29 December 1992).
"Stephen J. Albert, 51, Composer; Won a Pulitzer for His 'Riverrun'
"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
5 April
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Stephen Albert"
.
Variety
. 4 January 1993
. Retrieved
5 April
2015
.
- ^
Wigler, Stephen (29 December 1992).
"Stephen Albert, his melodious music helped define the 'New Romanticism'
"
.
The Baltimore Sun
. Retrieved
9 May
2015
.
- ^
"The 1995 Grammy Winners"
.
The New York Times
. 3 March 1995
. Retrieved
8 June
2015
.
- ^
Grayson, David. Liner notes to "The New York Album." 1994.
- ^
Kernis, Aaron Jay
(1988).
"Still Movement with Hymn"
.
G. Schirmer Inc.
Retrieved
1 June
2016
.
- ^
Rouse, Christopher
.
Symphony No. 2: Program Note by the Composer
. 1994. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^
Ruch, Allen (6 June 2022).
"Joyce Music: Stephen Albert"
.
The Modern Word
.
- ^
a
b
c
Grayson, David.
- ^
Price, Walter (23 April 1989).
"STEPHEN ALBERT: Symphony "RiverRun"; National Symphony..."
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
9 May
2015
.
- ^
Dickinson, Peter (June 1990).
"Albert In Concordiam; Treestone"
.
Gramophone
. Retrieved
9 May
2015
.
- ^
Schwartz, Steve (August 2007).
"ALBERT: Symphony No. 1 'RiverRun'. Symphony No. 2. ? Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/Paul Polivnick"
.
Classical CD Review
. Retrieved
9 May
2015
.
External links
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