musicologist
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
, educator and keyboard player.
Born in
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, he spent his early years in
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...
. He studied music at the
University of York
The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
, England, then at
Queen's University Belfast
The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
(PhD. 1992), and, on a
Fulbright Scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
, at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...
. He is best known for his books on American music: he wrote ''Harry Partch: A Biography'' (
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
, 1998) and edited with an introduction ''"Maximum Clarity" and Other Writings on Music'' (
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...
, 2006—collected writings by Ben Johnston), both of which were recipients of the
Deems Taylor Award
Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American composer, radio commentator, music critic, and author. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music." He was ...
from
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
. He also wrote extensively on the American experimental tradition, microtonal music and spectral music, including the work of such figures as
James Tenney
James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microt ...
Dartington College of Arts
Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...
, and
Brunel University
Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...
in London. He was a Research Fellow and Director of Research at Orpheus Instituut in
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
. He was the founder, director and keyboard player of Trio Scordatura, an Amsterdam-based ensemble dedicated to the performance of microtonal music, and for the year 2014 was editor of ''
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
'', a quarterly journal of new music. His biography of French-Canadian composer Claude Vivier was published by University of Rochester Press in June 2014.
Bibliography
* Gilmore, Bob. 1995. "Changing the Metaphor: Ratio Models of Musical Pitch in the Work of
Harry Partch
Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...
James Tenney
James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microt ...
", ''
Perspectives of New Music
''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory
Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Musi ...
'' 33, nos. 1 & 2 (Winter–Summer 1995): 458–503.
* Gilmore, Bob. 1998. ''Harry Partch: A Biography''. New Haven, Connecticut:
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
. .
* Gilmore, Bob. 2003. "'Wild Ocean': An Interview with Horațiu Rădulescu". ''Contemporary Music Review'' 22, nos. 1–2 (March–June): 105–122.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2003. "The Climate Since Harry Partch", ''Contemporary Music Review'' 22 (1 and 2): 15–33.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2005. "Composition as Vandalism: The Music of Donnacha Dennehy", '' Journal of Music in Ireland'' 5(6): 29–33.
* Johnston, Ben. 2006. ''Maximum Clarity' and Other Writings on Music'' (edited with an introduction by Bob Gilmore). Urbana and Chicago:
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...
. .
* Gilmore, Bob. 2006. "Minimalism Schminimalism", ''Journal of Music in Ireland'' 6(1): 6–9.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2006 "Wild Air: The Music of Kevin Volans". ''Journal of Music in Ireland'' 6(6), 22–29.]
* Gilmore, Bob. 2007. "On Claude Vivier's ''Lonely Child''". ''
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
'', new series 61, no. 239: 2–17.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2007. "An Interview with Phill Niblock", ''Paris Transatlantic Magazine''.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2007. "Don't Do PERMISSION ISN'T: The Music of Jennifer Walshe", ''Journal of Music in Ireland'' 7 (4): 20–24.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2008. "James Tenney and the poetics of homage", ''Contemporary Music Review'' 27 (1): 7–21.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2008. "Resonant Air: the music of
Michael Alcorn
Michael Alcorn (born 22 January 1962) is a full-time academic and current Director of the School of Music and Sonic Arts at Queen's University, Belfast and a partite composer. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Michael Alcorn studied at ...
", ''Journal of Music in Ireland'' 8 (1): 28–32.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2008. "All Collisions End in Static: The Music of Linda Buckley", ''Journal of Music in Ireland'' 8 (5): 28–32.
*
* Gilmore, Bob and Hirs, R. 2009. ''Contemporary Compositional Techniques And Openmusic'' Editions Delatour France/
IRCAM
IRCAM (French: ''Ircam, '', English: Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) is a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, especially in the fields of Avant-garde music, avant garde and Electroacoustic ...
-Centre Pompidou.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2009. "Music by Committee", ''
The Journal of Music
''Journal of Music'' (formerly ''Journal of Music in Ireland'', or ''JMI'') is an Irish music magazine founded in 2000. It "has been a critical voice in Traditional and Contemporary musics since 2000". In 2009 it was relaunched as the ''Journal of ...
'' 1 (1):20.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2009. "Remembering Horatiu", ''The Journal of Music'' 1 (2): 20–21.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2009. "He’s Just Not That Into You", ''The Journal of Music'' 1 (2): 20–21.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2007 "Interview with Clarence Barlow". ''Paris Transatlantic Magazine''.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2009. "Claude Vivier and
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
New World Records
New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.''The Ear of the Voice of the Eye: Yannis Kyriakides, Composer'' (Tilburg: teleXpress)
* Gilmore, Bob. 2011 with
Frederic Rzewski
Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. From 1977 up to his eventual death, he lived mainly in Be ...
". ''Paris Transatlantic Magazine''.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2012 "Difficult Listening Hour” in ''The Journal of Music''.
* Gilmore, Bob, 2012. "Making a Friend", Liner notes to: ". nearly – fast". Darmstadt: Coviello Contemporary.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2012. "Phill Niblock: The Orchestra Pieces". ''Tempo'' vol. 66 no. 244, 2–11.
* Gilmore, Bob. 2014. ''Claude Vivier: A Composer's Life''. University of Rochester Press. .