Alfred Whitford (Fred) Lerdahl (born March 10, 1943, in Madison, Wisconsin) is the Fritz Reiner Professor Emeritus of Musical Composition at Columbia University, and a composer and music theorist best known for his work on musical grammar and

cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, though ...

, rhythmic theory, pitch space, and cognitive constraints on compositional systems. He has written many orchestral and chamber works, three of which were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music: ''Time after Time'' in 2001, String Quartet No. 3 in 2010, and ''

Arches An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...

'' in 2011.

Life

Lerdahl studied with James Ming at Lawrence University, where he earned his BMus in 1965, and with Milton Babbitt,

Edward T. Cone Edward Toner Cone (May 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, and philanthropist. Life and career Cone was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He studied composition under Roger Sessions at Prince ...

, and Earl Kim at Princeton University, where he earned his MFA in 1967. At

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

he studied with Arthur Berger in 1964 and Roger Sessions in 1966. He then studied with

Wolfgang Fortner Wolfgang Fortner (12 October 1907 – 5 September 1987) was a German composer, composition teacher and conductor. Life Fortner was born in Leipzig. From his parents, who were both singers, Fortner very early on had intense contact with music. ...

at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg/Breisgau in 1968–69, on a Fulbright Scholarship. From 1991 to 2018 Lerdahl was Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University; previously he taught at the University of Michigan, Harvard University, and the University of California at Berkeley. Lerdahl was awarded an honorary doctorate from Lawrence University in 1999. He is a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

. Lerdahl's maternal uncle was the astronomer Albert Whitford. Lerdahl has written three books: '' A Generative Theory of Tonal Music'' (1983, second edition 1996, with linguist

Ray Jackendoff Ray Jackendoff (born January 23, 1945) is an American linguist. He is professor of philosophy, Seth Merrin Chair in the Humanities and, with Daniel Dennett, co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. He has always s ...

, MIT Press), ''Tonal Pitch Space'' (2001, Oxford University Press), and ''Composition and Cognition'' (2019, University of California Press). He has also written numerous articles on music theory, music cognition, computer-assisted composition, and other topics. Lerdahl's music is published by Schott, and

Bridge Records Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York. History A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his firs ...

is producing an ongoing series of recordings of it. Lerdahl's students include composers Christopher Buchenholz, Zosha Di Castri,

R. Luke DuBois Roger Luke DuBois (born 10 September 1975) is an American composer, performer, conceptual art, conceptual new media artist, programmer, record producer and Pedagogy, pedagogue based in New York City. Early life DuBois was born in Morristown, Ne ...

, John Halle,

Huck Hodge Huck Hodge (born July 14, 1977) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. Hodge's first musical training took place in Oregon. In 1999, he began a course of study in Germany at the ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstell ...

, Arthur Kampela, Alex Mincek,

Paul Moravec Paul Moravec (born November 2, 1957) is an American composer and a University Professor at Adelphi University on Long Island, New York and also a member of the composition department of the Mannes School of Music . Already a prolific composer, he ...

Matthew Ricketts Matthew Oliver Ricketts (April 3, 1858 – January 3, 1917) was an American politician and physician. He was the first African-American member of the Nebraska Legislature, where he served two terms in the Nebraska House of Representatives (th ...

Allen Shearer Allen Raymond Shearer (born October 5, 1943 in Seattle, Washington) is an American composer and baritone. Life Shearer’s early musical experiences were as a singer; the majority of his works are for the voice or voices, with a later emphasis ...

Kate Soper Kate Soper (born 1943) is a British philosopher. She is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton.http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/staff/kate-soper Background Soper was educated at the University of Oxford (BA) and worked as a trans ...

Tyshawn Sorey Tyshawn Sorey (born July 8, 1980) is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and professor of contemporary music. Sorey has received accolades for performances, recordings, and compositions ranging from improvised solo percussion to opera ...

, Christopher Trapani, Carl Voss, Wang Lu, Eric Wubbels, and

Nina Young Nina Young (born 1966) is a British-Australian actress. Early life Nina Young was born in 1966. She is the daughter of Perth businessman Peter Young and Tania Verstak, a woman of Russian origin who was Miss Australia 1961 and Miss Internati ...

; and music theorists Elizabeth Margulis and David Temperley.

Music

Lerdahl's influences include the German classics,

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

, Bartók, Stravinsky,

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Car ...

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

, and Ligeti. He has said he “always sought musical forms of isown invention,” and to discover the appropriate form for the intended expression.Schweitzer, Vivien (November 21, 2010).
Spiral Form and Other Compositional Modes of Fred Lerdahl
, ''NYTimes.com''. In ''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental per ...

'', Robert Carl wrote: "Lerdahl is a profoundly musical composer, engaged in all his work in a rigorous and respectful dialogue with tradition, eager to imbue his pieces with the maximum of both information and clarity." Of Lerdahl's composition ''Waves'', Phillip Scott wrote, "''Waves'' is an orchestral scherzo. It conjures up (rather than depicts) the motion and the sense of waves, not merely of the oceanic variety but also those found on graphs: sound waves, heartbeats, and so on. It begins with a surge of activity and never lets up in its cascading scales and rapid figuration. Unlike Debussy's '' La mer'', whose deep-sea swells it recalls only fleetingly, it has no moments of repose."

List of compositions

Orchestral

* ''Chords'', large orchestra (12 winds, 11 brass, harp, piano, percussion, violas, cellos, double basses), 1974–83 * ''Cross-Currents'', large orchestra (12 winds, 10 brass, harp, piano, percussion, strings), 1987 * ''Waves'', small orchestra (8 winds, 2 French horns, strings), 1988 * ''Without Fanfare'', small orchestra (12 winds, 11 brass, 3 percussion), 1994 * ''Quiet Music'', large orchestra (12 winds, 11 brass, harp, piano, percussion, strings), 1994 (also version for 2 pianos) * ''Spirals'', orchestra (8 winds, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, piano, percussion, strings), 2006 * ''Arches'', cello, small orchestra (22 players), 2011 * ''Time and Again'', small orchestra, 2014

Chamber music

* String Trio, violin, viola, cello, 1966 * ''Imitations'', flute, harp, viola, 1977, revised 2001 * String Quartet No. 1, 1978, revised 2008 * ''Waltzes'', violin, viola, cello, double bass, 1981 * ''Episodes and Refrains'', flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1982 * ''Fantasy Etudes'', flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1985 * ''Marches'', clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1992 * ''Time after Time'', flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2000 * ''Imbrications'', flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2001 * Oboe Quartet, oboe, violin, viola, cello, 2002 * Duo, violin, piano, 2005 * String Quartet No. 2, 1982–2010 * String Quartet No. 3, 2008 * ''Arches'', cello, ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, 2 violins, viola, double bass, piano, 2 percussion), 2010 (also version for cello, small orchestra 2 players * ''There and Back Again'', cello, 2010 * ''Times 3'', violin, cello, piano, 2012 * ''Give and Take'', violin, cello, 2014 * ''String Quartet no. 4 "Chaconne"'', 2016 * ''Three Bagatelles'', violin, guitar, 2016 * ''Duo'', cello, piano, 2017 * ''Chords'', version for 13 instruments, 2018 * ''Cyclic Descent'', piano and large ensemble, 2018 * ''Solitude'', flute, clarinet, piano, 2020

Choral

* ''Cornstalks'' (text by Richard Wilbur), 16 mixed voices, 2012

Vocal

* ''Wake'' (text by James Joyce), soprano, harp, violin, viola, cello, 3 percussion, 1967–68 * ''Aftermath'' (dramatic cantata, text by the composer), soprano, alto, baritone, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass), 1973 * ''Eros'' (text by Ezra Pound), mezzo-soprano, alto flute, harp, electric guitar, viola, bass guitar, piano, 2 percussion, 1975 * ''Beyond the Realm of Bird'' (text by Emily Dickinson), soprano, orchestra (8 winds, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, percussion, strings), 1984 * ''The First Voices'' (text by

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

, translated by John H. Moran and Alexander Gode), soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, 8 percussion, 2007 * ''Fire and Ice'' (text by Robert Frost), high soprano, double bass, 2015

Piano

* ''Piano Fantasy'', 1964 * ''Quiet Music'', 2 pianos, 2001 (version of orchestral work) * ''Three Diatonic Studies'', 2004–09 * ''Embedded Loops'', 2 pianos, 2020

Discography

* String Quartet No. 1 (original version). Juilliard String Quartet (Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 551, 1987 eissued_as_New_World_Records:_NWCR551,_2007.html" ;"title="New_World_Records.html" ;"title="eissued as New World Records">eissued as New World Records: NWCR551, 2007">New_World_Records.html" ;"title="eissued as New World Records">eissued as New World Records: NWCR551, 2007 * Waltzes; Fantasy Etudes; Eros; Wake. Bethany Beardslee, soprano; Beverly Morgan, mezzo-soprano; Rolf Schulte, violin; Scott Nickrenz, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Donald Palma, double bass; Robert Beaser/Musical Elements; David Epstein (conductor), David Epstein/

Boston Symphony Chamber Players The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881 ...

; Fred Lerdahl/

Collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

( Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 580, 1991 eissued as New World Records: NWCR580, 2007; Bridge Records: 9269; Bridge Records: 9391; and New World Records: NWCRL378 * Waves.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (founded 1972) is a classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. They have won several Grammy Awards. The orchestra is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conduct ...

( Deutsche Grammophon: 435 389–2, 1992, reissued as Bridge Records: 9191) * Fantasy Etudes. eighth blackbird (eighth blackbird, 1999) * Time after Time; Marches; Oboe Quartet; Waves. Antares; La Fenice; Jeffrey Milarsky/Columbia Sinfonietta;

(Bridge Records: 9191, 2006, reissue of Deutsche Grammophon: 435 389-2) * Cross-Currents; Waltzes; Duo; Quiet Music (original version). Rolf Schulte, violin; Scott Nickrenz, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Donald Palma, double bass; James Winn, piano; Paul Mann/ Odense Symphony (Bridge Records: 9269, 2008 artial reissue of Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 580, New World Records: NWCR580 * String Trio; Piano Fantasy. Robert Miller, piano; members of The Composers Quartet (New World Records: NWCRL319, c. 2009) * String Quartets Nos. 1–3. Daedalus Quartet (Bridge Records: 9352, 2011) * The First Voices. Frank Epstein/New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble (

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

: 8.559684, 2011) * Eros. Beverly Morgan, mezzo-soprano; Fred Lerdahl/Collage (New World Records: NWCRL378, 2011, reissue of Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 580) * Spirals; Three Diatonic Studies; Imbrications; Wake; Fantasy Etudes. Bethany Beardslee, soprano; Mirka Viitala, piano; eighth blackbird; Michel Galante/Argento Ensemble; David Epstein/Boston Symphony Chamber Players; Scott Yoo/Odense Symphony (Bridge Records: 9391, 2013, reissue of Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 580, New World Records: NWCR580) * There and Back Again.

Anssi Karttunen Anssi Karttunen (born 1960) is a Finnish cellist. Karttunen's repertoire ranges from the early baroque to living composers and improvisation. He has performed with many orchestras in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including the Philharmonia, BBC ...

, cello (

Toccata Classics Toccata Classics is an independent British classic music label founded in 2005. The founder of Toccata Classics is Martin Anderson, a music journalist. The label was founded primarily to promote unrecorded works by lesser-known composers, inc ...

: TOCC0171, 2013) * There and Back Again, String Quartet no. 4 "Chaconne", Fire and Ice, Three Bagatelles, Arches (orchestral version). (Bridge Records: 9522, 2020)

Awards

*1966, Koussevitzky Composition Prize *1967,

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...

Fellowship *1971, 1988 Composer Award from the

*1974, Guggenheim Fellowship *1977, Naumburg Recording Award *1982, Martha Baird Rockefeller Recording Award *1991, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship *1999, Doctor of Fine Arts (honorary degree), Lawrence University *2001, Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Music (for ''Time after Time'') *2002, ASCAP-Deems Taylor Special Recognition Award (for ''Tonal Pitch Space)'' *2003, Wallace Berry Distinguished Book Award (for ''Tonal Pitch Space)'' *2010, Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Music (for ''String Quartet No. 3'') *2010, Member, American Academy for Arts and Letters *2011, Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Music (for ''

'')

Bibliography

*Lerdahl, Fred (1992). Cognitive Constraints on Compositional Systems, Contemporary Music Review 6 (2), pp. 97–121. *Lerdahl, Fred and Jackendoff, Ray (1983)
''A Generative Theory of Tonal Music''
MIT Press. . *Lerdahl, Fred (2001)
''Tonal Pitch Space''
Oxford University Press. *Lerdahl, Fred (2019). ''Composition and Cognition: Reflections on Contemporary Music and the Musical Mind''. University of California Press.

References

External links

Fred Lerdahl at Schott MusicFred Lerdahl at Project Schott New YorkFaculty Page at Columbia UniversityFred Lerdahl's Homepage"Fred Lerdahl"
''bussigel''
New Music Box asks Fred Lerdahl: What role has theory played in your compositions and how important is it for people to know the theory behind the music in order to appreciate it?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lerdahl, Fred American male classical composers American classical composers 21st-century classical composers 1943 births Living people American music theorists Lawrence University alumni Princeton University alumni Pupils of Roger Sessions Pupils of Wolfgang Fortner 21st-century American composers University of Michigan faculty 21st-century American male musicians Columbia University faculty Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters