Mark Applebaum (born 1967 in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

) is an American composer and

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

of music composition and theory at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Biography

Applebaum received his PhD in music composition from 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 ...

where he studied with

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

, Joji Yuasa, Rand Steiger, and Roger Reynolds. Prior to Stanford, he taught at UCSD,

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

, and

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

. Applebaum currently serves on Carleton's board of trustees. Applebaum has received commissions from Betty Freeman, the

Merce Cunningham Dance Company Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

, the Fromm Foundation, the

Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classical musi ...

, the Paul Dresher Ensemble, Spoleto USA, the Vienna Modern Festival, Antwerp's Champ D'Action, Festival ADEvantgarde in Munich, Zeitgeist, Manufacture (Tokyo), the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the

Jerome Foundation James Jerome Hill II (March 2, 1905 – November 21, 1972) was an American filmmaker and artist known for his award-winning documentary and experimental films, one of which won him an Academy Award. Career Hill was the child of railroad executiv ...

, and the American Composers Forum. As a jazz pianist, Applebaum has performed around the world, including a solo recital in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso that was sponsored by the American Embassy. In 1994, he received the jazz prize of the Southern California Jazz Society.James Bash

Music

Applebaum's solo, chamber, choral, orchestral, operatic, and electro-acoustic work has been performed through North and South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia. His music has been described as mercurial, high detailed, discipline, and exacting, but also features improvisational and whimsical aspects. His inspiration has been drawn from jazz pioneers and maverick composers such as

Conlon Nancarrow Samuel Conlon Nancarrow (; October 27, 1912 – August 10, 1997) was an American-Mexican composer who lived and worked in Mexico for most of his life. Nancarrow is best remembered for his ''Studies for Player Piano'', being one of the first ...

and

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 ...

, who found it necessary to use or invent unusual instruments to realize their artistic visions. In 1990, Applebaum began building unique electroacoustic instruments. One of these instruments, which Applebaum refers to as the "Mouseketier," consists of threaded rods, nails, combs, doorstops, springs, squeaky wheels, ratchets, and a toilet tank flotation bulb. His first instrument, the "Mousetrap", is used in ''Mousetrap Music'' which features a recording of sound-sculpture improvisations. The objects on the instruments are plucked, scratched, bowed, and modified by a battery of live electronics. Many of Applebaum's compositions are composed of visual and theatrical elements. ''Echolalia'' requires the rapid execution of 22 dadaist rituals, ''Straitjacket'' includes performers drawing on amplified easels, and ''Aphasia'' requires its performer to synchronize choreographed hand gestures to tape.

Selected works

Orchestral music

*''Dead White Males'' *''Skumfiduser!'' *''Martian Anthropology 1.2.3'' *''Sock Monkey'' *''Concerto for Florist and Orchestra''

Choral music and opera

*''Triple Concerto'' *''Martian Anthropology 4.5.6''

Works for symphonic wind ensemble and jazz orchestra

*''Ambitus'' *''Agitprop''

Chamber music

*''Sum = Parts'' for chamber orchestra *''56 1/2 ft.'' for chamber orchestra *''Integrity'' for two percussion and piano *''Depth'' for trombone and contrabass *''Merit'' for wind quintet *''Seriousness'' for string trio *''Janus'' for ten players *''Nepotism'' for percussion and strings *''Catfish'' for percussion trio *''Scipio Wakes Up'' for sextet *''Martian Anthropology 7.8.9'' for sextet *''Asylum'' for ten players *''The Blue Cloak'' for soloist and sextet *''Magnetic North'' for soloist and brass quintet *''Identity Destruction Sport'' for septet *''Accretion/Deletion'' for quintet *''48 Objects'' for sixteen players *''Sixteen'' for sixteen players *''Mobile for Paper'' for any number of players *''The Composer's Middle Period'' for sextet *''Theme in Search of Variations I'' for percussion trio *''Theme in Search of Variations II'' for quintet *''Theme in Search of Variations III'' for quartet *''Straitjacket'' for percussion quintet *''Coat Room'' for octet *''Rabbit Hole'' for octet *''30'' for twelve percussionists *''The First Decade'' for percussion *''The Second Decade'' for percussion quartet *''The Third Decade'' for percussion septet *''Clicktrack'' for twelve percussionists *''Speed Dating'' for octet *''Control Freak'' for singer and septet *''Medium'' for quartet *''column facing on 3 behind lintel'' for quartet *''Mt. Moriah'' for string quartet *''20'' for string quartet *''Darmstadt Kindergarten'' for string quartet *''1:00'' for string quartet *''Hymn'' for saxophone quartet *''Tlön'' for three conductors *''Meditation'' for piano six hands *''7 one-minute canons'' for flute, vibraphone, and cello *''Jetsam'' for piano trio *''Landscape'' for piano trio *''Go, Dog. Go!'' for percussion duo *''Gone, Dog. Gone!'' for percussion duo *''Ferneyhough ReMix'' for percussion duo *''On the Nature of the Modern Age'' for piano duo *''Unholy & Surreal'' for two pianos *''Speed Date'' for violin and cello *''Curb Weight Surgical Field duo'' for grand piano and two players *''Neo-Tribes'' for alto saxophone *''The Plate of Transition Nourishes the Chameleon Appetite'' for violin *''Anesthesia (+83)'' for viola *''Sargasso (83+)'' for cello *''Narcissus: Strata/Panacea'' for marimba *''Authenticity'' for trumpet *''Entre Funérailles I'' for trumpet *''Entre Funérailles II'' for vibraphone *''Entre Funérailles IV'' for flute *''Cadenza'' for piano *''Disciplines'' for piano *''Penumbra'' for piano *''Omnibus Etude'' for piano *''Elegy'' for carillon or piano *''DNA'' for guitar *''Pause'' for piano *''Aphasia'' for hand gestures and tape *''Composition Machine #1'' for percussion *''Echolalia'' for amplified Dadaist rituals *''Zero-One'' for mousetrap sound-sculpture *''Skeletons'' in the Closet for 8-channel sound *''Wristwatch: Geology, Wristwatch: Alien Argot, Wristwatch: Meridian, Wristwatch: Rabbit Hole, Wristwatch: Speed Dating, Wristwatch: Control Freak'' for variable players

Tape music

*''Pre-Composition'' *''The Janus ReMixes'' *''Snagglepuss ReMix'' *''Variations on Variations on a Theme by Mozart''

Improvisation works

*''The Metaphysics of Notation'' *''The Bible Without God'' *''S-tog'' *''Concerto for Florist and Ensemble'' *''Plundergraphic'' *''5:3'' *''Intellectual Property'' *''40 Cryptograms''

Discography

*1989 ''Your Parents Hate Me'', Aphasia Records *1996 ''Mousetrap Music'', Innova *1999 ''The Janus ReMixes'', Innova *1999 ''Sonic Circuits VII'', Innova *2002 ''The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree'', Innova *2003 ''Cornucopia'',

Capstone __NOTOC__ Capstone may refer to: Architecture * Keystone (architecture), also known as a capstone Brands and enterprises * Capstone Investment Advisors, a US investment management firm * Capstone Partners, an investment banking firm * Capstone P ...

*2003 ''Mark Applebaum: Intellectual Property'', Innova *2003 ''Catfish'',

Tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ...

*2004 ''Oni Buchanan: Solo Piano'', Velvet Ear Records *2004 ''Martian Anthropology'', Innova *2004 ''Disciplines'', Innova *2005 ''56 1/2 ft.'', Innova *2005 ''The Bible Without God'', Innova *2006 ''Asylum'', Innova *2006, '' e', Everglade *2008 ''Sock Monkey'', Innova *2008 ''Escapement'', Everglade *2010 ''The Metaphysics of Notation'', Innova *2015 ''30'', Innova *2019 ''Asylum'', Innova

References

External links

Mark Applebaum's Website

Mark Applebaum on Vimeo

* ttp://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/A2227169 James Bash. "Applebaum, Mark." ''Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.'' Oxford University Press, accessed October 13, 2014* {{DEFAULTSORT:Applebaum, Mark Living people 20th-century American classical composers American male classical composers 21st-century American classical composers University of California, San Diego alumni 1967 births Musicians from Chicago Pupils of Brian Ferneyhough Classical musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Stanford University Department of Music faculty Carleton College alumni