Robert Starer (8 January 1924 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 22 April 2001 in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

) was an Austrian-born American composer,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and educator. Robert Starer began studying the piano at age 4 and continued his studies at the Vienna State Academy. After the 1938

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

in which Austria voted for annexation by

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Starer left for Palestine and studied at the Jerusalem Conservatory with

Josef Tal Josef Tal ( he, יוסף טל; September 18, 1910 – August 25, 2008) was an Israeli composer. He wrote three Hebrew operas; four German operas, dramatic scenes; six symphonies; 13 concerti; chamber music, including three string quartets; ins ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he served in the

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, and in 1947 he settled in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He studied

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York with

Frederick Jacobi Frederick Jacobi (May 4, 1891 – October 24, 1952) was a Jewish-American composer and teacher. His works include symphonies, concerti, chamber music, works for solo piano and for solo organ, lieder, and one opera. He taught at Juilliard School ...

, then with

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

in 1948 and received a postgraduate degree from Juilliard in 1949. Starer became an American citizen in 1957. Robert Starer taught at the Juilliard School, Brooklyn College and the

Graduate Center of the City University of New York The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the ...

where he became a distinguished professor in 1986. He was married, had one child, Daniel, and resided in

Woodstock, NY Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

until his death. He lived with writer

Gail Godwin Gail Godwin (born June 18, 1937) is an American novelist and short story writer. Godwin has written 14 novels, two short story collections, three non-fiction books, and ten libretti. Her primary literary accomplishments are her novels, which have ...

for some thirty years; the two collaborated on several librettos. Starer was prolific and composed in many genres. His music was characterized by chromaticism and driving rhythms. His vocal works, whether set to English or

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

texts, were particularly praised. He composed the score for Martha Graham's 1962 ballet ''Phaedra''. He also wrote four operas, ''The Intruder'' (1956), ''Pantagleize'' (1967), ''The Last Lover'' (1975), and ''Apollonia'' (1979). Notable concertos include ''Violin Concerto'' which was written for Itzhak Perlman and recorded by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, conductor, and his ''Cello Concerto'', commissioned by Janos Starker and recorded by Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra,

Leon Botstein Leon Botstein (born December 14, 1946 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a Swiss-American conducting, conductor, educator, and scholar serving as the President of Bard College. Biography 1946–1975: Early life, education, and career Botstein was ...

, conductor. One of Starer’s better-known pieces is ''Even and Odds'' for young pianists. He is also known for his pieces entitled ''Sketches in Color,'' as well as his sight-reading training manual, ''Rhythmic Training.'' He died on April 22, 2001 in Kingston New York. He is buried in Artists Cemetery,

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

References

Other sources

* Jaques Cattell Press (Ed.): ''Who's who in American Music. Classical''. First edition. R. R. Bowker, New York 1983. * Darryl Lyman: ''Great Jews in Music''. J. D. Publishers, Middle Village, N.Y, 1986. * Stanley Sadie, H. Wiley Hitchcock (Ed.): ''The New Grove Dictionary of American Music''. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, New York, N.Y. 1986.

External links

Robert Starer's WebsiteGail Godwin's Official Website
by Bruce Duffie, March 21, 1987
David Dubal interview with Robert Starer
WNCN-FM, 7-Oct-1984
Robert Starer
(in German) from the online-archive of the Österreichischen Mediathek {{DEFAULTSORT:Starer, Robert 20th-century classical composers 1924 births 2001 deaths Austrian classical composers Austrian opera composers Male opera composers Jewish classical composers American classical composers Musicians from Vienna Austrian emigrants to the United States American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Juilliard School alumni Brooklyn College faculty City University of New York faculty People from Woodstock, New York Austrian male classical composers 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians Albany Records artists Jewish American classical composers