Alvin Derald Etler (February 19, 1913 – June 13, 1973) was an American composer and

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

Career

A student of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

, Etler is noted for his highly rhythmic, harmonically and texturally complex compositional style, taking inspiration from the works of Bartók and

Copland Copland may refer to: * Copland (crater), on Mercury * Copland (operating system) * Copland (surname) * Copland River in New Zealand * 4532 Copland, an asteroid named after Aaron Copland * Aaron Copland, American composer See also * Copeland (dis ...

as well as the

dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unple ...

and accented styles of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. Though he played with the

Indianapolis Symphony The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra was founded in 1930 and is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtow ...

in 1938, he abandoned his orchestral life shortly thereafter to focus on his increasingly successful compositional career (which earned him two

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

s during this period). In 1942 he joined the faculty at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

as conductor of the university band and instructor of wind instruments, where he began his studies with Hindemith. He also taught at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

before accepting a position at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, which he held until his death. Notable works include his two woodwind quintets (from 1955 and 1957), a bassoon sonata, the 1963 "Quintet for Brass Instruments", and "Fragments" for woodwind quartet. Etler is also the author of ''Making Music: An Introduction to Theory'', an introductory-level theory text published posthumously in 1974.

Works list

Orchestral

*Passacaglia and Fugue, 1947 *Concerto for string quartet and string orchestra, 1948 *Symphony, 1951 *Dramatic Overture, 1956 *Concerto in 1 movement, 1957 *Elegy, 1959 *Concerto for wind quintet and orchestra, 1960 *Triptych, 1961 *Concerto for brass quintet, string orchestra, and percussion, 1967 *Convivialities, 1967 *Concerto for string quartet and orchestra, 1968

Chamber music

*Sonata for oboe, clarinet and viola, 1945 *Quartet for oboe, clarinet, viola and bassoon, 1949 *Prelude and Toccata, for organ, 1950 *Bassoon Sonata, 1951 *Clarinet Sonata no.1, 1952 *Introduction and Allegro, for oboe and piano, 1952 *Duo, for oboe and viola, 1954 *Sonatina, for piano 1955 *Wind Quintet, 1955 *Wind Quintet No. 2, 1957 *Concerto for violin and wind quintet, 1958 *Sonata for viola and harpsichord, 1959 *Sextet for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola and cello, 1959 *Suite, for flute, oboe and clarinet, 1960 *Concerto, for clarinet and chamber ensemble, 1962 *String Quartet No. 1, 1963 *Brass Quintet, 1963 *String Quartet No. 2, 1965 *Sonic Sequence, for brass quintet, 1967 *Clarinet Sonata No. 2, 1969 *XL plus 1, for solo percussion, 1970 *Concerto for cello and seven instruments, 1970

Choral

*Peace be unto You (St Augustine, Bible: Matthew), SATB, 1958 *Under the Cottonwood Tree (Etler), SA, 1960 *Under Stars (Etler), SSAA, 1960 *Ode to Pothos (Etler), SSAATTBB, 1960 *Onomatopoesis (Etler), Male singer, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoon, 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, and percussion, 1965

References

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

, "Alvin Etler"

External links

Associated Music Publishers, Inc.
* (as Alvin Derold Etler) {{DEFAULTSORT:Etler, Alvin 1913 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American classical composers American male classical composers Cornell University faculty Yale University faculty Smith College faculty American classical oboists American male oboists Pupils of Paul Hindemith 20th-century American male musicians University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty