Ballets By Charles Wuorinen
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Charles Peter Wuorinen (, ; June 9, 1938 – March 11, 2020) was an American composer of
contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...
based in New York City. He also performed as a pianist and conductor. Wuorinen composed more than 270 works: orchestral music,
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
, solo instrumental and vocal works, and operas, such as ''
Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...
'' (2014). His work was termed serialist but he came to disparage that idea as meaningless. ''
Time's Encomium ''Time's Encomium'' (Jan. 1968-Jan. 1969, 31'43") is an electronic, four channel, musical composition by Charles Wuorinen for synthesized and processed synthesized sound. Released on Nonesuch Records in 1969, the composition was commissioned by ...
'', his only purely electronic piece, received the 1970
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
. Wuorinen taught at several institutions, including
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
,
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
and the
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
.


Life and career


Background

Wuorinen was born on the
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
of Manhattan in New York City. His father, John H. Wuorinen, the chair of the history department at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, was a noted scholar of Scandinavian affairs, who also worked for the
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
, and wrote five books on his native Finland. His mother, Alfhild Kalijarvi, received her M.A. in biology from
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 ...
. Wuorinen excelled academically, graduating from
Trinity School (New York City) Trinity School (also known as Trinity) is an independent, preparatory, and co-educational day school for grades K–12 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States, and a member of both the New York Interscho ...
as valedictorian in 1956; he later received a B.A. (1961) and an M.A. (1963) in music from Columbia University. Early supporters included
Jacques Barzun Jacques Martin Barzun (; November 30, 1907 – October 25, 2012) was a French-born American historian known for his studies of the history of ideas and cultural history. He wrote about a wide range of subjects, including baseball, mystery novels, ...
and
Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; h ...
.


1940s and 1950s

Wuorinen began composing at age 5 and began piano lessons at 6. At 16 he was awarded the New York Philharmonic's Young Composers' Award and the John Harms Chorus premiered his choral work ''O Filii et Filiae'' at Town Hall on May 2, 1954. He was active as a singer and pianist with the choruses at the
Church of the Heavenly Rest The Church of the Heavenly Rest is an Episcopal church located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 90th Street, opposite Central Park and the Carnegie Mansion, on the Upper East Side of New York City. The church is noted for the architecture of ...
and the
Church of the Transfiguration The Church of the Transfiguration (, ) is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place, an event in the Gospels in which Jesus is transfigured upo ...
(Little Church Around the Corner), and was the rehearsal pianist for the world premiere of
Carlos Chávez Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conducting, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influence ...
's opera '' Panfilo and Lauretta'' at Columbia University during the spring of 1957. From 1952 to 1956 Wuorinen was president of the Trinity School Glee Club. He was pianist, librarian, and general manager of the Columbia University Orchestra in 1956–57. During the summers of 1955 and 1956, he was the organist at Saint Paul's Church in
Gardner, Massachusetts Gardner is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,287 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Gardner is home of such sites as the Blue Moon D ...
, where his parents stayed during the summer months. He was awarded the
Bearns Prize The Joseph H. Bearns Prize in Music was established on February 3, 1921, by Lillia M. Bearns in memory of her father. The purpose of the prize is to encourage talented young composers in the United States. Administered by Columbia University, the p ...
three times, the BMI Student Composers Award four times, and the
Lili Boulanger Award Lili may refer to: People * Lili (given name), for a list of people with the given name or nickname Other uses * ''Lili'' (1953 film), a musical starring Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrer * Lili (Tekken), a character from the Tekken fighting game seri ...
twice (1961 and 1962). He was a fellow at the
Chamber Music Conference and Composers' Forum of the East The Chamber Music Conference and Composers' Forum of the East (CMC) is a summer conference that brings together amateur musicians, professional faculty, and composers-in-residence to study and play chamber music. The CMC was founded in 1946, and mos ...
for several years. Many early professional performances of Wuorinen's compositions took place on the ''Music of Our Time'' series at the
92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located in the Carnegie Hill neighborhood of the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the You ...
run by violinist
Max Pollikoff Max Pollikoff (1904 - 1984) was an American classical music violinist who created the ''Music in Our Time'' Series at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. The Series commissioned and premiered hundreds of new works. In 1923, when Pollikoff was 19, he ...
.


1960s

In 1962 Wuorinen and fellow composer-performer
Harvey Sollberger Harvey Sollberger (born May 11, 1938 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) is an American composer, flutist, and conductor specializing in contemporary classical music. Life Sollberger holds an M.A. degree from Columbia University, where his composition instruc ...
formed
The Group for Contemporary Music ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
. The ensemble raised the standard of new music performance in New York, championing such composers as
Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He was a Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Fellowship recipient, recognized for his serial and electronic music. Biography ...
,
Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 â€“ November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...
and
Stefan Wolpe Stefan Wolpe (25 August 1902, Berlin – 4 April 1972, New York City) was a German-born American composer. He was associated with interdisciplinary modernism, with affiliations ranging from the Bauhaus, Berlin agitprop theater and the kibbutz mov ...
, who wrote several works for the ensemble. Many of Wuorinen's works were premiered by The Group, including ''Chamber Concerto for Cello'' and the ''Chamber Concerto for Flute''. Major Wuorinen compositions of the '60s include ''Orchestral and Electronic Exchanges'', premiered by the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...
conducted by
Lukas Foss Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. Career Born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922, Foss was soon recognized as a child prodigy. He began piano and theory lessons with J ...
; the First Piano Concerto, with composer as soloist; the ''String Trio'', written for the then newly formed new music ensemble
Speculum Musicae Speculum Musicae is an American chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music. It was founded in New York City in 1971 and is particularly noted for its performances of the music of Elliott Carter and Charles Wuo ...
; and ''
Time's Encomium ''Time's Encomium'' (Jan. 1968-Jan. 1969, 31'43") is an electronic, four channel, musical composition by Charles Wuorinen for synthesized and processed synthesized sound. Released on Nonesuch Records in 1969, the composition was commissioned by ...
'', Wuorinen's only purely electronic piece, composed using the RCA Synthesizer at the
Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center The Computer Music Center (CMC) at Columbia University is the oldest center for electronic and computer music research in the United States. It was founded in the 1950s as the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Location The CMC is h ...
on a commission from
Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...
, for which Wuorinen was awarded the 1970
Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...
at the age of 32. Wuorinen was appointed to instructor at Columbia in 1964 and promoted to assistant professor in 1969, the year he received an
Ingram Merrill Foundation The Ingram Merrill Foundation was a private foundation established in the mid-1950s by poet James Merrill (1926-1995), using funds from his substantial family inheritance.J. D. McClatchyBraving the Elements ''The New Yorker'', 27 March 1995. Retriev ...
grant; during this period, he was visiting lecturer at the
New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...
(1968–71),
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
(1969–71), the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
(1970), and the
University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...
(1971).


1970s

The 1970s were a particularly fruitful period for Wuorinen, who taught at the
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
from 1971 to 1979. Chamber works during this decade include his first two string quartets, the ''Six Pieces for Violin and Piano'', ''Fast Fantasy'' for cello and piano, and two large works for the Tashi Ensemble, ''Tashi'' and ''Fortune''. Works for orchestra include ''Grand Bamboula'' for strings, ''A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky,'' which incorporates the elder master's last sketches, the ''Second Piano Concerto,'' and the ''Concerto for Amplified Violin and Orchestra'', which caused a scandal at its premiere at the
Tanglewood Festival The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Stockbridge and Lenox in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts. The festival consists of a series of concerts, including symphonic music, cha ...
with
Paul Zukofsky Paul Zukofsky (October 22, 1943 – June 6, 2017) was an American violinist and conductor known for his work in the field of contemporary classical music. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York, Paul Zukofsky was the only child of the American objecti ...
and the BSO conducted by
Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist, and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the S ...
. In 1976 Wuorinen completed his ''Percussion Symphony'', a five-movement work for 24 players including two pianos for the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble and his longtime colleague Raymond Des Roches, as well as his opera subtitled "a baroque burlesque", ''The W. of Babylon'' with an original libretto by Renaud Charles Bruce. The New Jersey Percussion Ensemble had also performed and recorded Wuorinen's composition "Ringing Changes" in collaboration with the Group for Contemporary Music prior to the Percussion Symphony, setting the stage for this challenging larger-scale work. The ensemble, created by Raymond Des Roches, recorded the Percussion Symphony, which was released in 1978 by Nonesuch. In the late 1970s Wuorinen became interested in the work of the mathematician
Benoit Mandelbrot Benoit B. Mandelbrot (20 November 1924 â€“ 14 October 2010) was a Polish-born French-American mathematician and polymath with broad interests in the practical sciences, especially regarding what he labeled as "the art of roughness" of phy ...
and with a grant from the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
he conducted sonic experiments at
Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...
in New Jersey. In an interview with Richard Burbank, Wuorinen is quoted as saying:
What I did at Bell Labs (with
Mark Liberman Mark Yoffe Liberman is an American linguist. He is Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, with a dual appointment as Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science. He is ...
) was to try various experiments in which strings of pseudo-random material, usually pitches but sometimes other things, were generated and then subjected to traditional types of compositional organization, including twelve-tone procedures. What I wanted to do was to see whether or not these things sounded "composed," sounded purposively chosen. They did, at least by my lights. The random sequences were not just any old random sequences but were that of a kind called 1/f randomness.


1980s

The 1980s were framed by two large-scale works for chorus and orchestra based on Biblical texts, the 60-minute oratorio '' The Celestial Sphere'' for the 100th Anniversary of the Handel Oratorio Society in Rock Island Illinois of 1980 and ''Genesis'' (1989), jointly commissioned by the
Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Th ...
and
San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony, founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley, San Francisco, Hayes Valley ne ...
. Other major orchestral works during this period include the ''Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra''; the ''Third Piano Concerto,'' written for pianist
Garrick Ohlsson Garrick Olaf Ohlsson (born April 3, 1948) is an American classical pianist. In 1970 Ohlsson became the first, and remains the only, competitor from the United States to win the gold medal awarded by the International Chopin Piano Competition, at ...
; ''Movers and Shakers'', the first work commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra for music director
Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conducting, conductor. Biography Youth and World War II Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine von Dohnan ...
; ''Bamboula Squared'' for computer-generated sound and orchestra (inspired by Wuorinen's work at Bell Labs); and ''The Golden Dance''. Wuorinen was composer in residence with the San Francisco Symphony from 1984 to 1989. Major chamber works of the 1980s include his ''Third String Quartet'' commissioned to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the
Hopkins Center for the Arts Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College is located at 4 East Wheelock Street in Hanover, New Hampshire. The center, which was designed by Wallace Harrison and foreshadows his later design of Manhattan's Lincoln Center, is the college's ...
at Dartmouth College, ''The Blue Bamboula'' for pianist
Ursula Oppens Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist and educator. She has received five Grammy Award nominations. Biography Ursula Oppens was born on February 2, 1944, in New York City into a highly musical family fr ...
, the ''Sonata for Violin and Piano'' commissioned by the Library of Congress and premiered at the Library on an all-Wuorinen concert, ''String Sextet'', ''New York Notes'', ''Third Piano Sonata'' for
Alan Feinberg Alan Feinberg (born in New York City) is an American classical pianist. He has premiered over 300 works by such composers as John Adams, Milton Babbitt, John Harbison, Charles Ives, Steve Reich, and Charles Wuorinen, as well as the premiere of Mel ...
, and trios for various combinations including three works for horn trio. In the 1980s Wuorinen began an association with the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
which resulted in a series of works designed for dance: ''Five (Concerto for Amplified Cello and Orchestra)'' for choreographer
Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Jean-Pierre Bonnefous or Bonnefoux (; 9 April 1943 – 15 April 2025) was a French ballet dancer and instructor. He was during different tenures the artistic director of the Charlotte Ballet and the Chautauqua Institution. Life and career ...
and Wuorinen's longtime colleague and champion
Fred Sherry Fred Sherry (born 1948) is an American cellist who is particularly admired for his work as a chamber musician and concert soloist. He studied with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School before winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditi ...
, ''Delight of the Muses'' based on works of
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
and commissioned in honor of the Mozart's bicentennial, and three works inspired by scenes from Dante's ''La Divina Commedia'' for
Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish former ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and J ...
(''The Mission of Virgil'', ''The Great Procession'' and ''The River of Light''). In addition to the Dante texts Wuorinen was influenced by the watercolors of
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
. For the New York City Ballet Wuorinen also made a two-piano arrangement of Schoenberg's ''
Variations for Orchestra (Schoenberg) Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31 (1926–28) is an orchestral set of variations on a theme, composed by Arnold Schoenberg and is his first twelve-tone composition for a large ensemble. Premiered in December 1928 by the Berlin Philharmonic conduct ...
'' choreographed by
Richard Tanner New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
, and Martins created a ballet based on Wuorinen's ''A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky.'' In 1985 Wuorinen was awarded a
MacArthur Foundation Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...
.


1990s

Wuorinen devoted increased attention to writing works for voice, including his setting of
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 â€“ 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
's ''A Winter's Tale'' for soprano
Phyllis Bryn-Julson Phyllis Mae Bryn-Julson (born February 5, 1945) is an American operatic soprano and pedagogue. A native of Bowdon, North Dakota, Bryn-Julson is one of five children born to Norwegian parents. She initially studied to be a pianist at Concordia C ...
and the ''Fenton Songs I & II'' on poems by British poet
James Fenton James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry. Life and career Born in Lincoln, Fenton grew up in Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, the son of Canon Jo ...
, with whom Wuorinen was collaborating on an opera. Major chamber works included the ''Saxophone Quartet'' for the
Raschèr Saxophone Quartet The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet is a professional ensemble of four saxophonists which performs European classical music, classical and Contemporary classical music, modern music. The quartet was founded in the United States in 1969 by prominent cla ...
, ''Percussion Quartet'', ''Piano Quintet'', and ''Sonata for Guitar and Piano''. Orchestral works included the ''Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra'' and ''Symphony Seven'' as well as the Dante works for the New York City Ballet.


2000 onward

With the start of the 21st century,
James Levine James Lawrence Levine ( ; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March ...
became a major champion of Wuorinen's music. Levine commissioned Wuorinen's ''Fourth Piano Concerto'' for his first season at the
Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...
; the tone poem ''Theologoumenon'' (a 60th birthday gift for Levine from his longtime manager Ronald Wilford), premiered by the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
Orchestra; and the ''Eighth Symphony: Theologoumena'', for the BSO. In honor of Wuorinen's 70th birthday Levine conducted two performances of Wuorinen's ''Ashberyana'' at the Guggenheim Museum. Other champions of Wuorinen's music include
Peter Serkin Peter Adolf Serkin (July 24, 1947 – February 1, 2020) was an American classical pianist. He won the Grammy Award for Most Promising New Classical Recording Artist in 1966, and he performed globally, known for not only "technically pristine" pl ...
, for whom Wuorinen composed three concertos including ''Time Regained'' (based on music of
Machaut Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...
, Matteo da Perugia,
Guillaume Dufay Guillaume Du Fay ( , ; also Dufay, Du Fayt; 5 August 1397 – 27 November 1474) was a composer and music theorist of early Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered the leading European composer of h ...
, and
Orlando Gibbons Orlando Gibbons ( bapt. 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical famil ...
) and ''Flying to Kahani'', commissioned by
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
; the solo ''Scherzo'' and ''Adagio''; and the ''Second Piano Quintet'' with the
Brentano Quartet The Brentano Quartet is an American string quartet. History Founded in 1992 at the Juilliard School, the quartet's founding members were violinists Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violist Misha Amory, and cellist Michael Kannen. At the suggestio ...
, another ensemble with which Wuorinen has had a very fruitful relationship and for which he wrote his ''Fourth String Quartet''. In 2004 the New York City Opera premiered his opera '' Haroun and the Sea of Stories'' based on the novel by
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
, with a libretto by
James Fenton James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry. Life and career Born in Lincoln, Fenton grew up in Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, the son of Canon Jo ...
. Two other song cycles based on Fenton's poetry were created around this time, Fenton Songs I and II. Other works from this decade include ''Cyclops 2000'' for
Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer of contemporary classical music and conductor. Among the most influential British composers of his generation, his relatively few compositions are "rooted in 20th-cen ...
and the
London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber music, chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert ...
; ''Ashberyana'', settings of poetry by
John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...
; ''Spin5'', a chamber concerto for violinist
Jennifer Koh Jennifer Koh (born 1976) is an American violinist, born to Korean parents in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Life and career Koh earned a B.A. in English Literature from Oberlin College, as well as a Performance Diploma from the attached Oberlin Conserva ...
; the ''Fourth Piano Sonata'', for
Anne-Marie McDermott Anne-Marie McDermott is an American classical pianist and member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She is also the artistic director of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, the Ocean Reef Chamber Music Festival in Key Largo, Flori ...
; ''Synaxis''; ''Metagong''; and ''It Happens Like This'', a dramatic cantata on seven poems by James Tate premiered at Tanglewood with the composer conducting. Between 2008 and 2012, Wuorinen composed the opera ''
Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...
'', based on Annie Proulx's short story of the same name and with a
libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
adapted by Proulx. It premiered on January 28, 2014, at the
Real Real may refer to: Currencies * Argentine real * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Nature and science * Reality, the state of things as they exist, rathe ...
in Madrid to mixed reviews.


Death

On September 7, 2019, Wuorinen suffered a fall that caused a subdural hematoma. Over the next several months he had three additional falls, ultimately leading to his death on March 11, 2020, at New York Columbia-Presbyterian hospital. A requiem mass was held at St. Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church on May 30, 2020. It was broadcast live and uploaded to YouTube.


Music

Wuorinen wrote more than 270 pieces, including the operas '' Haroun and the Sea of Stories'' and ''
Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...
''. He has been described as totally committed to
twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...
composition, with
Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-century classical music, ...
, late
Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
, and
Babbitt Babbitt may refer to: Fiction * ''Babbitt'' (novel), a 1922 novel by Sinclair Lewis ** ''Babbitt'' (1924 film), a 1924 silent film based on the novel ** ''Babbitt'' (1934 film), a 1934 film based on the novel *Babbit, the family name of the titl ...
as primary influences. In later years, he called the term ''serialism'' "almost without meaning". Much of Wuorinen's music is technically complex, requiring extreme virtuosity by the performer, including wide leaps, extreme dynamic contrasts, and rapid exchange of pitches. Fractals and the mathematical theories of
Benoit Mandelbrot Benoit B. Mandelbrot (20 November 1924 â€“ 14 October 2010) was a Polish-born French-American mathematician and polymath with broad interests in the practical sciences, especially regarding what he labeled as "the art of roughness" of phy ...
are also important aspects of his style, as can be seen in works such as ''Bamboula Squared'' and the ''Natural Fantasy'' for organ.


Writings and lectures

Wuorinen wrote the book ''Simple Composition''. He described it as Wuorinen lectured at universities in the United States and abroad, and served on the faculties of Columbia, Princeton, and Yale universities, the University of Iowa, the University of California-San Diego, the
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
, the New England Conservatory, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Rutgers University. He wrote the introduction to
Joan Peyser Joan Peyser (June 12, 1930 – April 24, 2011) was an American musicologist and writer, particularly known for her writing on 20th-century music and for her biographies of George Gershwin, Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. Her biography of Ber ...
's ''To Boulez and Beyond''.


Influence and legacy

Wuorinen's works have influenced a number of other composers. Robert Black cited him as a particular influence on his style. Black also recorded Wuorinen's ''New York Notes''. Jazz trumpeter
Dave Douglas David or Dave Douglas may refer to: Entertainment * David Douglas (director) (born 1953), Canadian cinematographer, director and writer * Dave Douglas (trumpeter) (born 1963), American jazz trumpeter * Dave Douglas (drummer) (born 1979), American ...
wrote, "Around 1992 I found Charles Wuorinen’s book ''Simple Composition'' in the Brooklyn Public Library. I thought, 'At last! My problems are over!' Little did I know, they were just beginning... The book had a profound effect on me and spurred a whole new approach to composing for improvising small groups." In 2019,
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 ...
published a Festschrift
''Charles Wuorinen: A Celebration at 80''
comprising analytical articles and compositions written for the occasion by Wuorinen's friends and colleagues. The issue (Volume 56, Number 2, Summer 2018) was followed by a
80th birthday celebration
at the
Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...
that featured a master class, a symposium, and concerts of his music as well as works dedicated to him.


Criticism

Wuorinen was criticized as intolerant and hostile in his writings toward people with differing views on music. In 1963, he wrote in ''Perspectives on New Music'', "I must unequivocally state that pitch
serialization In computing, serialization (or serialisation, also referred to as pickling in Python (programming language), Python) is the process of translating a data structure or object (computer science), object state into a format that can be stored (e. ...
is no longer an issue", and that young composers should be "acting out the implications of the older generation's work". For
Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...
, such statements imply a totalitarian view that only twelve-tone composers are to be regarded as composers. Taruskin has described similar statements as "fantasies of infantile omnipotence". In 1971, the Columbia University music faculty denied Wuorinen tenure, which he attributed to "hostility to the present, and those who advocate it in music". Others have attributed the decision to Wuorinen's intolerant and arrogant attitude. The opening paragraph of ''
Simple Composition Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...
'' has been controversial. Taruskin describes it as another example of Wuorinen's contempt for music outside the 12-tone system. In a 1988 interview, Wuorinen said, "I feel what I do is right ..pluralism has gone too far", and criticized views on which "the response of the untutored becomes the sole criterion for judgment". Rather, he suggested, "I would try to change the present relationship of the composer to the public from one in which the composer says: 'please, judge me,' to one in which I say: 'I have something to show you and offer my leadership.'" More recently, Wuorinen called the term ''serialism'' "almost without meaning", a statement that has also been criticized. In a 2005 interview, when asked if he was a serialist composer, he restated this opinion: In 2018, Wuorinen denounced the Pulitzer Prize jury for awarding its music award to hiphop artist
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
, telling the ''New York Times'' the decision constituted "the final disappearance of any societal interest in high culture."


Performance and conducting

Wuorinen was active as a performer, a pianist and a conductor of his own works as well as other 20th-century repertoire. His orchestral appearances have included the
Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...
,
Chicago Symphony The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Fes ...
, New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony,
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...
, and the
American Composers Orchestra The American Composers Orchestra (ACO) is an American orchestra administratively based in New York City, specialising in contemporary American music. The ACO gives concerts at various concert venues in New York City, including: * Zankel Hall at ...
. He conducted the American, and later the West Coast, premieres of
Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, a development associated with the experimental New York School o ...
's monodrama ''Neither''. In 1962 he co-founded
The Group for Contemporary Music ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
, an ensemble dedicated to performance of new chamber music. In addition to cultivating a new generation of performers, commissioning and premiering hundreds of new works, the Group has also been a model for similar organizations that have appeared in the United States since its founding.


Personal life

Wuorinen resided in New York City and the Long Valley section of
Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey Washington Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in southwestern Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 18,197, a decrease of 336 (â ...
. He was married to his longtime partner and manager, Howard Stokar. Wuorinen died in New York on March 11, 2020, aged 81, as a result of injuries sustained in a fall the preceding September.


Discography

This is a partial discography of Wuorinen: * It Happens Like This / Fourth Piano Sonata / Alphabetical Ashbery. Anne-Marie MacDermott, piano, loadbang, The Group for Contemporary Music, composer conducting, Bridge Records 9490 * Eighth Symphony (Theologoumena) / Fourth Piano Concerto. Peter Serkin, piano, Boston Symphony Orchestra, James Levine, conducting. Bridge Records 9474 * Scherzo / First String Quartet / Viola Variations / Second Piano Quintet. Peter Serkin, piano,
Brentano String Quartet The Brentano Quartet is an American string quartet. History Founded in 1992 at the Juilliard School, the quartet's founding members were violinists Mark Steinberg and Serena Canin, violist Misha Amory, and cellist Michael Kannen. At the suggesti ...
, Curtis Macomber, violin, Jesse Mills, violin, Lois Martin, viola, Fred Sherry, cello.
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 ...
8.559694. * Ashberyana / Fenton Songs / Fenton Songs II / Praegustatum / Ave Christe: Josquin / Josquiniana. Leon Williams, baritone, Lucy Shelton soprano, James Pugh, trombone Brentano String Quartet, Sarah Rothenberg, piano. Naxos 8.559377 * String Sextet / String Quartet No. 2 / Piano Quintet / Divertimento for string quartet. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Tashi,
Ursula Oppens Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist and educator. She has received five Grammy Award nominations. Biography Ursula Oppens was born on February 2, 1944, in New York City into a highly musical family fr ...
,
The Group for Contemporary Music ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
. Naxos 8.559288 * Dante Trilogy: The Mission of Virgil / The Great Procession / The River of Light. (chamber version, live recording), The Group for Contemporary Music, Oliver Knussen, conductor. Naxos 8.559345 * Tashi / Percussion Quartet / Fortune. Tashi, The Group for Contemporary Music, New Jersey Percussion Ensemble. Naxos 8.559321 * Horn Trio / Horn Trio Continued / Trombone Trio / Trio for Bass Instruments / Double Solo for Horn Trio. The Group for Contemporary Music. Naxos 8.559264 * Cyclops 2000 / A Reliquary for Igor Stravinsky. London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen, conductor. London Sinfonietta label 859811 (''Reliquary'' previously issued on DGG) * On Alligators / Fourth String Quartet / Natural Fantasy / Third Piano Concerto. Kevin Bowyer, organ, Brentano String Quartet, Garrick Ohlsson, piano, San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt, conductor. Tzadik Records 8010 *
Time's Encomium ''Time's Encomium'' (Jan. 1968-Jan. 1969, 31'43") is an electronic, four channel, musical composition by Charles Wuorinen for synthesized and processed synthesized sound. Released on Nonesuch Records in 1969, the composition was commissioned by ...
/ Lepton / New York Notes / Epithalamium. SurPlus Ensemble, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Wuorinen conducting, Paul Christopher Gekker and Mark Gould, trumpets.
Tzadik Records Tzadik is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a not-for-p ...
7077 / * Duos: Sonata for Guitar and Piano / Never Again The Same / Duo Sonata for Flute and Piano / Divertimento for Alto Saxophone and Piano / Eleven Short Pieces / Psalm 39 / Percussion Duo. William Anderson (guitarist), Joan Forsyth, piano, Wilbur Pauley, bass, Christopher Hall, tuba, Thomas Meglioranza, baritone,
Robert Aitken (composer) Robert Morris Aitken (born August 28, 1939) is a Canadian composer and flautist. He began his career as a teenager playing in a number of orchestras, notably becoming the youngest principal flautist in the history of the Vancouver Symphony Orche ...
, flute,
James Avery (musician) James Avery (September 23, 1937 – March 8, 2009) was an American classical pianist and conductor. Avery was born in Hutchinson, Kansas and studied at the University of Kansas, and then at Indiana University (Bloomington) under Tibor Kozma. From ...
, piano, John Ferrari, percussion, Margaret Kampmeier, piano, Erik Carlson, violin, Michael Caterisano, percussion, Eliot Gattego, alto saxophone, Eric Wubbels, piano.
Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. In May 2024, Albany Records wa ...
TROY1077 * Five Concerto for Amplified Cello and Orchestra / The Golden Dance / Concerto for Amplified Violin and Orchestra. Fred Sherry, cello, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Wuorinen conductor, San Francisco Symphony,
Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor of classical music. At the age of 97 he continues to conduct concerts in Europe and the United States. Biography Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, t ...
conducting,
Paul Zukofsky Paul Zukofsky (October 22, 1943 – June 6, 2017) was an American violinist and conductor known for his work in the field of contemporary classical music. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York, Paul Zukofsky was the only child of the American objecti ...
, violin, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, Eliahu Inbal, conductor. Albany Records TROY711 * The Haroun Songbook. Elizabeth Farnum, soprano, Emily Golden, mezzo-soprano, James Schaffner, tenor, Michael Chioldi, bass-baritone, Phillip Bush, piano, Albany Records TROY664 * Fast Fantasy / An Orbicle of Jasp / Andante espressivo / Cello Variations / Cello Variations II / Cello Variations III / Grand Union.
Fred Sherry Fred Sherry (born 1948) is an American cellist who is particularly admired for his work as a chamber musician and concert soloist. He studied with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School before winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditi ...
, cello, Charles Wuorinen, piano, Thomas Kolor, percussion. Albany Records TROY658 * Hyperion / Archaeopteryx / arrangement of
Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-century classical music, ...
's Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31 /
Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...
's arrangement of Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra op. 16. St. Luke' Chamber Ensemble, Charles Wuorinen, conductor, David Taylor, bass trombone Richard Moredock, Cameron Grant, James Winn pianos. Albany Records TROY992 * Vocal Works: Two Machine Portraits (
Les Murray (poet) Leslie Allan Murray (17 October 1938 – 29 April 2019) was an Australian poet, anthologist and critic. His career spanned over 40 years and he published nearly 30 volumes of poetry as well as two verse novels and collections of his prose w ...
), The Long Boat (
Stanley Kunitz Stanley Jasspon Kunitz (; July 28, 1905May 14, 2006) was an American poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress twice, first in 1974 and then again in 2000. Biography Kunitz was born in Worcester, Massac ...
), Twang (
Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...
), Lightening viii (
Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 â€“ 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...
), September 11, 2001 ( W.H. Auden), Fenton Songs, Christes Crosse, Pentecost (
Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott OM (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as ...
), A Song to the Lute in Musicke, Stanzas Before Time (
John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...
), A Winter's Tale (
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 â€“ 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
). Albany Records TROY968 * Hyperion / Archaeopteryx / arr. of
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
's Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31 /
Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...
's arrangement of Schoenberg's Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16. Albany Records, TROY992 * Genesis / A solis ortu / Mass (for the Restoration of St. Luke in the Fields) / Ave Christie: Josquin. Minnesota Orchestra & Chorale, Edo de Waart, conductor, Charles Wuorinen, piano.


Notable students

Wuorinen's students include Arthur Russell, Robert Bonfiglio,
Michael Daugherty Michael Kevin Daugherty (born April 28, 1954) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American composer, pianist, and teacher. He is influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism. Daugherty's notable works include his Superman comic b ...
,
Aaron Jay Kernis Aaron Jay Kernis (born January 15, 1960) is a Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning American composer serving as a member of the Yale School of Music faculty. Kernis spent 15 years as the music advisor to the Minnesota Orchestra and as direct ...
,
Peter Lieberson Peter Goddard Lieberson (25 October 1946 – 23 April 2011, aged 64) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. His song cycles include two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music: '' Rilke Songs'' and '' Neruda Songs''; the la ...
,
Tobias Picker Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and Conductor (music), conductor, noted for his orchestral works ''Old and Lost Rivers'', ''Keys To The City (orchestral work), Keys To The City'', and ''The Encantadas (orches ...
, Kenneth Lampl and James Romig.


Footnotes


References and interviews


''Bloomberg TV segment at the Wuorinen website''
2008

Charles Wuorinen interviewed by Peter Dobrin, ''ArtsWatch: PhillyNews.com'', June 9, 2008 * Burbank, Richard D. ''Charles Wuorinen: A Bio-Bibliography''. Greenwood Press, 1994. * Duffie, Bruce.

, February 26, 1987 * Karchin, Louis. "Wuorinen, Charles". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by
Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...
and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001. * Kennedy, Michael. ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. . * * (includes video) * * Romig, James.
Charles Wuorinen: Adapting To The Times
. Liner notes for Albany Records (Troy 871). * Smith, Steve.

. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (January 28, 2007). * Tommasini, Anthony.
Renaissance and Medieval Hues in a Modernist Work
. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (January 26, 2009). (review of Wuorinen's ''Time Regained'') * Wakin, Daniel.
Sometimes Keeping the Beat is Easy
. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (April 7, 2007) (article on performance of Wuorinen's ''Percussion Symphony'')


Further reading

* Wuorinen, Charles. 1979. ''Simple Composition'', New York, NY: C.F. Peters Corporation. * Morris, Robert, Review of Charles Wuorinen's ''Simple Composition.'' ''Theory & Practice'' 1980, 5/1:66-72. * Hibbard, William, Charles Wuorinen, ''The Politics of Harmony.'' ''Perspectives of New Music'' Vol. 7, No. 2 (Spring–Summer, 1969), pp. 155–166 (article consists of 16 pages) * Seelye, Todd, Charles Wuorinen ''Guitar Variations'', Soundboard Magazine, the Journal of the Guitar Foundation of America, Spring 1997, Vol. 23, No. 4 * Karchin, Louis, ''Pitch Centricity as an Organizing Principle in Speculum Speculi of Charles Wuorinen'', Theory and Practice, Volume 14/15, 1989/90. * Kresky, Jeffrey, ''The Recent Music of Charles Wuorinen''
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 ...
, Vol. 25 Nos. 1&2, Winter 1987/Summer 1987 * Karchin, Louis, ''Charles Wuorinen's Reliquary for Stravinsky'' Contemporary Music Review, 2001, Vol 20, Part 4, pp. 9–27 * Steinberg, Michael, ''Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide'' Oxford University Press, February 2008, pp. 317–336


External links

* *
Charles Wuorinen Charles Peter Wuorinen (, ; June 9, 1938 – March 11, 2020) was an American composer of contemporary classical music based in New York City. He also performed as a pianist and conductor. Wuorinen composed more than 270 works: orchestral music, c ...
at AllMusic.com *
Charles Wuorinen
at C.F. Peters, publisher * three works by the composer *
Requiem service for Charles Wuorinen
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