Burr Van Nostrand (born 1945) is an American classical composer and cellist. He is known for his

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

works which use

aleatory Aleatoricism (or aleatorism) is a term for musical compositions and other forms of art resulting from "actions made by chance". The term was first used "in the context of electro-acoustics and information theory" to describe "a course of sound ...

and graphic notation and were composed from the 1960s through the 1980s.Guerrieri, Matthew (26 April 2012)
"New England’s Prospect: Echolocation"
''

NewMusicBox ''NewMusicBox'' is an e-zine launched by the American Music Center on May 1, 1999. The magazine includes interviews and articles concerning American contemporary music, composers, improvisers, and musicians. A few interviews include renown ...

''. Retrieved 21 January 2017. Van Nostrand was born in Los Angeles and began composing while still in high school in San Diego. He studied cello at

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

with

Aldo Parisot Aldo Simoes Parisot (September 30, 1918 – December 29, 2018) was a Brazilian-born American cellist and cello teacher. He was first a member of the Juilliard School faculty, and then went on to serve as a music professor at the Yale School of Mu ...

and composition 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 ...

under Robert Cogan. After his graduation from the NEC with a Masters in Music in 1971, he spent four years in the Netherlands at the

Gaudeamus Foundation The Gaudeamus Foundation and Contemporary Music Center organizes and promotes contemporary musical activities and concerts in the Netherlands and abroad. It focuses on supporting the career development of young composers and musicians, particular ...

where several of his works were premiered. He stopped composing in the late 1980s but remained active as a cellist until 2000. There was renewed interest in his music following a concert of his early works at the New England Conservatory in 2012 and the release of a CD the following year containing his 1969 ''Voyage in a White Building I'' and two other works from that period.

Life and career

Van Nostrand was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. Both his parents were visual artists. He grew up in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

where he studied painting, piano, and cello and later composition with John Glasier and Howard Brubeck. He also became acquainted with the music and instruments of

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 was a friend of Glasier's. He entered the

(NEC) in 1964, but while still a student at Hoover High School he had already had his compositions played by the

San Diego Symphony The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in San Diego, California. The orchestra performs at Jacobs Music Center and the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. It serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera. History On December 6, ...

and the

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

Chamber Orchestra.Bloom, Elizabeth (20 February 2014)
"Avant-garde composer back on the map"
''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

''. Retrieved 21 January 2017.Rosenblum, Mathew (2013)
Liner notes: Burr Van Nostrand: ''Voyage in a White Building I''

New World Records New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres. At the NEC, Van Nostrand studied composition under Robert Cogan but during that time he also studied cello at

with

. Van Nostrand was part of a close circle of composers studying at Yale in the late 1960s and early 1970s which also included Stephen Mosko and Humphrey M. Evans III. Known as the "bad boys" of the Yale Composition Department, they formed the ensemble Not Morton, Baby and took part in numerous concerts of avant-garde music, collaborative compositions, and multimedia performances. Jordanhallbalcony

After graduating from the NEC with a Masters in Music in 1971, Van Nostrand settled for a while in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, actively composing, giving guest lectures at the NEC and Wheaton College, and playing cello with the

New Haven Symphony The New Haven Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert on January 25, 1894 and is the fourth oldest orchestra in the Uni ...

. In 1974 he received a four-year residency at the

in the Netherlands. There he continued working on his "Manuals" series which had begun with ''Fantasy Manual for Urban Survival'' premiered at the NEC's

Jordan Hall Jordan Hall may refer to: People * Jordan Hall (writer), writer of the web series ''Carmilla'' * Jordan Hall (lacrosse) (born 1984), Canadian lacrosse player * Jordan Hall (basketball) (born 2002), American basketball player * Jordan Hall (Americ ...

in October 1972. His ''Ventilation Manual: A Dusk Ceremonial'' was premiered by harpist

Susan Allen Susan Allen (born March 27, 1963) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 62B, a southside district encompa ...

and flautist

Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman ( ; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to ...

at the 1976 Gaudeamus Festival where it received the

AVRO Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...

Young Composer's Prize. Allen and Stallman gave the work's New York premiere the following year in their joint recital at Carnegie Hall.Kasander, J. (7 September 1976).
"Gaudeamus 1976 leert dat jongste musiek meer aansluiting zoekt bij tonale tradities"
''Leidse Courant'', p. 7. Retrieved 10 January 2017 .Davis, Peter G. (3 October 1977)
"Music: A Duo; Stallman and Allen Triumph In Flute-and-Harp Concert"
''

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 ...

''. Retrieved 10 January 2017. Van Nostrand returned to the United States in 1978 and settled in Florida. His composing became more sporadic and he worked primarily as a cellist for several Florida orchestras including the Fort Lauderdale Symphony and

Palm Beach Opera Palm Beach Opera, a professional opera company in West Palm Beach, Florida performs at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts as well as other locations throughout South Florida, was founded in 1961 as "Civic Opera of the Palm Beaches." Over its ...

. His last composition was ''Nighlines''. It was a commission from the California E.A.R. Unit, a Los Angeles-based new-music collective, and had its world premiere in 1988. Van Nostrand retired from composing after 1988 and returned to live in New Haven where he remained active as a cellist until 2000.

American Composers Alliance The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus, Marion Bauer and ...

"Burr Van Nostrand"
Retrieved 25 January 2017.Wager, Gregg (27 May 1988)

''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. Retrieved 25 January 2017. There was renewed interest in Van Nostrand's music in 2012 after Jason Belcher, a graduate student at NEC, heard a tape of Van Nostrand's ''Voyage in a White Building I'' which led to him retrieving other scores by Van Nostrand from the

archives. Struck not only by the music which seemed very ahead of its time but also by the visual beauty and complexity of Van Nostrand's graphic notation, he began a project to re-introduce the composer and his works. This began with a concert of his early works at the NEC in 22 April 2012, followed by a recording on

New World Records New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

in 2014. His ''Fantasy Manual for Urban Survival'' was performed in New York City in 2015 in a concert by the ensemble Music on the Edge who had also performed the work in Pittsburgh.

Works

*''Trio Verbrougghe'' (for

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cello ...

), premiered 26 April 1964 at the Shakespeare Club in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

during the award concert for the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition. It was played by Van Nostrand on cello, Larry Laffoon on viola and Paul Severtson on violin. *''Evocation of Quetzacoatal'' (for three cellos), composed 1969. A

reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...

recording of the work (date unspecified) is held in Harvard University's Loeb Music Library. It was also performed and recorded in a concert of contemporary music at

, Boston on 26 January 1971 *''Voyage in a White Building I'' (for amplified violin, amplified cello, amplified auto harp, amplified flute, rock and other percussion, electric guitar, sitar, alto saxophone, amplified speaker, string orchestra), premiered Yale University, 27 April 1969; revised version performed Jordan Hall, Boston, 8 April 1970. The spoken text is from

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Inspired by the Romantics and his fellow Modernists, Crane wrote highly stylized poetry, often noted for its complexity. His collection '' White Buildings'' (1926), feat ...

's poem "Voyage 1", one of the ''Voyages'' series appearing in his first poetry collection, ''

White Buildings ''White Buildings'' was the first collection (1926) of poetry by Hart Crane, an American modernist poet, critical to both lyrical and language poetic traditions. The book features well-known pieces like "For the Marriage of Faustus and Helen," ...

''. *''Phaedra Antinomaes'' (for solo violin), premiered 5 December 1969 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 ...

; recorded 9 December 1969 at Jordan Hall, Boston. The work has three movements which can be played in any order. It was written for the violinist Paul Severtson, a long-time friend and collaborator of Van Nostrand. Severtson premiered the work, played it on the 1969 recording and has subsequently performed it in concert in 2012 and 2014.Sheridan, Molly (21 May 2013)
"Sounds Heard: Burr Van Nostrand—''Voyage in a White Building 1''
''

''. Retrieved 25 January 2017. *''Fantasy Manual for Urban Survival'' (for alto flute, cello, and

prepared piano A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sounds temporarily altered by placing bolts, screws, mutes, rubber erasers, and/or other objects on or between the strings. Its invention is usually traced to John Cage's dance music for ''Works for pr ...

), premiered Jordan Hall, Boston, 1972. The work is in six movements and inspired by

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a Germans, German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticis ...

's poem "Hälfte des Lebens". Midway through its performance, the musicians take turns speaking text from the poem. *''Tuba-Tuba'' (for solo tuba), composed 1973. This five-minute piece has one of Van Nostrand's most intensely graphic scores, drawn on a single large sheet of paper. Directions in the center of the page encircled by fragments of musical notation begin: "Play these melodic fragments in any order dispirsed icthroughout the other events on this page. Begin anywhere. You have five minutes to complete this page." It was played at the 2012 NEC concert of his works and concluded with the tuba player using the instrument as a magician's hat. *''Symphony Nosferatu'' (for two 10-member male and female choruses and an orchestra of piccolos, English horns, clarinets, bassoons, saxophones, electric and acoustic guitars, harp, prepared piano, celesta, vibraphone, percussion, and strings), composed 1973. The work has five movements. *''Emergency Equipment & Roadblock Manual'' (for flute and piano), composed 1974. It was dedicated to Robert Dick and Humphrey Evans. *''Lunar Possession Manual: A Winter Ceremonial'' (for soprano, piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, double bass percussion, and optional dancer), premiered during the

ISCM The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

World Music Days,

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

, 1974; US premiere,

Boston Museum of Fine Arts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 2 February 1975. According to the composer's notes the vocal texts are based on Japanese

haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

, extracts from Euripides' ''

The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' (, lit. "The Female Trojans") is a tragedy by the Ancient Greece, Greek playwright Euripides, produced in 415 BCE. Also translated as ''The Women of Troy,'' or as its transliterated Greek title ''Troades, The Trojan Women'' ...

'', the names of Aztec deities, Pacific Northwest Coast tribal names, and Siberian chant. *''Emergency Plumber's Manual'' (for

brass quintet A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two trumpets or cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/baritone horn, and one tuba or bass tro ...

and piano), premiered by Ensemble Pro-Contra,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

28 May 1975.Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library
The Stephen "Lucky" Mosko collection: 1963-2000
.

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Retrieved 25 January 2017. *''Ventilation Manual: A Dusk Ceremonial'' (for flute and harp), premiered during the Gaudeamus Festival, Rotterdam, 1976; US premiere,

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 ...

, 1 October 1977 *''Earth Manual: A Dawn Ceremony'' (for soprano, piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, cello, prepared piano, and percussion), composed 1976, recorded

Longy School of Music Longy School of Music of Bard College is a private music school in Cambridge, Massachusetts associated with Bard College. Founded in 1915 as the Longy School of Music, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston ...

, 1977 *''South Dixie Derailed... a subtropical toccata'' (for solo harp), composed 1982 Crystal Records (1983). ''Directory of New Music'', p. 153 *''Nightlines'' (for flute, clarinet, viola, cello, prepared piano and percussion), premiered

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, 25 May 1988. Originally titled ''Lovesongs of the Vampires'', it was performed at the premiere by the California E.A.R. Unit conducted by Rand Steiger.

Recordings

*Burr Van Nostrand: ''Voyage in a White Building I'' – Robert Stallman (flute), Jay Humeston (cello), Herman Weiss (piano), Paul Severtson (violin), New England Conservatory Chamber Ensemble conducted by

Anthony Coleman Anthony Coleman (born August 30, 1955) is an American composer and avant-garde jazz pianist. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked with John Zorn on ''Cobra'', ''Kristallnacht'', ''The Big Gundown'', ''Archery'', and '' Spillane'' and helped push ...

. In addition to the title work recorded at

in October 2012, the album also contains ''Phaedra Antinomaes'' and ''Fantasy Manual for Urban Survival'', recorded in Jordan Hall in 1969 and 1972 respectively. Label:

Notes

References

External links

Video: Complete performance of Van Nostrand's ''Voyage in a White Building 1''
New England Conservatory of Music, 22 April 2012 (official YouTube channel of the

). {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Nostrand, Burr 1945 births American classical composers New England Conservatory alumni Living people Musicians from Los Angeles Classical musicians from California