David Behrman (born August 16, 1937) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and a pioneer of computer music. In the early 1960s he was the producer of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

' ''Music of Our Time'' series, which included the first recording of

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...

's ''

In C ''In C'' is a composition by Terry Riley from 1964. It is one of the most successful works by an American composer and a seminal example of minimal music, minimalism. The score directs any number of musicians to repeat a series of 53 melodic fr ...

''.David Behrman: Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
Biography. In 1966 Behrman co-founded Sonic Arts Union with fellow composers Robert Ashley, Alvin Lucier and Gordon Mumma. He wrote the music for

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

's dances ''Walkaround Time'' (1968), ''Rebus'' (1975), ''Pictures'' (1984) and ''Eyespace 40'' (2007). In 1978, he released his debut album '' On the Other Ocean'', a pioneering work combining computer music with live performance.

Biography

Early life and education

Behrman's father,

S. N. Behrman Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (; June 9, 1893 – September 9, 1973) was an American playwright, screenwriter, biographer, and longtime writer for ''The New Yorker''. His son is the composer David Behrman. Biography Early years Behrman's parents, Z ...

, was a successful playwright and Hollywood screenplay writer. His mother Elza Heifetz Behrman was the sister of violinist Jascha Heifetz. Behrman attended the

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

in Andover, Massachusetts, where his classmates included Carl Andre, Hollis Frampton and

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career befor ...

. There he also developed a lifelong friendship with composer and pianist

Frederic Rzewski Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. From 1977 up to his eventual death, he lived mainly in Be ...

. While attending summer camp at Indian Hill in 1953 he was taught modern music by Wallingford Riegger. He received a BA from Harvard in 1959. At Harvard, he formed a lifelong friendship with Christian Wolff and where he continued his friendship with Frederic Rzewski. He attended the summer school at Darmstadt in 1959, where he met

La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best k ...

and

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a South Korean artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" ...

. He received a Master of Arts from

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 ...

in 1963.

Teaching

He has been a member of the Avery Graduate Arts Program faculty at

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

since 1998. He was co-director of the Center for Contemporary Music at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

in 1975–1980, and has taught also at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

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

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

Music

Behrman is known as a minimalist composer. His music has often involved interactions between live performers and computers, usually with the computer generating sounds triggered by some aspect of the live performance, usually certain pitches, but sometimes other aspects of the live sound, such as volume in ''QRSL'' (as recorded by Maggi Payne on ''The Extended Flute'' (CRI807). Many of his significant works, such as '' On the Other Ocean'', ''Interspecies Small Talk'', are based on a pitch sensing computer music system.

Personal life

Behrman was briefly married to Japanese video artist, sculptor and avant-garde performance artist Shigeko Kubota. The marriage ended in 1969. He has been married since 1979 to media-artist Terri Hanlon. Behrman lives in New York City.

Awards

* 1994,

Foundation for Contemporary Arts The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...

Grants to Artists Award.

Discography

*'' On the Other Ocean'' Lovely Music Ltd. (1977) *''Leapday Night'' Lovely Music Ltd. (1987) *''Unforeseen Events'' XI Records (1991) *''Wave Train'' Alga Marghen (1998) *''My Dear Siegfried'' XI Records (2005)

Films

*1976 - ''Music With Roots in the Aether: Opera for Television''. Tape 1: David Behrman. Produced and directed by Robert Ashley. New York, New York: Lovely Music. *2008 - Roulette TV: ''David Behrman''. Roulette Intermedium Inc.

External links

David Behrman Website
from Kalvos & Damian New Music Bazaar
Lovely Music Artist: David Behrman
by Theresa Stern (August 1997)
David Behrman at the Foundation for Contemporary ArtsDavid Behrman at Bard CollegeDavid Behrman at Arcane Candy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behrman, David 1937 births Living people 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American classical composers Academic staff of Technische Universität Berlin American experimental musicians American male classical composers Austrian emigrants to the United States Bard College faculty California Institute of the Arts faculty Columbia University alumni Composers from New York City Harvard University alumni Mills College faculty Ohio State University faculty Phillips Academy alumni Pupils of Karlheinz Stockhausen Rutgers University faculty