Edgar Warren Williams (born June 12, 1949) is an American composer, conductor, and

music theorist Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the " rudiments", that ...

. Williams obtained a bachelor's degree in composition from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1971, then obtained a master's degree 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 ...

in 1973, studying with

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 ...

Mario Davidovsky Mario Davidovsky (March 4, 1934 – August 23, 2019) was an Argentine-American composer. Born in Argentina, he emigrated in 1960 to the United States, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He is best known for his series of compositions ca ...

, and

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 ...

. He then matriculated at

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, where he received a Master's in Fine Arts in 1977 and a Ph.D. in 1982 and studied with

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 ...

and James K. Randall. He was a faculty member and orchestral conductor at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

from 1979. Williams's compositional work is noted for its orchestrational and timbral complexity, and its use of

pitch collection A set (pitch set, pitch-class set, set class, set form, set genus, pitch collection) in music theory, as in mathematics and general parlance, is a collection of objects. In musical contexts the term is traditionally applied most often to collec ...

s as melodic and thematic elements. Richard Swift, "Edgar Warren Williams". ''

The New 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 t ...

''. via Grove Music Online.

Compositions

Orchestral

* 1969 ''Of Orphalese'' * 1984 ''Landscapes with figure'' * 1998 ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

: A Symphony of Horror'' * 1999 ''Suite on "Nosferatu"''

For concert band

* 1968 ''"To my Father" Prologue'' * 1978 ''Across a Bridge of Dreams'' * 1991 ''Into the dark'' * 1993 ''Now showing!'' * 2002 ''Music from behind the Moon'' * ''Prologue''

Musicals

* 1970 Music for ''In the Dark of the Moon'' * 1982 Music for ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' – text by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

* 1985 Music for ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

'' – text by William Shakespeare

Choral

* 1975 ''The mystic trumpeter'', for mixed choir and orchestra * 1976 ''Multum in parvo'', for large mixed choir * 1998 ''Star Spangled Banner'', canon for choir * ''Missa'', For six-member men's choir, brass and piano

Vocal music

* 1985 ''Three songs'', for high voice and piano – text: Margaret Tongue * 1985 ''The bawds of euphony'', for high voice and piano – text:

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 ...

* ''Two Lyrics'', for middle voice and piano – text:

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...

Chamber music

* 1968 Chamber Piece Nr. 1 * 1968 Chamber Piece Nr. 2 * 1971 String Quartet Nr. 1 * 1980 ''Amoretti'', for viola and piano * 1985 ''Caprice'', for violin * 1996 String Quartet Nr. 2 * 1999 String Trio * ''Fant'sy I (from "

Hortus conclusus ''Hortus conclusus'' is a Latin term, meaning literally "enclosed garden". Both words in ''hortus conclusus'' refer linguistically to enclosure. It describes a type of garden that was enclosed as a practical concern, a major theme in the history ...

")'', for 9 instruments * ''Fant'sy II (from "Hortus conclusus")'', for 12 instruments * ''Fant'sy III (from "Hortus conclusus")'', for 12 instruments

Piano

* 1987 Six Studies * 2005 Sonata

Guitar

* 2002 Guitar quartet

Electronic music

* 2000 ''Pentimenti''

Publications

* Edgar Warren Williams: ''Harmony and Voice Leading'', New York:

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, 1992. * Edgar Warren Williams: ''Introduction to Music'', New York: HarperCollins, 1991. (Co-authored with Miller and Taylor.) * Edgar Warren Williams: "Banqueting with the Emperor", in: ''

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. 35, no. 1 (1998) * Edgar Warren Williams: "A View of Schoenberg's Opus 19, No. 2", in: ''College Music Symposium'', vol. 25 (1985) * Edgar Warren Williams: "In and About Some Measures of Beethoven", in: ''

19th-Century Music ''19th-Century Music'' is a triennial academic journal that "covers all aspects of Western art music composed in, leading to, or pointing beyond the "long century" extending roughly from the 1780s to the 1930s." It is published by the University of ...

'', November 1983 * Edgar Warren Williams: "On Complementary Interval Class Sets", in: ''

In Theory Only ''In Theory Only'' () was a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It began publication in 1975, under the auspices of graduate students in music theory at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & ...

'', vol. 7 (June 1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Edgar Warren 1949 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Duke University alumni Columbia University alumni Princeton University alumni College of William & Mary faculty American contemporary classical composers American conductors (music) American music theorists