Joel Hoffman (born 1953 in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

) is a Canadian/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 ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

living in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Hoffman's music draws much of its richness and variety from such diverse sources as Eastern European folk musics, Chinese traditional music and American bebop, yet these sources seem to be seamlessly woven into a unique musical language that is pervaded by a sense of lyricism and rhythmic vitality.

Biography

Hoffman is a son of conductor

Irwin Hoffman Irwin Hoffman (November 26, 1924 – March 19, 2018) was an American conductor active in North America and Latin America. Hoffman studied at the Juilliard School and was a protégé of Serge Koussevitsky, and he made his conducting debut at the ...

and violinist Esther Glazer. Hoffman earned his bachelor's degree from the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

and a masters and doctorate from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. His teachers included

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – 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 " ...

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 ...

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own work ...

Alun Hoddinott Alun Hoddinott CBE (11 August 1929 – 12 March 2008) was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition. Life and works Hoddinott was born in Bargoed, Glamorganshire, Wales. He was educated at Gow ...

Arnold Whittall Arnold Whittall (born 1935) is a British musicologist and academic. Whittall's research areas have primarily been centred around the musical analysis of 20th-century music and aspects of the nineteenth-century, such as the music of Richard Wagner. ...

and Easley Blackwood. For 36 years, he was a professor of composition at the

University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially established as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1867, CCM is one of the ...

and the founder/director of the Music X festival of new music (1996–2011) which was held for the first thirteen years in Cincinnati and for the last three years at the Hindemith Music Centre in

Blonay Blonay () is a former municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. On 1 January 2022 the former municipalities of Blonay and Saint-Légier-La Chiésaz merged into the new municipality of Blonay - ...

, Switzerland. He was president of Chamber Music Cincinnati (2008–2011), and has directed an annual summer course for composer/performers at the UPBEAT International Music School in Milna, Croatia since 200

He has been the recipient of many honors from organizations such as the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

, the

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 ...

, BMI,

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

, and the

American Music Center New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progr ...

. Hoffman is a 2017

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

fellow. Hoffman's music is published by Onibatan Music, his own publishing hous
Joel Hoffman official website
RAI Com, ECS Publishing (EC Schirmer), G. Schirmer and Vanderbilt Music Company (Lyra Music Co.).

Works

This is a list of compositions by Joel Hoffman sorted by genre, date of composition, title, and scoring.

Recordings

Three Paths. Albany Records. Includes: *''Three Paths'' *''Nine pieces for solo piano'' *''...the first time and the last'' Self Portrait. Albany Records. Includes: *''Sonata for Cello and Piano'' *''unaccompanied minor'' *''Self-Portrait with Gebirtig'' *''Karpet'' Piano Trios. Albany Records. Includes: *''Piano Trio No.1: Cubist Blues'' *''Piano Trio No.2: Lost Traces'' *''Piano Trio on C-Sharp'' Cubist Blues. Gasparo Records. Includes: *''Piano Trio No.1: Cubist Blues'' *''String Quartet no. 2'' *''Fantasia Fiorentina'' *''Sonata for Cello and Piano'' Chinese Bamboo Flute Orchestra. China Record Corporation. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''The Diz in my life'' Bravo Orkester. Zalozba Kaset in Plosc. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''Self-Portrait with Gebirtig'' The American Experience. Milken Archive of Jewish Music. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''Self-Portrait of Gebirtig'' American Piano. Gasparo Records. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''Fantasy Pieces'' Music by Hale Smith, Sheila Silver, Joel Hoffman. CRI Recordings. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''Duo for Viola and Piano'' Soliloquy. Koch International. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''Partenze'' Premiere Chamber Works. Centaur Records. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''Music for Two Oboes'' Americans!. Stradivarius. Includes Joel Hoffman: ''Each for Himself?'' America. VDM Records. Includes ''Blues and Yellow'' Tum-Balalayke. EMA Records. CD of traditional Jewish Songs; Joel Hoffman, piano and arranger

References

* http://www.joelhoffman.net/ * http://ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/faculty/joel-hoffman-retirement.html * http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/classical-music/sdut-la-jolla-music-society-summerfest-hoffman-2015aug01-htmlstory.html * http://www.milkenarchive.org/artists/view/joel-hoffman/ * http://www.pytheasmusic.org/hoffman_joel.html * https://musicalics.com/en/node/98997

External links

Joel Hoffman official website

University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music website

Chamber Music Cincinnati website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Joel 1953 births Living people Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian classical pianists Canadian male classical pianists Musicians from Cincinnati 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century American male musicians