Marga Richter
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Florence Marga Richter (October 21, 1926 – June 25, 2020) was an American composer of classical music, and pianist.


Biography

Marga Richter was born in
Reedsburg, Wisconsin Reedsburg is a city in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population in 2020 was 9,984. The city is located northwest of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison within the Madison metropolitan area, Baraboo micropolitan area. The city is surrounde ...
, the daughter of the American soprano Inez Chandler (1885–1956) and a German army captain, Paul Richter. She studied piano at the
MacPhail School of Music The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based music education centers. Located in the Mill District of Downtown East, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the school has over 16,000 students, providing instruction ...
in Minneapolis with Irene Hellner and with Helena Morsztyn in New York City. She entered the
Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts 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 the Juilliard School, named afte ...
in 1945 and studied composition with
William Bergsma William Laurence Bergsma (April 1, 1921 – March 18, 1994) was an American composer and teacher. He was long associated with Juilliard School, where he taught composition, until he moved to the University of Washington as head of their music ...
and
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 ...
and piano with
Rosalyn Tureck Rosalyn Tureck (December 14, 1913 – July 17, 2003) was an American pianist and harpsichordist who was particularly associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. However, she had a wide-ranging repertoire that included works by composers ...
, graduating with a BS and then MS degree in 1951. Richter was the first woman to graduate from Juilliard with a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
. After completing her studies, she taught music appreciation at
Nassau Community College Nassau Community College (NCC) is a Public college, public community college in the East Garden City, New York, East Garden City section of Uniondale, New York, Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, New York (state), N ...
from 1971 to 1972, and later began working as a composer full-time. Richter composed several works for the
Harkness Ballet The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings, and was a dance lover. Harkness funded Joffrey Ballet, but when they refused ...
in the early 1950s. Her music was also performed, recorded, and produced on numerous albums by
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
recordings at this time. During the 1970s, two of Richter's large-scale orchestral works ''Landscapes of the Mind I'' and ''Blackberry Vines and Winter Fruit'' received significant performances, and she received a publishing contract from Carl Fischer. During the 1980s, Richter composed vocal and choral music in addition to symphonic and chamber works. Richter's only opera ''Riders to the Sea'' was composed in the 1990s. Deeply connected to those in her personal world, Richter composed works to honor various individuals important to her, such as ''Lament'' for her mother, ''Threnody'' for her father, and numerous others. Richter co-founded the Long Island Composers Alliance in 1972 with
Herbert Deutsch Herbert Arnold "Herb" Deutsch (February 9, 1932 – December 9, 2022) was an American composer, inventor, and educator. Until his death in 2022, he was professor emeritus of electronic music and composition at Hofstra University. He was best kno ...
and served as its co-director, president and vice-president. Richter has a son, pianist Michael Skelly and a daughter who is a nurse. A full-length biography of Richter was published in 2012 by the University of Illinois Press as part of their series on women composers. She died on June 25, 2020 at
Barnegat, New Jersey Barnegat Township (pronounced "BAR-nuh-git") is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 24,296, the highest ever count at a decennial census and an increas ...
.


Compositional style and influence

Richter's musical style emphasizes
chromaticism Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic scale, diatonic pitch (music), pitches and chord (music), chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses o ...
, a free use of dissonance,
ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...
s, layering, rhythmic excitement, and dramatic pacing. She favored much use of
seconds The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
and sevenths. Her music often draws upon American, Irish, and Asian sources for inspiration. While she taught only a handful of students, she inspired many later women composers, including composer Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee. Richter is noted for excelling in her compositions for large-scale forces: orchestra, ballet, and ensembles. She composed one opera, ''Riders to the Sea''.


Honors and awards

*Annual awards from
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 ...
since 1966 *Two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (1977, 1979) *Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund grant *Meet the Composer grant *National Federation of Music Clubs grant


Selected works

Richter composed for orchestra, ballet, opera, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble and solo instrument and her compositions have been performed internationally. Selected works include: *''Abyss'' (1-act ballet, choreography by
Stuart Hodes Stuart Hodes (November 27, 1924 – March 15, 2023) was an American dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, dance administrator and author. He was Martha Graham's partner, danced on Broadway, in TV, film, in recitals, and with his own troupe. His ...
), orchestra, 1964 *''Bird of Yearning'' (1-act ballet, choreography by Stuart Hodes), orchestra, 1967 *''Riders to the Sea'' (1-act chamber opera, libretto by
John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector of folklores. As an important driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, Ir ...
) 1996 *Concerto for Piano and Violas, Cellos and Basses, 1955 *''Lament'', string orchestra, 1956 *Aria and Toccata, viola, string orchestra, 1957 *Variations on a Sarabande, 1959 *Eight Pieces for Orchestra, large orchestra, 1961 (version of piano work) *''Darkening of the Light'' for viola solo (1961) *Suite for solo viola (1962) *''Bird of Yearning'', small orchestra (28 players), 1967 (version of ballet) *Concerto No. 2 ''Landscapes of the Mind I'', piano, large orchestra, 1968–74 *''Fragments'', 1978 *''Country Auction'', symphonic band, 1976 *''Blackberry Vines and Winter Fruit'', 1976 *''Spectral Chimes/Enshrouded Hills'', 3 quintets, orchestra, 1978–80 *''Düsseldorf Concerto'', flute, harp, viola, small orchestra (timpani, percussion, strings), 1981–82 *''Out of Shadows and Solitude'', large orchestra, 1985 *''Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark'', 1991 *Variations and interludes on themes from Monteverdi and Bach (concerto), violin, cello, piano, large orchestra, 1992 *''Three Songs of Madness and Death'' (text by
John Webster John Webster (c. 1578 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and car ...
), mixed chorus, 1955; *Psalm 91, mixed chorus, 1963 *Variations on a theme by
Neidhart von Reuental Neidhart (Middle High German ) (later often called Neidhart von Reuental) was one of the most famous . With around 1500 documented strophes of his songs surviving, Neidhart has the largest corpus of surviving lyrics of any , suggesting the great ...
, piano, 1974 *''Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark No. 2'', piano, 1992 *''Soundings'', harpsichord or piano, 1965 *''Short Prelude in Baroque Style'', harpsichord or piano 1974


Discography

Richter's works have been recorded and issued on CD including: *William George, Andrea Lodge, ''Dew-drops on a Lotus Leaf & Other Songs'', Redshift *
London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...
, ''Blackberry Vines and Winter Fruit'', Leonarda *
Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchest ...
, ''Out of Shadows and Solitude'', MMC-Master Musicians Collective *
Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Symfonický orchestr Českého rozhlasu'', Czech acronym SOČR, English acronym PRSO) is a Czech broadcast orchestra based in Prague, the Czech Republic. The SOČR performs concerts at the Dvořák Hall of ...
, ''Spectral Chimes/Enshrouded Hills and Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark'', MMC *Seattle Symphony, ''Out of Shadows and Solitude'', MMC-Master Musicians Collective *''Journeys: Orchestral Works by American Women'', Leonarda Productions, LE327, 1985. Features Richter's ''Lament for String Orchestra'' 1956, and also includes music of
Nancy Van de Vate Nancy Jean Van de Vate (; December 30, 1930 – July 29, 2023) was an American-born Austrian composer, violist and pianist. She also used the pseudonyms Helen Huntley and William Huntley. She is known for operas such as ''All Quiet on the Weste ...
, Kay Gardner,
Libby Larsen Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a contemporary American classical composer. Along with composer Stephen Paulus, she is a co-founder of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. A former holder of the Pa ...
, Katherine Hoover,
Ursula Mamlok Ursula Mamlok ( Meyer; February 1, 1923 – May 4, 2016) was a German-born American composer and teacher. Education and influences Mamlok was born as Ursula Meyer in Berlin, Germany, into a Jewish family, and studied piano and composition with Pr ...
, Jane Brockman. Performed by
Bournemouth Sinfonietta The Bournemouth Sinfonietta was a chamber orchestra founded in 1968 as an offshoot of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. It was disbanded in November 1999 after increasing difficulties in obtaining funding from local councils led to the decision ...
, Arioso Chamber Orchestra, Carolann Martin conducting


References


External links


Marga Richter biography
University of Illinois Press
''Women of Influence in Contemporary Music – Nine American Women''
Michael K. Slayton (ed.), Scarecrow Press 2010
"Marga Richter"
Carl Fischer Music Carl Fischer Music is an American sheet music publisher. It was founded in 1872 in the East Village neighborhood of New York City as a musical instrument repair shop. Except for a brief period in the early 1930s, it has always been the family- ...

"Interview with Marga Richter"
July 18, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Richter, Marga 1926 births 20th-century American classical composers American music educators American women music educators American opera composers Juilliard School alumni 2020 deaths People from Reedsburg, Wisconsin American women opera composers American people of German descent 20th-century American women composers 21st-century American women