Michael Eric Robinson (born March 11, 1956) is an American composer associated with both

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...

and computer music. His work is influenced by jazz,

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

and European musical traditions.

Life

Born in New York, New York, in 1956, Robinson was raised in Long Island, NY, earning the

Louis Armstrong award The Louis Armstrong Award, or sometimes the King Bee Award, is the "top senior jazz award" or highest level interscholastic award given to students at high schools in the United States. It is given in recognition of "outstanding musical achievement ...

in 1974. Robinson studied at

SUNY Potsdam The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or, colloquially, Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam, New York. It is the northernmost member of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1816, it is among the ...

(with a BM in Composition from the

Crane School of Music The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. Crane consists of approximately 630 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and a faculty o ...

) followed by graduate study at CalArts. Private studies included jazz improvisation with

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

Paul Jeffrey Paul Jeffrey (April 8, 1933 – March 20, 2015) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and educator. He was a member of Thelonious Monk's regular group from 1970–1975, and also worked extensively with other musicians such as Charles ...

, Ken McIntyre and Indian classical music with

Harihar Rao Harihar Rao (January 21, 1927 – January 13, 2013) was an Indian-born American musician, noted for playing tabla and sitar. He was born into a prominent musical family in Mangalore, India. He moved to the United States in 1964, residing in Pasa ...

and Pandit Jasraj - as well as composition studies with

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

, Morton Feldman,

David Lewin David Benjamin Lewin (July 2, 1933 – May 5, 2003) was an American music theorist, music critic and composer. Called "the most original and far-ranging theorist of his generation", he did his most influential theoretical work on the development of ...

, Charles Dodge and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

. Additional education included summer programs at Tanglewood with Leonard Altman, Gunther Schuller, Jacob Druckman, John Chowning,

Ralph Shapey Ralph Shapey (12 March 1921 – 13 June 2002) was an American composer and conductor. Biography Shapey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is known for his work as a composition professor at the University of Chicago, where he taught ...

and

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

. As a composer and musicologist, Robinson has been a lecturer at UCLA, Bard College,

California State University at Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

and

California State University at Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

. His recordings are in the music library collections of New York University, Princeton University, and the University of California at Los Angeles. A comprehensive collection of Robinson’s scores are used for study and teaching purposes at New York University.

Composition style and process

Robinson's work has been described by Titus Levi as a musical rendering of

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

. In ''

Keyboard Magazine ''Keyboard'' is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer-based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, inc ...

'' he explains in his 1991 Discoveries article featuring Robinson: "Robinson’s sense of timing, phrasing, form, and flow guide listeners toward his alternative vision. His music has the clarity and ingenuousness of Chinese brush painting, some of the hard geometric edginess of Kandinsky, and a detached, ethereal, and abstract quality that nonetheless seems bound to the tight forms found in some

abstract Expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

paintings." Christina V. Godbey of '' The Los Angeles Times'' (May 30, 1992) wrote of Robinson’s process: “Michael Robinson is a composer of the modern age...Since 1985, he has written compositions exclusively for the computer, and it has produced some rather unusual sounds. Robinson composes music with traditional notations on paper before it is translated and encoded into the computer.” Amanda MacBlane describes Michael Robinson's style and process in her August 2002 '' NewMusicBox'' article: "Making use of alternative tunings and blending tradition with technology, Robinson is able to transcend cultural and spiritual boundaries." Robinson has composed over 400 works and has released over 100 albums. His musical style is informed by American, South Asian, and European traditions. "...his production methodology is also unique: although the performance of a typical Robinson piece sounds as if spontaneous improvisation is involved, his compositions are, amazingly, entirely programmed using the Meruvina and thus fully notated.”

Piano improvisations

Known for his electronic works on the Meruvina, Michael Robinson is also an accomplished pianist, releasing three solo piano albums in 2021. As published in All About Jazz, Hrayr Attarian describes his piano recordings as: "A mix of originals and radically reimagined standards..."

Selected discography

* ''Green Garnets'' (Azure Miles Records) 2022 * ''Jetavana'' (Azure Miles Records) 2022 * ''Gregorian Winter'' (Azure Miles Records) 2022 * ''Joy Unknown'' (Azure Miles Records) 2022 * ''Another World'' (Azure Miles Records) 2022 * ''In My Tree'' (Azure Miles Records) 2022 * ''A Parrot Sipping Tea'' (Azure Miles Records) 2021 * ''Taffeta Patterns'' (Azure Miles Records) 2021 * ''Lotus-Pollen'' (Azure Miles Records) 2020 * ''The Waters' Child'' (Azure Miles Records) 2020 * ''Queen Of Space'' (Azure Miles Records) 2020 * ''Spirit Lady'' (Azure Miles Records) 2019 * ''Dazzling Darkness'' (Azure Miles Records) 2019 * ''Tunis Phantom'' (Azure Miles Records) 2019 * ''Nectar-Spells'' (Azure Miles Records) 2018 * ''Mango-Bird'' (Azure Miles Records) 2018 * ''Viridian Seas'' (Azure Miles Records) 2017 * ''Lilac Dawn'' (Azure Miles Records) 2017 * ''Celestial Crocodile & Honu Morning'' (Azure Miles Records) 2016 * ''Hummingbird Canyon'' (Azure Miles Records) 2014 * ''Lucknow Shimmer'' (Azure Miles Records) 2013 * ''Nightmarchers'' (Azure Miles Records) 2012 * ''Emerald Anklets'' (Azure Miles Records) 2012 * ''Amethyst Labyrinth'' (Azure Miles Records) 2011 * ''Peridot Pond'' (Azure Miles Records) 2011 * ''Summer Morning'' (Azure Miles Records) 2010 * ''Bhairava'' (Azure Miles Records) 2010 * ''Todi'' (Azure Miles Records) 2009 * ''Natabhairavi'' (Azure Miles Records) 2007 * ''Dhani'' (Azure Miles Records) 2003 * ''Mian Ki Malhar'' (Azure Miles Records) 2002 * ''Puriya Dhanashri'' (Azure Miles Records) 2002 * ''Bhimpalasi'' (Azure Miles Records) 2001 * ''Kaunsi Kanada'' (Azure Miles Records) 2000 * ''Sagarmatha'' (Azure Miles Records) 1998 * ''The Listening Earth'' (Azure Miles Records) 1998 * ''Chinese Legend'' (Azure Miles Records) 1997 * ''Rainbow Thunder'' (Azure Miles Records) 1996 * ''Hamoa'' (Azure Miles Records) 1995 * ''Fire Monkey'' (Azure Miles Records) 1994 * ''Robinson Gardens'' (Azure Miles Records) 1994 * ''Sea of France'' (Azure Miles Records) 1991 * ''Trembling Flowers'' (Azure Miles Records) 1991

References

External links