Paul Fetler (February 17, 1920 – July 7, 2018; born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania) was 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 ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and was taught composition by

David Van Vactor David Van Vactor (May 8, 1906 – March 24, 1994) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was born in Plymouth, Indiana, and received Bachelor of Music (1928) and Master of Music (1935) degrees from Northwestern University ...

. Following his bachelor's, Fetler earned a master's degrees from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, and then accepted a position at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

where he obtained his doctorate.Naxos Online, “Paul Fetler,” Accessed October 28, 2012, http://www.naxos.com/person/Paul_Felter/86299.htm. In addition to Vactor, Fetler also studied with

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

Quincy Porter William Quincy Porter (February 7, 1897 – November 12, 1966) was an American composer and teacher of european classical music, classical music. Biography Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included H ...

, and

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

, and taught many composers at Minnesota including Eric Stokes, Donald Keats, Marjorie Rusche,

Michael Schelle Michael Schelle (pronounced ''Shelley''; born January 22, 1950, in Philadelphia), is a composer of contemporary concert music. He is also a performer, conductor, author, and teacher. Background Schelle grew up in Bergen County, in northern New ...

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, and Carol Barnett.

Compositional style

Fetler's style is atypical of the well-known composers of the 20th century. Fetler's music, as he has described it, is “the merger of listener and music.” Few recordings of Fetler's music exist, though in 2009, the

Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (A2SO) is an American orchestra based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is one of two symphony orchestras in Southeast Michigan alongside the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1928, the A2SO plays most of its con ...

released an album of Fetler pieces. Works include Fetler's Three Poems by Walt Whitman, Capriccio, and Violin Concerto no. 2. ''Three Poems by Walt Whitman'', scored for orchestra and narrator, is described as “delicate and sometimes languid but essentially reflective and thoughtful.”Bret Johnson, “CD and DVD Reviews,” Tempo 64, (2010): 65-81. The 2nd movement is an exception and is described as “lear in the storm hysteria” by reviewer Bret Johnson. Fetler's 2nd violin concerto focuses on the interaction of the soloist with the orchestra rather than technical virtuosity, allowing for rich harmonies and thoroughly developed ideas. The challenge to the soloist and ensemble is to set an ethereal and mysterious scene. There is a slight similarity to the Samuel Barber Violin Concerto. In addition, Fetler wrote many sacred and secular choral works. Much of Fetler's music focuses on subtlety, richness, and intimacy. Fetler demonstrates a great deal of comfort with orchestration on both small and large scales. The 2nd violin concerto is a demonstration of this as there are many sections featuring few or solo instruments contrasted by sections with full orchestra. Fetler describes his compositional style as “progressive lyricism”. There is little about his style that is avant-garde, especially when compared to composers like

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 Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

. Fetler's music attempts to engage the listener so they become intertwined with the music, as if there is perfect unity between the piece, performers, and the audience. In this way Fetler's music is very intellectual, though overall conservative, and carefully constructed.

Selected works

Choral

Sing Alleluia (SATB) December Stillness (SATB) The following choral works are listed here: http://www.lieder.net/lieder/f/fetler.html. Drum (SATB), Text: Langston Hughes Madman's Song (SATB), Text: Elinor Wylie November Night (SATB), Text: Adelaide Crapsey Now This is The Story (SSA), Text: Dorothy Parker Wild Swans (SATB), Text: Edna St. Vincent Millay All Day I Hear (SATB), Text: James Joyce April (SATB), Text: Sir William Watson

Orchestra

Celebration Three Poems by Walt WhitmanNaxos Online, “Naxos Releases its First Recording Devoted Entirely to the Works of Composer Paul Fetler,” Accessed October 28, 2012, http://www.naxos.com/person/Paul_Felter/86299.htm. Capriccio Violin Concertos Contrasts for Orchestra, Mercury Living Presence LP MG50282 (OOP), Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati, Conductor.. Pastoral Suite: Mvt 1 Moods of the River; Mvt 2 Ancient Mountain Chant; Mvt 3 Song of the Wind. Golden Crest LP CRS 4153 (OOP). Macalester Trio (Dedicated to Joseph Roche, Violinist of the Macalester Trio)

Chamber

Three Impressions (Guitar and Piano) - https://www.amazon.com/Schott-Three-Impressions-Guitar-Piano/dp/B003AGRCT8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353893033&sr=8-1&keywords=paul+fetler+three+impressions

Solo

Guitar: Folia Lyrica (for Thomas Koch) Monologue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKx7cKs5eU0 Organ: "I Bind unto Myself Today" (tune: ST. PATRICK'S BREASTPLATE) found in ''The Parish Organist'' series, Concordia Publishing

Major awards

Guggenheim Award Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

recipient - 1953, 1960The Complete Marquis Who's Who (R) Biographies, "Paul Fetler," LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2012/11/26. *

Society for American Music The Society for American Music (SAM) was founded in 1975 and was first named the Sonneck Society in honor of Oscar George Theodore Sonneck, early Chief of the Music Division in the Library of Congress and pioneer scholar of American music. The S ...

- 1953 * Ford Found Grantee * Certificate of Merit from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Alumni Association - 1975 * NEA Award - 1975, 1977, 1987

External links

*Paul Fetler Violin Concerto, Capriccio, Three Poems by Walt Whitman - https://www.amazon.com/Fetler-Violin-Concerto-Capriccio-Whitman/dp/B002TMLRPE *Paul Fetler Biography (Naxos) - http://www.naxos.com/person/Paul_Felter/86299.htm
Interview with Paul Fetler
June 6, 1987

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fetler, Paul 1920 births 2018 deaths American composers American classical composers American male composers Northwestern University alumni University of Minnesota Duluth alumni Yale University alumni