Richard Einhorn (born 1952) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Einhorn graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

from

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 1975, and studied

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 ...

and

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

with

Jack Beeson Jack Hamilton Beeson (July 15, 1921 – June 6, 2010) was an American composer. He was known particularly for his operas, the best known of which are '' Lizzie Borden'', ''Hello Out There!'', and ''The Sweet Bye and Bye''. Early life Born in Munc ...

Vladimir Ussachevsky Vladimir Alexeevich Ussachevsky (November 3, 1911 in Hailar, China – January 2, 1990 in New York, New York) was a Russian-American composer, particularly known for his work in electronic music. Biography Vladimir Ussachevsky was born in ...

, and

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 ...

. His best-known work, '' Voices of Light'' (1994), is an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

scored for soloists, chorus, orchestra, and a bell. It was inspired by

Carl Theodor Dreyer Carl Theodor Dreyer (; 3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968), commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers in history, his movies are noted for emotional austerity ...

's silent film ''

The Passion of Joan of Arc ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'' () is a 1928 French silent historical film based on the actual record of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeanne Falconetti as Joan. It is widely regarde ...

'' (

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

), and it has been performed while the film is screened. He has also composed many horror and thriller film scores, including ''

Shock Waves In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

'' (1977), ''

Don't Go in the House ''Don't Go in the House'' is a 1980 American slasher film written and directed by Joseph Ellison, written by Ellen Hammill and Joe Masefield, and starring Dan Grimaldi. Its plot follows a disturbed man who, after suffering an abusive childhood in ...

'' (1980), '' Eyes of a Stranger'' (1981), '' The Prowler'' (1981), '' Dead of Winter'' (1987), '' Blood Rage'' (1987), '' Sister, Sister'' (1987), and '' Dark Tower'' (1989). He also contributed to the soundtrack of '' Liberty! The American Revolution'' (1997). In his mid-fifties, Einhorn experienced significant hearing loss. In a 2011

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

article, he discussed his use of hearing loops to enjoy concerts with his hearing aid.

Musical works

Concert works

*'' The Origin'' "is a multimedia

in celebration of the life and work of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

".Einhorn's web site
/ref> Libretto compiled from Darwin's writings by Einhorn and the American poet

Catherine Barnett Catherine Barnett is an American poet and educator. She is the author of ''Solutions for the Problem of Bodies in Space'' (Graywolf Press, 2024); ''Human Hours'' (Graywolf Press, 2018), winner of the ''Believer'' Book Award; ''The Game of Boxes'' ...

*'' Voices of Light''

*''Maxwell's Demon'' ##1-4, for electric violin (1988–1990); later adapted for the 1994

Ulysses Dove Ulysses Dove (January 17, 1947 in Columbia, South Carolina – June 11, 1996 in Manhattan) was a choreographer. Dove began his dance training at Boggs Academy in Georgia. Dove gave up his premedical studies at Howard University to transfer t ...

ballet ''Red Angels'' *''A Carnival of Miracles'' for four voices *''The Fourth Manner of Loving'' for

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

*''My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss'' for symphony orchestra and narrator

Film scores

* ''Shock Waves'' (1977, dir.

Ken Wiederhorn Ken Wiederhorn (born 1945) is an American former news and documentary editor at CBS and film director, film and television director, known mainly for the horror films ''Shock Waves (film), Shock Waves'' and ''Return of the Living Dead Part II''. ...

) * ''

'' (1979, dir. Joseph Ellison) * ''Eyes of a Stranger'' (1981, dir.

) * ''The Prowler'' (1981, dir.

Joseph Zito Joseph Zito (born May 14, 1946) is an American film director and producer, best known for directing several cult and genre films throughout the 1980s, such as ''Missing in Action'', '' Invasion U.S.A.'', '' Red Scorpion'', '' The Prowler'', an ...

) * '' Blood Rage'' (1983, dir. John Grissmer) * '' Dead of Winter'' (1987, dir.

Arthur Penn Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, and producer. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, and a Tony Awards, Tony Awa ...

) * '' Sister, Sister'' (1987, dir.

Bill Condon William Condon (born October 22, 1955) is an American director and screenwriter. Condon is known for writing and/or directing numerous successful and acclaimed films including ''Gods and Monsters (film), Gods and Monsters'', ''Chicago (2002 fi ...

) * ''Necessary Parties'' (1988, dir.

Gwen Arner Gwen Arner (born 1936 or 1937) is an American director and actress. She co-founded the Los Angeles Actors' Theatre and directed stage productions there, as well as at the Mark Taper Forum and in the Midwestern United States. She also directed ...

) * '' Dark Tower'' (1989, dir.

Freddie Francis Frederick William Francis (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director whose filmmaking career spanned over 60 years, from the late 1930s until the late 2000s. One of the most celebrated British cinemato ...

) * ''

Closet Land ''Closet Land'' is a 1991 independent film written and directed by Radha Bharadwaj. The film stars Madeleine Stowe as a young author of children's books and Alan Rickman as a sadistic secret policeman who is interrogating her. The film was relea ...

'' (1991, dir. Radha Bharadwaj) – with

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

* ''Darrow'' (1991, dir.

John David Coles John David Coles is an American director and producer. Coles was nominated in 2015 for an Emmy and PGA Award for his work as an executive producer and director on '' House of Cards.' '' He also has directing credits on the Showtime series ''H ...

) * ''

A House in the Hills A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'' (1993, dir.

) * ''Fire-Eater'' (1998, dir.

Pirjo Honkasalo Pirjo Irene Honkasalo (born 22 February 1947) is a Finnish film director who has also worked as a cinematographer, film editor, producer, screenwriter and actress. In 1980 she co-directed '' Flame Top'' with Pekka Lehto, with whom she worked ea ...

)

References

External links

*
The composer's web site
includes biography and discography
Digby's Hullabaloo
where Einhorn blogs under the name Tristero. {{DEFAULTSORT:Einhorn, Richard 1952 births Living people 21st-century American composers Jewish American classical composers 21st-century American male musicians Varèse Sarabande Records artists 21st-century American Jews American film score composers American male film score composers Jewish American film score composers