This program was performed by, Nicole Winter, pianist, Stefan Telser, double bass, and Gregory Wiest, tenor, on October 23, 1999, in the Echtzeithalle im Einstein in; Munich, Germany.
As a way of keeping my nerves under control and as a way of establishing a personal atmosphere, I spoke a few words before each group of songs(except the first one).
It is not my custom to program works of composers who are no longer with us on this earth, but I find the songs which I just sang, witty and I also feel I would have had an intellectual bond with Mr. Korn because we seem to share a common dislike of what people generally expect modern music to sound like.
Arthur Gottschalk is neither related to the German television personality, Thomas Gottschalk nor to Louis Gottschalk, the american composer. He has a respectable position as a professor at Rice University in Texas, but has also written music for commercials, television series, movies and done arrangements for the likes of Chick Corea and Stan Kenton.
A few words about the poets; Jack Kerouac is a representative of the Beat Generation, Malcolm Brodwick is a biophysicist doing research in Galveston, Texas and is a Fellow of the Max Planck Institute, and Walt Whitman is one of America’s great poets, but it might be interesting to note that he occasionally made his living as a journalist and as male nurse.
Jeremy Beck wrote this work for a colleague at the college where he was teaching last year. But since the colleague left for another job before the songs could be performed, they will be heard for the first time this evening.
Jean Toomer is a representative of the Harlem Renaissance of the 20’s and 30’s. These poems reflect his search for his own black identity.
I wanted to sing the following songs as encores, but since I imagine it to be unlikely that so many will be called for, I thought I would put them on the program to make sure, that they will be heard.
Victor Saucedo says that Even has the sound of stage music at the beginning of this century. I think the song is amusing because I would expect the text to be accompanied by country music.
Bach reminds me of my sight-singing classes at the Peabody Conservatory and of all of the intervals I couldn’t hear, way back then. It is a pleasure for me to know that I have learned to sing them in the meantime.
A Thunderstorm in Town brings back unpleasant memories of trying to get that first kiss. Now I can laugh about it.
When I first looked at these songs, I was struck by the texts I was amazed that anyone could write such an open declaration of love. And what amazed me still more, was that this declaration of love was to his wife. I am more capable of writing something like that when I have just fallen love, but am less capable of it in the course of a long relationship.
The music reminded me initially of Gabriel Fauré and his "Poèm d’un Jour". But now that I know that Mr. Wolfson(http://www8.addr.com/~pazzobas/cat/PnBi24.html) makes his living as a copyist and keyboarder on Broadway, I think that Fauré sounds like Broadway.
was born 1922 in Berlin, Germany. He began his musical studies at the Berlin Music Academy and continued them at the Beltane School in London as a student of Rubbra, at the Jerusalem Conservatory with Wolpe, at the University of California at Los Angeles with Schönberg and at the University of Southern California with Eisler and Toch. He studied film music composition with Ròzsa and Dahl. In 1944 Mr. Korn became an American citizen. He taught composition at the Munich Trapp Conservatory, was guest professor at the University of California at Los Angeles and was the director of the Richard Strauss Conservatory from 1967-1987. He was Vice-President of the German Composers Association and was a member of the board of directors of GEMA.
Mr. Korn died in Munich on January 12, 1998.
(http://www.sai-national.org/phil/composers/agottsch.html) was born 1952 in San Diego, California. He studied medicine for two years at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor before switching to music. He then earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition, a Master of Arts in Composition and English Literature and a Doctorate in Composition. In the process he studied with Ross Lee Finney, Leslie Bassett, George Balch Wilson and William Balcom.
Currently he is Professor and Director of the electronic music and computer music labs at Rice University in Texas.
( http://www.beckmusic.org) was born in 1960. He has studied at Yale University, Duke University and the Mannes College of Music and has won awards from the American Composers Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the National Federation of Music Clubs.
Currently, he is Associate Professor of Music at California State University in Fullerton.
was born 1937 in Colton, California.His study of composition began at the University of Southern California, where he got his Bachelors in 1966. At the University of California at Los Angeles he got his Master of Arts in 1968 and his Doctorate in 1972. In addition, he studied computer music at the University of California and Stanford University. Currently he teaches music theory and Mexican music at Southwestern College.
The song, "Even" comes from the song cycle entitled, Kowit Songs.
(www.garth.baxter.org/)was born in 1946. He is better known as a composer for the classical guitar. In 1993, Soundboard Magazine proclaimed him to be one of the leading composers for voice and guitar in the 20th century. He is now a member of the faculty at Western Maryland College.
The song, "A Thunderstorm in Town" comes from the song cycle entitled, "Four Views of Love".
(www8.addr.com/~pazzobas/cat/PnBi24.html)was born in 1964. He studied composition with Eugene O’Brian and John Rinehart at the Cleveland Institute of Music where he earned his Bachelor of Music diploma.
He is a free-lance composer, musical director, arranger, pianist and copyist and has been living in New York City since 1986.