Steven Stucky

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Steven Stucky (/ˈstʌki/; born November 7, 1949) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra presenting the premiere of Steven Stucky's oratorio, August 4, 1964.

Life and career

Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager, he studied music in the public schools and, privately, viola with Herbert Preston, conducting with Leo Scheer, and composition with Macon Sumerlin. He attended Baylor University and Cornell.^[1]^[2] Stucky's principal composition teachers were Richard Willis, Robert Palmer, and Karel Husa; his principal conducting teacher was Daniel Sternberg.

Stucky has written commissioned works for many of the major American orchestras, including Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. He was long associated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he was resident composer 1988-2009 (the longest such affiliation in American orchestral history); he was host of the New York Philharmonic's Hear & Now series 2005-09; and he was Pittsburgh Symphony Composer of the Year for the 2011-12 season. For Pittsburgh, he composed Silent Spring, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson's epochal book of the same title.^[3] He has also taught at Eastman and Berkeley, the latter as Ernest Bloch Professor in 2003.

A respected expert on the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski and author of the definitive 1981 study Lutoslawski and His Music, he is curator of the Philharmonia Orchestra's 2013 centenary celebration of that composer, titled Woven Words: Music Begins Where Words End.^[4] He is Given Foundation Professor of Composition at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he founded Ensemble X and led it for nine seasons, from 1997 until 2006, while he also was the guiding force behind the celebrated Green Umbrella series in Los Angeles.

Among his many prominent composition students are Alfred Cohen, Joseph Phibbs, Marc Mellits, Robert Paterson, David Conte, Thomas C. Duffy, Yotam Haber James Matheson, Steven Burke, Xi Wang, Spencer Topel, Diego Vega, Fang Man, Anna Weesner, Hannah Lash, Andrew Waggoner, Sean Shepherd, Yotam Haber, Chris Arrell, Jesse Jones, Eric Nathan, and many others. He has taught master classes and served residencies around the world, including the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, Rice University, the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, the Tanglewood Music Center, and many others. He has been Composer-in-Residence at the Aspen Music Festival and School (2000, 2010, 2013).

Current projects

Stucky's current and forthcoming projects include a piano sonata for the Piano Spheres series in Los Angeles, and the opera The Classical Style on a libretto by Jeremy Denk (based on the book by Charles Rosen), for the 2014 Ojai Festival.

Compositions

Orchestral

Kenningar (Symphony No. 4) (1977–78)
Transparent Things: In Memoriam V.N. (1980)
Double Concerto (1982–85, rev. 1989), for violin, oboe/oboe d'amore & chamber orchestra
Voyages (1983–84), for cello & orchestral winds
Dreamwaltzes (1986)
Concerto for Orchestra (1986–87)
Son et Lumière (1988)
Angelus (1989–90)
Anniversary Greeting (1991)
Impromptus (1991)
Funeral Music for Queen Mary (after Purcell) (1992), for orchestral winds
To Whom I Said Farewell (1992, rev. 2003), for mezzo-soprano & chamber orchestra
Fanfare for Los Angeles (1993)
Ancora (1994)
Fanfares and Arias (1994), for orchestral winds
Fanfare for Cincinnati (1994)
Double Flute Concerto (1994), for two flutes & orchestra
Pinturas de Tamayo (1995)
Music for Saxophones and Strings (1996)
Concerto Mediterraneo (1998), for guitar & orchestra
Escondido Fanfare (1998)
Threnos (1998), for orchestral winds
American Muse (1999), for baritone & orchestra
Concerto for Percussion and Wind Orchestra (2001)
Colburn Variations (2002), for string orchestra
Etudes (2002), concerto for recorder & chamber orchestra
Spirit Voices (2002–03), concerto for percussion & orchestra
Second Concerto for Orchestra (2003)
Jeu de timbres (2003)
Hue and Cry (2006), for wind band
Radical Light (2006–07)
Rhapsodies (2008)
Chamber Concerto (2009)
Silent Spring (2011)^[5]
Symphony (2012)

Choral

Spring and Fall: To a Young Child (1972), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
Drop, drop, slow tears (1979), for a cappella S.S.A.A.T.T.B.B. choir
Cradle Songs (1997), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
To Musick (2000), for a cappella men's choir
Skylarks (2001), for a cappella S.A. & S.A.T.B choir
Whispers (2002), for a cappella S.A.T.B. soli & S.A.T.T.B.B. choir
Three New Motets (2005), for a cappella double S.A.T.B. choir
Eyesight (2007), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
August 4, 1964 (2007–08), for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor & baritone soli, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]
The Kingdom of God (In No Strange Land) (2008), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
Gravity’s Dream (2009), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
Say Thou Dost Love Me (2012) for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
Take Him, Earth (2012) for S.A.T.B. choir with chamber orchestra

Chamber

Movements (1970), for four celli
Quartet (1972–73), for clarinet, viola, cello & piano
Movements III.: Seven Sketches (1976), for flute & clarinet
Refrains (1976), for five percussion
Notturno (1981), for alto saxophone & piano
Varianti (1982), for flute, clarinet & piano
Boston Fancies (1985), for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola & cello
Serenade (1990), for wind quintet
Birthday Fanfare (1993), for three trumpets
Salute (1997), for flute, clarinet, horn, trombone, percussion, piano, violin & cello
Ad Parnassum (1998), for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin & cello
Ai due amici (1998), for chamber ensemble
Tres Pinturas (1998), for violin & piano
Nell'ombra, nella luce (1999–2000), for string quartet
Partita-Pastorale after J.S.B. (2000), for clarinet, piano & string quartet
Tamayo Nocturne (2001), for chamber ensemble
Sonate en forme de préludes (2003–04), for oboe, horn & harpsichord
Meditation and Dance (2004), for clarinet & piano
Piano Quartet (2005), for violin, viola, cello & piano
Four Postcards (2008), for wind quintet & marimba
Piano Quintet (2009–10), for two violins, viola, cello & piano
Scherzino (2010), for alto saxophone and piano
Allegretto quasi Andantino (Schubert Dream) (2010), for piano four hands
Rain Shadow (2012), for violin, viola, cello & piano
Sonata for Violin and Piano (2013)

Vocal

Sappho Fragments (1982), for female voice & chamber ensemble
Two Holy Sonnets of Donne (1982), mezzo-soprano, oboe & piano
Four Poems of A.R. Ammons (1992), for baritone & chamber ensemble
To Whom I Said Farewell (1992, rev. 2003), for mezzo-soprano & chamber orchestra
American Muse (1999), for baritone & orchestra
Aus der Jugendzeit (2010–11), for baritone & chamber ensemble
The Stars and the Roses (2013), for tenor & chamber ensemble

Solo instrumental

Three Little Variations for David (2000), for solo piano
Album Leaves (2002), for solo piano
Dialoghi (2006), for solo cello
Dust Devil (2009), for solo marimba
Isabelle Dances (2009–10), for solo marimba

Arrangements of music by other composers

Noctuelles (Miroirs, No.1) (Maurice Ravel, orch. Stucky 2001) (Theodore Presser Co.)
Les Noces (Igor Stravinsky, orch. Stucky 2005), for solo voices, S.A.T.B. and full orchestra (Chester Music)
Bucolics (Witold Lutosławski, arr. Stucky 2006), for 9 instruments (Chester Music)
Eight Songs from the Spanish Songbook (Hugo Wolf, orch. Stucky 2008), for mezzo-soprano & orchestra (Theodore Presser Co.)
Four songs for the Dolce Suono Trio and baritone voice ("Per questa bella mano", "Ruhe sanft" (from Zaide), and "Das Veilchen" by Mozart; "Erlkönig" by Schubert, arr. Stucky 2012) (unpublished)

Awards

1974: ASCAP Victor Herbert Prize for composition
1975: First Prize, American Society of University Composers Competition
1978: Composer Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts
1982: ASCAP Deems Taylor Award (for "Lutoslawski and His Music")
1986: John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship
1989: Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Music (Concerto for Orchestra)
1991: Koussevitzky Music Foundation Commission
1995: Special Commendation, National Association of Composers USA
1997: Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship, Centro Studi Ligure (Italy)
1998: Barlow Endowment Commission
2001: Aaron Copland Fund for American Music recording grant
2002: Goddard Lieberson Fellowship, American Academy of Arts and Letters
2003: Bloch Lecturer, University of California at Berkeley
2005: Pulitzer Prize for Music for Second Concerto for Orchestra
2006: Paul Fromm Composer-in-Residence, American Academy in Rome
2006: Elected a trustee of the American Academy in Rome
2006: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2006: Joined Board of Directors of the Koussevitzky Music Foundation
2007: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters
2008: Elected Chair of the Board of Directors, American Music Center
2011: Elected Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors, New Music USA
2011: Composer of the Year, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, 2011/12 season

References

↑ "State of the Art: A conversation with composer Steven Stucky". Ithaca Times. October 31, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
↑ "Steven Stucky biography". Theodore Presser. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
↑ "Composer Steven Stucky's new piece will honor Rachel Carson's work - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Post-gazette.com. 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
↑ "Concert on 30 January 2013 - Royal Festival Hall, London - Lutoslawski Centenary 2013 | Philharmonia Orchestra". Concert-diary.com. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
↑ "PSO takes hard look at turmoil, both environmental and human". Old.post-gazette.com. 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
↑ "Functions of Quotations in Steven stucky's Oratorio (August 1964) and their Placements within the Context of a Quotation Continuum: Cultural, Commentary, Remembrance and Unity". Web3.unt.edu. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
↑ Daniel J. Wakin. "Two Wars, Two Presidents, One Oratorio". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-24. (login required)
↑ James R. Oesteich. "All The Way Through Fateful Day For L.B.J.". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-24. (login required)
↑ Antony Tommasini. "Strife of ’64 in Somber Tones". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-24. (login required)

External links

v t e Pulitzer Prize for Music (2001–2010)

John Corigliano ('01): Symphony No. 2 Henry Brant ('02): Ice Field John Adams ('03): On the Transmigration of Souls Paul Moravec ('04): Tempest Fantasy Steven Stucky ('05): Second Concerto for Orchestra Yehudi Wyner ('06): Chiavi in Mano Ornette Coleman ('07): Sound Grammar David Lang ('08): The Little Match Girl Passion Steve Reich ('09): Double Sextet Jennifer Higdon ('10): Violin Concerto (Higdon)

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Authority control	VIAF: 91952335 ISNI: 0000 0001 1685 7162 BNF: cb15010055b MusicBrainz: a0d71a68-f335-48f1-afe4-20277107f6d7

Persondata
Name	Stucky, Steven
Alternative names
Short description	American composer
Date of birth	November 7, 1949
Place of birth	Hutchinson, Kansas
Date of death
Place of death

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