Bauer, ROSS

Bauer, ROSS, noteworthy American composer and teacher; b. Ithaca, N.Y., Nov. 19, 1951. He studied at the New England Cons, of Music (B.M., 1976) and with Martin Boykan, Seymour Shifrin, and Arthur Berger at Brandéis Univ. (Ph.D., 1984); also had additional composition training with Berio at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood (summer, 1982). He was a lecturer and leader of the Brandéis Jazz Ensemble at Brandéis Univ. (1985–86), and a founding member of the Griffin Music Ensemble (1985–94). He was a lecturer at Stanford Univ. (1986–88) and director of its new music ensemble, Alea IL From 1990 to 1994 he was an assoc. prof. at the Univ. of Calif, at Davis, where he became a prof. in 1994; he also founded and directs its Empyrean Ensemble. Among his numerous honors are the Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy and Inst. of Arts and Letters (1984) and a composer’s fellowship from the NEA (1986). He also received commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation (1991) and Serge Koussevitzky Foundation (1994), and in 1997 won the Speculum Musicae International Composers’ Competition. In 1988 he held a Guggenheim fellowship, and in 1989 he won the League-ISCM National Composer’s Competition for his Chimera for Nine Players (1987). Bauer describes his music as coming directly out of the tradition as exemplified by the first and second Viennese schools and their descendants in America. His works are freely chromatic, often motorie and sometimes evoke his substantial interest and background in jazz.

Works

ORCH.:

Concertino for Chamber Orch. (1983); Sospeso for Strings (1987); Neon (1988); Piano Concerto (1990); Halcyon Birds for Chamber Orch. (1993); Romanza for Violin and Orch. (1996); Icons, bassoon concerto (1997). CHAMBER: Trio for Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, Cello and Piano (1980); 3 string quartets (1981, 1987, 2000); Hang Time for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1984); Along the Way for 10 Players (1985); Deja Vu for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1986); Evanescent Heterophony for Cello and Piano (1986); Chimera for 9 Players (1987); Fast Gar Nichts... for String Trio (1988); Chin Music for Viola and Piano (1989); Anaphora for Flute, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano (1991); Tributaries for Cello, Percussion, and Piano (1992); Aplomb for Violin and Piano (1993); Octet for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, and Bass (1994); Stone Soup for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1995); Motion for Piano Trio (1998); Pulse for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano (1999); Etudes for Violin (1999). Piano: Tonarten (1982); Birthday Bagatelles (1993). VOCAL: Four Honig Songs for Soprano and Piano (1989); Oda al Olor de la Lena for Baritone, Alto Flute, Cello, and Percussion, after Neruda (1991); Ritual Fragments for Soprano, Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Percussion, and Piano, after Native American texts (1995); Eskimo Songs for Mezzo- soprano, Flute, Cello, and Piano (1996).

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire