Harbison, John (Harris)
Harbison, John (Harris)
Harbison, John (Harris), esteemed American composer, conductor, and teacher; b. Orange, N.J., Dec. 20, 1938. He studied violin, viola, piano, tuba, and voice while attending Princeton (N.J.) H.S. During this time, he also profited from advice from Sessions and developed a facility as a jazz pianist. At 16, he won an award in a BMI composition contest. He pursued his education with Piston at Harvard Univ. (B.A., 1960), Blacher at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1961), and Sessions and Kim at Princeton Univ. (M.F.A., 1963). He also attended the conducting courses of Carvalho at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood and of Dean Dixon in Salzburg. In 1968-69 he was composer-in-residence at Reed Coll. in Portland, Ore. In 1969 he joined the faculty of the Mass. Inst. of Technology. He also conducted the Cantata Singers and Ensemble (1969-73; 1980-82), and then the new music group Collage (from 1984). He was composer-in-residence of the Pittsburgh Sym. Orch. (1982–84) and of the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (summer, 1984). After serving as new music advisor of the Los Angeles Phil. (1985–86), he was its composer-in-residence (1986–88). In 1992 he returned to Tanglewood as composer-in-residence, and also served as director of its contemporary music festival. In 1978 he received a Guggenheim fellowship. In 1980 he won the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award for his Piano Concerto. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1986 for his sacred ricercar The Flight Into Egypt. In 1989 he received a Mac Arthur fellowship. In 1992 he was elected to membership in the American Academy and Inst. of Arts and Letters. Harbison’s works are distinguished by their outstanding craftsmanship, rhythmic intensity, and lyricism. His experience as a conductor has made him a master of orchestral resources. He has also demonstrated a rare sensitivity in setting vocal texts.
Works
dramatic:The Merchant of Venice, incidental music to Shakespeare’s play (1971; Francestown, N.H., Aug. 12, 1973); Winter’s Tale, opera (1974; San Francisco, Aug. 20, 1979; rev. 1991); Full Moon in March, opera (1977; Cambridge, Mass., April 30, 1979); Ulysses, ballet (1983); The Great Gatsby, opera after F Scott Fitzgerald (N.Y., Dec. 20, 1999). ORCH.: Sinfonia for Violin and Double Orch. (1963; Cambridge, Mass., March 10, 1964); Diotima (1976; Boston, March 10, 1977); Descant-Nocturne (1976; N.H. Festival, July 14, 1980); Piano Concerto (1978; N.Y., May 12, 1980); Violin Concerto (1980; Boston, Jan. 24, 1981; rev. 1987); 3 syms.: No. 1 (1981; Boston, March 22, 1984), No. 2 (San Francisco, May 13, 1987), and No. 3 (1990; Baltimore, Feb. 28, 1991); Ulysses’Bow (1983; Pittsburgh, May 11, 1984); Ulysses’Raft (1983; New Haven, March 6, 1984); Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet, and Strings (Sarasota, Fla., June 14, 1985); Remembering Gatsby: Foxtrot (1985; Atlanta, Sept. 11, 1986); Music for 18 Winds (Cambridge, Mass., April 18, 1986, composer conducting); Fanfare for Foley’s (Houston, Oct. 11, 1986); Concerto for Double Brass Choir and Orch. (1988; Los Angeles, April 26, 1990); Viola Concerto (1989; Bridgewater, N.J., May 18, 1990); David’s Fascinating Rhythm Method (1990; Baltimore, Feb. 14, 1991); Oboe Concerto (1991; San Francisco, Dec. 3, 1992); 3 City Blocks (1992; Fort Smith, Ark., Aug. 2, 1993); The Most Often Used Chords: Gli accordi più usati for Chamber Orch. (Los Angeles, Oct. 22, 1993); Cello Concerto (1993; Boston, April 7, 1994); I, II, III, IV, V: Fantasia on a Ground (Weston, Mass., April 3, 1993); Flute Concerto (1994; N.Y., Oct. 29, 1995). CHAMBER: Duo for Flute and Piano (N.Y., Aug. 20, 1961); Sonata for Solo Viola (1961); Confinement for Chamber Ensemble (1965; N.Y, Feb. 1967); 4 Preludes for 3 Oboes or for Flute, Clarinet, Violin or Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet (1967; Cambridge, Mass., April 1969); Serenade for Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1968; Portland, Ore., May 1969); Piano Trio (Cambridge, Mass., April 1969); Bermuda Triangle for Amplified Cello, Tenor Saxophone, and Electric Organ (1970; N.Y., April 1973); Die Kürze for Flute, Clarinet, Piano, Violin, and Cello (N.Y., Feb. 1970); Amazing Grace for Oboe (1972; N.Y, Jan. 1973); Snow Country for Oboe and String Quintet (1979; Boston, March 1981); Wind Quintet (Boston, April 15, 1979); Organumfor Paul Fromm for Glockenspiel, Marimba, Vibraphone, Harp, and Piano (1981; Chicago, Jan. 1982); Piano Quintet (Santa Fe, Aug. 7, 1981); Variations for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (Sante Fe, July 23, 1982); Exequiem for Calvin Simmons for Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Vibraphone, Piano, 2 Violas, and Cello (1982; Williamstown, Mass., Feb. 15, 1983); Overture: Michael Kohlhaas for Brass Ensemble (Madison, Wise, Nov. 1982); 3 string quartets: No. 1 (Washington, D.C., Oct. 11, 1985), No. 2 (Boston, Nov. 20, 1987), and No. 3 (1993; Waltham, Mass., April 30, 1994); Twilight Music for Horn, Violin, and Piano (N.Y., March 22, 1985); 4 Songs of Solitude for Violin (Cambridge, Mass., Dec. 11, 1985); Magnum Mysterium for Brass Quintet (Rochester, N.Y, Dec. 21, 1987); 2 Chorale Preludes for Advent for Brass Quintet (1987; Rochester, N.Y, Dec. 24, 1989); Fantasy Duo for Violin and Piano (Washington, D.C., Dec. 2, 1988); November 19, 1828 for Piano Quartet (1988; Atlanta, Nov. 30, 1989); Little Fantasy on the 12 Days of Christmas for Brass Quintet (1988; Rochester, N.Y, Dec. 24, 1989); Nocturne for Brass Quintet (N.Y, Dec. 1, 1989); Fanfares and Reflection for 2 Violins (1990; N.Y, March 26, 1992); Variations (in first position) for String Quartet (1992; Weston, Mass., April 3, 1993); 14 Fabled Folksongs for Violin and Marimba (1992); Inventions for a Young Percussionist (1992; Weston, Mass., April 3, 1993); Suite for Cello (1993). piano:Parody Fantasia (1968; N.Y, Jan. 1973); Sonata: In Memoriam Roger Sessions (1987; Amherst, Mass., July 15, 1988); 3 Occasional Pieces (1978; Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 3, 1987, composer pianist); 4 More Occasional Pieces (1987-90; Boston, Nov. 17, 1991); Inventions for a Young Pianist (1992; Weston, Mass., April 3, 1993). VOCAL: He Shall Not Cry for Women’s Chorus and Organ (1959; Princeton, N.J., Dec. 18, 1962); Ave Maria for Women’s Chorus (1959; Boston, May 1960); Autumnal for Mezzo-soprano and Piano (1965); Shakespeare Series, sonnets for Mezzo-soprano and Piano (1965); Music When Soft Voices Die for Chorus and Harpsichord or Organ (1966); 5 Songs of Experience on Poems of William Blake for Chorus, 2 Percussion, 2 Violins, Viola, and Cello (1971; Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 28, 1973, composer conducting); Elegiac Songs for Mezzo-soprano and Chamber Orch. (1974; N.Y, Jan. 12, 1975); Book of Hours and Seasons for Mezzo-soprano or Tenor, Flute, Cello, and Piano (1975; Cambridge, Mass., March 1976); Moments of Vision for Soprano, Tenor, and Renaissance Consort (1975; Amherst, Mass., Feb. 12, 1988); 3 Harp Songs for Tenor and Harp (1975; Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 18, 1976); Nunc Dimittis for Men’s Chorus (1975; Cambridge, Mass., Dec. 12, 1981); The Flower-Fed Buffaloes for Baritone, Chorus, and 7 Instrumentalists (1976; Boston, Feb. 27, 1978); Samuel Chapter for Soprano or Tenor and 6 Instrumentalists (Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 7, 1978, composer conducting); Motetti di Montale for Soprano and Piano (1980; Sante Fe, Aug. 4, 1981); Mirabai Songs for Soprano and Piano (1982; Boston, Nov. 15, 1983; also for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble, Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 1, 1984); The Flight into Egypt, sacred ricercar for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch. (Boston, Nov. 21, 1986); The Natural World for Soprano or Mezzo-soprano and 5 Instrumentalists (1987; Los Angeles, Nov. 13, 1989, composer conducting); Rot und Weiss for Voice and 4 Instrumentalists (1987; Los Angeles, Feb. 1, 1988); Christmas Vespers for Reader and Brass Quintet (1988; Rochester, N.Y, Dec. 24, 1989); The 3 Wise Men for Reader and Brass Quintet (1988; Rochester, N.Y, Dec. 24, 1989); Im Spiegel for Voice, Violin, and Piano (Los Angeles, Nov. 7, 1988); Simple Daylight for Soprano and Piano (1988; San Francisco, May 22, 1990); Words from Paterson for Baritone and Chamber Ensemble (1989; Washington, D.C., May 9, 1990); 2 Emmanuel Motets for Chorus (Boston, Dec. 17, 1990); Ave Verum Corpus for Chorus (1990; Boston, Jan. 3, 1991; also for Chorus and String Orch., Ojai, Calif., June 2, 1991, composer conducting); O Magnum Mysterium for Chorus (1991; Weston, Mass., April 3, 1993; expanded setting, Boston, Dec. 13, 1992); Between 2 Worlds for Soprano, 2 Pianos, and 2 Cellos (Chicago, July 27, 1991); The Flute of Interior Time for Baritone and Piano (1991; Berlin, Jan. 11, 1992); The Rewaking for Soprano and String Quartet (Pittsburgh, Oct. 14, 1991); Communion Words for Chorus (1993; Boston, Jan. 16, 1994); Concerning Them Which Are Asleep for Chorus (Boston, April 17, 1994); 4 Psalms for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (Chicago, April 22, 1999).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire