Moevs, Robert W(alter)
Moevs, Robert W(alter)
Moevs, Robert W(alter), American composer and teacher; b. La Crosse, Wise, Dec. 2, 1920. He studied with Piston at Harvard Coll. (A.B., 1942), with Boulanger at the Paris Cons. (1947–51), and at Harvard Univ. (A.M., 1952). From 1952 to 1955 he was a Rome Prize Fellow in music at the American Academy in Rome; he held a Guggenheim fellowship (1963–64). He taught at Harvard Univ. (1955–63); was composer-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome (1960–61). In 1964 he joined the faculty of Rutgers Univ. in N.J., where he was a prof. (1968–91) and chairman of the music dept. at its New Brunswick campus (1974–81). In addition to his activities as a composer and teacher, he made appearances as a pianist, often in performances of his own works. In 1978 he was awarded the Stock-hausen International Prize for his Concerto Grosso for Piano, Percussion, and Orch. As a composer, he developed a compositional method based on intervallic control as opposed to specific pitch sequence that he described as systematic chromaticism.
Works
orch.:Passacaglia (1941); Introduction and Fugue (1949); Overture (1950); 14 Variations (1952); 3 Symphonic Pieces (1954–55; Cleveland, April 10, 1958); Concerto Grosso for Piano, Percussion, and Orch. (1960; 2nd version with Amplified Instruments, 1968); In Festivitate for Wind Instruments and Percussion (Dartmouth, N.H., Nov. 8, 1962); Main-Travelled Roads, Symphonic Piece No. 4 (1973); Prometheus: Music for Small Orchestra, I (1980); Pandora: Music for Small Orchestra, II (1986). chamber:Spring for 4 Violins and Trumpets (1950); 3 string quartets: No. 1 (1957; Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 17, 1960), No. 2 (1989), and No. 3 (1994–95); Variazioni sopra una Melodia for Viola and Cello (1961); Musica da camera I (1965), II (1972), and III (1992) for Chamber Ensemble; Fanfare canonica for 6 Trumpets (1966); Paths and Ways for Saxophone and Dancer (1970); Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano (1980); Dark Litany for Wind Ensemble (1987); Woodwind Quintet (1988); Echo for Guitar (1992); Conundrum for 5 Percussionists (1993); solo pieces; various keyboard works. VOCAL: Cantata sacra for Baritone, Men’s Chorus, Flute, 4 Trombones, and Timpani (1952); Attis for Tenor, Chorus, Percussion, and Orch. (1958–59; 1963); Et Nunc, reges for Women’s Chorus, Flute, Clarinet, and Bass Clarinet (1963); Ode to an Olympic Hero for Voice and Orch. (1963); Et Occidentem Illustra for Chorus and Orch. (1964); A Brief Mass for Chorus, Organ, Vibraphone, Guitar, and Double Bass (1968); The Aulos Player for Soprano, 2 Choruses, and 2 Organs (1975); choruses; songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire