Muczynski, Robert

Muczynski, Robert, American composer, pianist, and teacher; b. Chicago, March 19, 1929. He received training from Walter Knupfer (piano) and A. Tcherepnin (composition) at De Paul Univ. (B.M., 1950; M.M., 1952), playing his own Divertimento for Piano and Orch. at his graduation, and pursued further training with Tcherepnin in Nice (summer, 1961). In 1958 he made his N.Y. recital debut, and in subsequent years continued to be active as a pianist. He taught at De Paul Univ. (1955–58) and served as chairman of the piano dept. at Loras Coll. in Dubuque, Iowa (1956–59). In 1964–65 he was a visiting lecturer at Roosevelt Univ. in Chicago. He was a prof, and head of the composition dept. at the Univ. of Ariz, in Tucson from 1965 until 1988, when he became prof, emeritus. His Alto Saxophone Concerto was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1982. The composer’s own performances of his solo piano music appeared on CD in 2000. Muczynski is a particularly fine composer of chamber music and piano pieces, whose output reflects the influence of Bartók and Barber, among others.

Works

orch.:Divertimento for Piano and Orch. (1951–52); Sym. No. 1 (1953); Piano Concerto (1954; Louisville, Jan. 12,1955); Galena: A Town, suite (1957–58); Dovetail Overture (Oakland, Calif., March 13, 1960); Dance Movements for Chamber Orch. (1962–63); Symphonic Dialogues (Washington, D.C., Oct. 31, 1965); Charade (1970–74); A Serenade for Summer for Chamber Orch. (1976; Tucson, Sept. 15, 1978); Symphonic Memoir (1978; Tucson, Jan. 11, 1979); Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Orch. (Kalamazoo, Mich., Oct. 31,1981). chamber:Allegro deciso for Brass Sextet and Timpani (1952); Fragments for Woodwind Trio (1958); Trumpet Trio (1959); 3 Designs for 3 Timpani (1960); Flute Sonata (1960–61); Movements for Wind Quintet (1962); 3 piano trios (1966–67; 1975; 1986–87); Gallery, suite for Cello (1966); Cello Sonata (1968); Fantasy Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano (1969); Voyage, 7 pieces for Trumpet, Horn, and Trombone (1969); Alto Saxophone Sonata (1970); Trio for Violin, Viola, and Cello (1971–72); Time Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (1983); Wind Quintet (1985); also numerous piano pieces, including 3 sonatas (1957, 1966, 1974). vocal:Alleluia for Chorus (1961);I Never Saw a Moor for Chorus (1967).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire