Picker, Tobias
Picker, Tobias
Picker, Tobias, American composer; b. N.Y., July 18,1954. He was a student of Wuorinen at the Manhattan School of Music (B.M., 1976) and of Carter at the Juilliard School (M.M., 1978) in N.Y. From 1985 to 1987 he served as composer-in-residence of the Houston Sym. Orch. In addition to various awards and commissions, he held a Guggenheim fellowship in 1981. In his music, Picker has generally used serial techniques without abandoning tonality.
Works
orch.: 3 piano concertos: No. 1 (1980; Manchester, N.H., Jan. 16, 1981), No. 2, Keys to the City, for the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge (1982–83; Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn, N.Y., May 24, 1983), and No. 3 (1986; Honolulu, Jan. 10, 1988); Violin Concerto (1981; N.Y., Feb. 1, 1982); 3 syms.: No. 1 (1982; San Francisco, April 23, 1983), No. 2, Aussöhnung, for Soprano and Orch. (Houston, Oct. 25,1986), and No. 3 for Strings (1989); Encantadas for Narrator and Orch. (1983); Dedication Anthem for Band (1984); Old and Lost Rivers (1986; also for Piano); Romances and Interludes, after Schumann, for Oboe and Orch. (1990); 2 Fantasies (1991); Séance (1991); Bang! for Piano and Orch. for the opening of the 150th anniversary season of the N.Y. Phil. (N.Y., Sept. 24, 1992); Viola Concerto (1992–94). chamber: 4 sextets for Various Instruments (1973; 1973; 1977; The Blue Hula, 1981); Rhapsody for Violin and Piano (1979); Nova for Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass (1979); Serenade for Piano and Wind Quintet (1983); String Quartet No. 1, New Memories (1986–87); Piano Quintet (N.Y., May 6, 1988); Violin Sonata, Invisible Lilacs (1992; N.Y., Jan. 8, 1993). Piano: Piano-o-rama for 2 Pianos (1984); Old and Lost Rivers (1986; also for Orch.).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire