Jennifer elaine higdon born december 31, 1962 is an american composer of classical music. Higdon says she composed the first movement last, and the central movement of five, like bartoks concerto for orchestra. Music theory, composition, and musicology jennifer higdon b. Although she did not begin writing her own music until age twentyone, higdon has since achieved unparalleled success as one of. Concerts of friday, september 20, and saturday, september. The viola concerto 2014 and the oboe concerto 2005 are highly accessible showpieces that offer studies in.
Higdons concerto for orchestra was premiered by the philadelphia orchestra on june 12, 2002. Higdon enjoys several hundred performances a year of her works, and blue cathedral has. Digital booklet when i was 16 years old, composer jennifer higdon was my imaginative, inspiring professor of twentiethcentury music history at the. Jennifer higdon composed the concerto for roberto diaz, the works dedicatee for a biography of mr. The twotime grammy winning violinist releases the worldpremiere recording of jennifer higdon s 2010 pulitzer prize winning concerto, paired with the popular tchaikovsky concerto. The shadow of stravinsky and copland lurk behind city scape, higdons work written under commission for the artists heard here, robert spano and the atlanta symphony orchestra, and premiered on november 14, 2002. Few recent symphonic works have received as much favorable attention as jennifer higdons 2002 concerto for orchestra. He taught at colgate university since 2011 and is currently on faculty at michigan state university college of music. Violin concerto score on reserve in library recording 2008 gabriela lena frank.
Higdon received the 2010 pulitzer prize in music for her violin concerto, with the committee citing higdons work as a deeply engaging. J ennifer higdons twoyearold concerto for orchestra was given its british premiere by leonard slatkin and the bbc symphony concert at the barbican a few. Higdon s work will be number 20 and will be thematically connected to her awardwinning opera, cold mountain. She is the recipient of both a pulitzer prize for her violin concerto and a grammy award for her percussion concerto. This is the middle movement of higdons larger work, flute poetic. This commission was made possible with the generous support of the ldi, ltd. The first performance of the concerto for orchestra took place at verizon hall in philadelphia, pennsylvania, on june 12, 2002, with wolfgang sawallisch conducting the philadelphia orchestra. This concert pairs philadelphias own jennifer higdon. Herrmann psycho new york premierescore performed live to. Jahrhunderts am curtis institute of music in philadelphia. Rpo and ward stares recording up for two grammys rochester city newspaper 11202019 the rochester philharmonic orchestra and music director ward stares recording of composer jennifer higdons harp concerto, featuring the classical harpist yolanda kondonassis, has been nominated for two grammys. Cd, commissioned by the curtis institute of music in. Philadelphia orchestra concerts are broadcast on wrti.
However her violin concerto goes beyond this as she evolves a transcendental tonality that challenges but doesnt bewilder the attentive listener. Brooklyn, ny, december 31, 1962 is active completing commissions from a wide range of performers. When i was 16 years old, composer jennifer higdon was my imaginative, inspiring professor of twentiethcentury music history at the curtis institute of music in philadelphia. The citation from the pulitzer committee cited jennifer s work as a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity. William schuman 191092 new england triptych after the music of william billings be glad then, america when jesus wept chester lieutenant colonel jason k. Concerts of friday, september 20, and saturday, september 21. She was also on her way to becoming one of the mostperformed composers in america. Marine chamber orchestra saturday, june 22, 2019 at.
June hechinger commissioning fund for new orchestra works. Leading american composer jennifer higdon has achieved an impressive body of work in the concerto repertoire and in her orchestral music, where she demonstrates a strong preference for longbreathed melodies and nuanced orchestration. Jennifer higdon s concerto for violin and orchestra was written in 2008. The concerto for orchestra, written for the philadelphia orchestra, is structured after bela bartoks work of the same name. Jennifer higdon bio, albums, pictures naxos classical music. Jennifer higdon b 1962 pulitzer prize winner jennifer higdon is one of americas most performed living composers. She has been a professor of composition at the curtis institute of music since 1994. To jennifer higdon, i am highly indebted for the generous sharing of her time, and interest. United states marine band sunday, february 26, 2017 at. Shine, city scape, concerto for orchestra, and blue cathedral to provide a contextual. Commissioned by the indianapolis symphony, toronto symphony, baltimore symphony and the curtis institute of music.
Apr 29, 2004 j ennifer higdons twoyearold concerto for orchestra was given its british premiere by leonard slatkin and the bbc symphony concert at the barbican a few weeks ago. He has been a conductor of the world youth symphony orchestra at interlochen arts camp since 2003. It is reminiscent of william schuman with a dash of messiaen added for color. Jennifer higdon according to the league of american orchestras, jennifer higdon b. Write a concerto for orchestra and youre going to have the ghosts of bartok and lutoslawski looking over your shoulders not necessarily an enviable position for american composer jennifer higdon, who was born in 1962, and who studied, among other places, at the curtis institute in philadelphia. For me the music is hard to categorize as who it sounds like. Published research on the wind band music of jennifer higdon is minimal. May 14, 2014 higdon has recently completed three new concertos. Mar 08, 2015 the curtis chamber orchestra dished out a big program for its appearance at the library of congress on saturday, but the main event and what packed the house was the world premiere of jennifer. Other academic sources, aside from the score and recordings, include inclusion in.
Commissioned by the philadelphia orchestra and extremely well received at its premiere by that body under wolfgang sawallisch, it was quickly picked up. The citation from the pulitzer committee cited jennifers work as a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity. Hilary hahn was born in lexington, virginia, usa, and moved to. This commission was made possible with support from the philadelphia music project an artistic initiative of the pew charitable trusts, administered by the university of the arts, and by a generous gift from ldi, ltd. This commission was made possible with support from the philadelphia music project. Oboe concerto composer jennifer higdon grew up in east tennessee, graduating from heritage high school in maryville. Rothschild fund, as well as the commissioning orchestras. The work was commissioned by the philadelphia orchestra with contributions from the national endowment for the arts, the philadelphia music project, and peter benoliel. Premiered by the curtis symphony orchestra, robert spano, conducting, at the academy. Comprehensive analysis of movement one of jennifer higdons violin concerto by brittany j.
Each section is featured and there are quite a few solo opportunities. Higdon received the 2010 pulitzer prize in music for her violin concerto, with the committee citing higdons work as a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity. Jennifer higdon has been listed among composers writing in the socalled neoromantic style. The work was jointly commissioned by the indianapolis symphony orchestra, the toronto symphony orchestra, the baltimore symphony orchestra, and the curtis institute of music. It was premiered at the kimmel center for the performing arts in philadelphia june 12, 2002, with conductor. Indeed, it begins with a clang, and sets out at a furious pace, and the whole orchestra gets a workout. Higdon blue cathedral theodore front musical literature. This sounds like a fantastic collaboration between performers and composer. Concerto 43 was commissioned as part of a national series of works from meet the composers commissioning. I think that jennifer higdon has her own voice and this is reflected in the works recorded here, a grammy nominee. The premiere was given by the national symphony orchestra, giancarlo guerrero, conducting. Lutoslawski concerto for orchestra by scoresondemand. Higdon has been commissioned by the apollo string quartet to write a quartet as part of their 20x2020 commissioning project, a bold initiative to commission 20 new works by the end of 2020.
Jennifer higdons concerto for violin and orchestra was written in 2008. Program note by jennifer higdon ara sarkissian is the interim conductor of the interlochen arts academy orchestra, and is instructor of violin for interlochen arts academy and camp. Commissioned by the philadelphia orchestra and extremely well received at its premiere by that body under wolfgang sawallisch, it was quickly picked up by other conductors. Jennifer higdon to the point, for orchestra classical. Listening to jennifer higdons violin concerto dick strawser. The curtis chamber orchestra dished out a big program for its appearance at the library of congress on saturday, but the main event and what. Bound to the bow score and recording available via composer. The concert begins and ends in russia, with music that is rich. Indianapolis symphony orchestra 2nd violin, roger roe iso acting principal. Roberto diaz was the soloist in the concertos march 7, 2015 premiere, which took place at the coolidge auditorium of the library of congress in washington, dc. Concerto for orchestra composed in 2001 jennifer higdon born in brooklyn, new york, december 31, 1962 now living in philadelphia when jennifer higdon, a philadelphiabased composer who teaches at the curtis institute of music, was commissioned to write a work for the philadelphia orchestras centennial celebrations, the inspiration for her.
Solo part and piano reduction can be purchased separately. Jennifer higdon premieres concerto on a wire philadelphia inquirer 06082010. Which actually sounds like it could be a title of one of jennifer higdons works but it was my initial reaction to hearing her violin concerto when it was first broadcast online from the bbc with the performance by the royal liverpool philharmonic. When jennifer higdons percussion concerto was new 2005. Concerto for orchestra 2002 jennifer higdon was born in brooklyn, new york, on december 31, 1962. Few recent symphonic works have received as much favorable attention as jennifer higdon s 2002 concerto for orchestra. Jennifer higdons violin concerto was completed in august of 2008 and premiered 6 february 2009 by the works dedicatee, hilary hahn, with the indianapolis symphony orchestra cocommissioner and mario venzago, serving as conductor. Concerto for orchestra 2016 score recording 2016 12. Higdon s concerto for orchestra was premiered by the philadelphia orchestra on june 12, 2002. Jennifer higdons viola concerto premieres at curtis chamber. The shadow of stravinsky and copland lurk behind city scape, higdon s work written under commission for the artists heard here, robert spano and the atlanta symphony orchestra, and premiered on november 14, 2002. The first performance of the concerto for orchestra took place at verizon hall in philadelphia, pennsylvania, on june 12, 2002, with wolfgang sawallisch conducting the.
To the point, for orchestra play streams in full or download mp3 from classical archives, the largest and best organized classical music site on the web. Jennifer higdon concerto for orchestra was commissioned by the philadelphia orchestra as part of its centennial celebrations. Today, shes one of the 10 most frequently performed american composers writing for orchestras today. It was composed for the violinist hilary hahn and was given its world premiere by hahn and the indianapolis symphony orchestra under the conductor mario venzano on february 6, 2009.
Born in brooklyn, jennifer higdon grew up in atlanta and. The author analyzes blue cathedral, concerto for orchestra, city scape, concerto 43, violin concerto, and cold mountain. Jungho pak is artistic director and conductor of the cape cod symphony orchestra, and music director emeritus of the new haven symphony orchestra. The piece was later awarded the 2010 pulitzer prize for music. Jennifer higdons violin concerto, addressing concerns of linear and. The twotime grammy winning violinist releases the worldpremiere recording of jennifer higdons 2010 pulitzer prize winning concerto, paired with the popular tchaikovsky concerto. The concerto for orchestra is an orchestral composition in five movements by the american composer jennifer higdon. Concerts of thursday, january 24, and saturday, january 26. Funding was provided by the national endowment for the arts, the philadelphia music project funded by the pew charitable trusts, administered by settlement music school and peter benoliel. Higdon enjoys more than two hundred performances of her works a year, and she has won many awards, including a pulitzer prize for her violin concerto 2009, and a. Jennifer higdon is a major figure in contemporary classical music, receiving the 2010 pulitzer prize in music for her violin concerto and a 2010 grammy for her percussion concerto.
Listening to jennifer higdons violin concerto sha zaam. Jennifer higdon premieres concerto on a wire david h. Marine chamber orchestra saturday, june 22, 2019 at 7. Orchestra leading to the commissioning of concerto for orchestra. Hilary hahn, jennifer higdon, tchaikovsky hilary hahn. Symphony orchestra, the baltimore symphony orchestra, and the curtis institute of music. Robert spano conducted the curtis chamber orchestra. Hilary hahn was born in lexington, virginia, usa, and moved to baltimore in 1983, where she had her first violin lessons.