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Composers Bureau Archives
Richard Swift
Richard Swift passed away on November 8, 2003. A complete list of works has been published by his colleagues at the University of California, Davis.
Biography
Swift, Richard (Gene) b.09/24/27, Middlepoint, OH. Composer. theorist,
teacher, m. Dorothy Zackrisson (1928-1990), pianist, poet, gardener,
1951. Three sons: Jeremy (1951), John (1955), Joel (1963).
Studied composition privately with Grover Buxton and John Sherwood.
US Army 1950-52. University of Chicago, MA 1956. Studied composition
with Grovesnor Cooper, Leonard Meyer, Leland Smith. Fellow, Institute
for Advanced Musical Studies, Princeton University, 1959, 1960. Professor
of Music, University of California, 1956-1991, Chair, Department of
Music, 1963-71; 1972-73; Professor emeritus, 1991-; visiting Professor
of Music, Princeton University, 1977-78. University of California,
Distinguished Teaching Award, 1981. University of California Faculty
Research Lecturer, 1982-3.
Awards include Rockefeller Foundation-Louisville Symphony Young Composer
Award, 1955; Composers Forum Concert, New York, 1961; Fellow, Institute
for Creative Arts, University of California, 1966-7,1971; Fellow, MacDowell Colony, 1971; Rockefeller Foundation Performance
Award (Oakland Symphony), 1968; Composers String Quartet Award, 1973; National Endowment for the Arts,
1976-77; American Institute-Academy of Arts and Letters, 1978. Annual ASCAP Awards.
Using atonal materials, generally hexachordal, for arrays, I try to
make intricate webs of pitch, interval, registrar, timbral and temporal
associations that are shaped into musical structures in my compositions.
Over 100 compositions.
Consulting Editor, 19th Century Music, contributor Journal
of Music Theory, Journal of American Musicological Society, International Journal of Musicology, Journal of Music Education, Perspectives of New Music, Notes, etc.
Selected Compositions
Publishers include Theodore
Presser, Overland Music (J.B. Elkus & Son), MMS
Music, Inc. etc.
- Orchestral:
- A Coronal (1954)
- The Pleasures of Merely Circulating, band
- Tristia (1967)
- Symphony (1970)
- Specimen Days, w/ soprano, (1976-77)
- Some Trees (1982)
- Roses Only, w/ soprano. (1991).
- Chamber:
- 6 string quartets (1955, 1958,1964, 1973, (1982), 1992)
- 2 concerti for piano and chamber ensembles (1961,1980)
- concerto for violin and chamber ensemble (1968)
- 2 string trios (1955,1980)
- 2 piano trios (1976, 1988)
- Serenade Concertante, piano, wind quintet (1956)
- Sonata, clarinet, piano (1957)
- Trio, clarinet, cello, piano (1957)
- Stravaganza II, clarinet, violin, piano (1959)
- Domains III for 4 instrumental groups (1963)
- Fantasy, flute, harp, viola (1972)
- Music For A While, clarinet, viola, harpsichord (1969)
- Prim, alto saxophone, ens (1973)
- Elective Affinities, cello, piano (1983)
- Serenade Concertante II, clarinet, violin, cello,
piano (1985)
- Credences of Summer, violin, piano (1989)
- A Field of Light, 8 instruments (1990)
- In Arcadia, clarinet, string trio (1994)
- Getting Back Into It, guitar, piano (1997)
- Vocal/Choral:
- Eve (1959), soprano, ens.
- Shimmer of Evil (1960), choir, small ens.
- Domains I (1963), baritone, choral ens.
- Carmina Archilochi (1965), soprano, choir, ens.
- Planctus (1966), choir, choral ens.
- Thanatopsis (1971), soprano, choir, winds
- Adoro Devote, small choir, baroque ens.
- Great Praises (1977), soprano, piano
- March Elegy (1982), soprano, harpsichord
- The Garden (1984) mezzo-soprano, ens.
- Voyages II, small choir
- Opera: The Trial of Tender O'Shea (1964), actors, baritone,
improvisation ensemble.
- Solo works:
- Solo Violin Sonata (1957)
- Stravaganza VII (1968), viola
- Voyages (1967), oboe
- A Stitch in Time (1989), guitar
- Piano: 10 works including
- Summer Notes (1965)
- Mein blaues Klavier (1978)
- Things of August (1986)
- Domains (1986)
- Asphodel, that Greeny Flower, flute (1992)
- Radix, Matrix (1992)
- Incidental music for numerous plays, film score.
Recordings
CRI, Golden Crest,
Orion, Perspectives of New Music.
Further Information
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