Five lines, four spaces : the world of my music / George Rochberg ; edited by Gene Rochberg and Richard Griscom ; introduction by Gene Rochberg.
By: Rochberg, George [author]
.
Contributor(s): Rochberg, Gene [editor] | Griscom, Richard [editor].
Material type: 
BookPublisher: Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2009]Copyright date: ©2009Description: xii, 305 pages : illustrations, music ; 25 cm.Content type: text | notated music Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9780252034251 (paperback).Subject(s): Rochberg, George | Rochberg, George -- Criticism and interpretation | Composers -- United States -- BiographyDDC classification: 780.92 | Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Lending | MTU Cork School of Music Library Lending | 780.92 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 00214402 |
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Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Finished just weeks before his death, George Rochberg's eloquent memoir offers a detailed look at his fruitful life as a composer, publisher, and teacher of music. The volume traces a life immersed in music, with early study under George Szell and Gian Carlo Menotti and later long-term collaborations with the Concord Quartet and commissions for major orchestras and opera companies. Rochberg takes care to describe the intellectual and aesthetic changes that led him down certain paths as a composer, often challenging the conventions of the day. Reflecting on music, aesthetics, colleagues, and the life of the creative mind, Rochberg's memoir captures not only the spirit but also the intellectual climate of the second half of the twentieth century.
Rochberg's life as a composer was marked by an ongoing search for his artistic place between tradition and the avant-garde, with an extensive oeuvre comprising over one hundred works including chamber ensembles, string quartets, symphonies, solo pieces, songs, and an opera. In addition to his importance as an American composer, he was also a central figure in academia and publishing. He served as chair of the University of Pennsylvania's music department, and as an editor and director of publications at the Theodore Presser Company, he helped marshal the company into one of the premier American musical publishing houses.
Through the course of the book, Rochberg reveals the thought processes that led him in unexpected directions as he pursued the independent path of his career. This is the story of a creative mind developing, at times struggling, and constantly growing.
Publication for this book was supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-295) and index.
"Save something for the end" : second symphony and George Szell -- A concert of music : Caprice variations for solo violin -- Interlude 1. A distant music : Serenata d'estate -- The last Gershwin Prize : Night music and Dimitri Mitropoulos -- After and before : twelve bagatelles and string quartet no. 1 -- "Let the other George do it" : symphony no. 1 and Eugene Ormandy -- Interlude 2. Rilke's angels : string quartet no. 2 with soprano -- Breaking with modernism : third string quartet and the Concord String Quartet -- "It's only a small, little, wooden box" : violin concerto and Isaac Stern -- Interlude 3. Stravinsky's caveat : Circles of fire and the Hirsch-Pinkas piano duo -- Unlocking the past : Contra mortem et tempus and Music for the magic theater -- A passion according to the twentieth century : third symphony and the Juilliard orchestra and chorus -- Interlude 4. "O for a muse of fire" : Eliot Fisk and works for guitar : solo, duo, and ensemble -- Pictures of the floating world : Ukiyo-e, Slow fires of autumn, Between two worlds, and Imago mundi -- A trio of symphonies : four, five, and six -- Interlude 5. Gods of wrath : Phaedra, a monodrama for mezzo-soprano and orchestra -- A triptych of sonatas : sonata for violin and piano (1988), sonata for viola and piano (1979), sonata-aria for cello and piano (1992) -- Blown on the wind : oboe and clarinet concertos -- A trio of trios : piano trio no. 1 (1962-1963), piano trio no. 2 (1985), piano trio no. 3 (summer, 1990) -- Interlude 6. Constructing with canons : Sonata-fantasia for solo piano -- Some things saved for the end.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Acknowledgments (p. ix)
- Introduction (p. xi)
- Part I
- Chapter 1 "Save Something for the End": Second Symphony and George Szell (p. 3)
- Chapter 2 A Concert of Music: Caprice Variations for Solo Violin (p. 25)
- Interlude 1 A Distant Music: Serenata d'Estate (p. 42)
- Chapter 3 The Last Gershwin Prize: Night Music and Dimitri Mitropoulos (p. 46)
- Chapter 4 After and Before: Twelve Bagatelles and String Quartet no. 1 (p. 59)
- Chapter 5 "Let the Other George Do It": Symphony no. 1 and Eugene Ormandy (p. 75)
- Interlude 2 Rilke's Angels: String Quartet no. 2 with Soprano (p. 87)
- Chapter 6 Breaking with Modernism: Third String Quartet and the Concord String Quartet (p. 96)
- Chapter 7 "It's Only a Small, Little, Wooden Box": Violin Concerto and Isaac Stern (p. 116)
- Interlude 3 Stravinsky's Caveat: Circles of Fire and the Hirsch-Pinkas Piano Duo (p. 131)
- Chapter 8 Unlocking the Past: Contra Mortem et Tempus and Music for the Magic Theater (p. 143)
- Part II
- Chapter 9 A Passion According to the Twentieth Century: Third Symphony and the Juilliard Orchestra and Chorus (p. 167)
- Interlude 4 "O for a Muse of Fire": Eliot Fisk and Works for Guitar-Solo, Duo, and Ensemble (p. 177)
- Chapter 10 Pictures of the Floating World: Ukiyo-E, Slow Fires of Autumn, Between Two Worlds, and Imago Mundi (p. 186)
- Chapter 11 A Trio of Symphonies: Four, Five, and Six (p. 199)
- Interlude 5 Gods of Wrath: Phaedra, a Monodrama for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra (p. 216)
- Chapter 12 A Triptych of Sonatas: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1988), Sonata for Viola and Piano (1979), Sonata-Aria for Cello and Piano (1992) (p. 223)
- Chapter 13 Blown on the Wind: Oboe and Clarinet Concertos (p. 232)
- Chapter 14 A Trio of Trios: Piano Trio no. 1 (1962-63), Piano Trio no. 2 (1985), Piano Trio no. 3 (Summer, 1990) (p. 244)
- Interlude 6 Constructing with Canons: Sonata-Fantasia for Solo Piano (p. 254)
- Chapter 15 Some Things Saved for the End (p. 260)
- Chronology (p. 279)
- Notes (p. 287)
- Index (p. 297)
Author notes provided by Syndetics
George Rochberg (1918-2005) composed six symphonies, three concertos, seven string quartets, and dozens of chamber and solo works over the course of a career spanning six decades. After establishing himself as a modernist composer, he grew dissatisfied with the expressive limitations of serial composition. Through explorations in his music and his writings, he arrived at a more inclusive compositional style that embraced both the old and the new, yielding groundbreaking works such as Music for the Magic Theater, the String Quartet no. 3, and the Concord Quartets. The revised edition of his collected writings on music, The Aesthetics of Survival, was the recipient of an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award in 2006.Gene Rochberg met George in 1938 while both were students at what is now Montclair State University. They married in 1941. After they moved to Philadelphia, Gene studied at the Hedgerow Theatre School and the Barnes Foundation and was actively involved in theater and the other arts. She collaborated with her husband on a number of works, including the monodrama Phaedre and the opera The Confidence Man.
Richard Griscom is the head of the Otto E. Albrecht Music Library at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the coauthor of The Recorder: A Research and Information Guide and former editor of the quarterly journal of the Music Library Association, Notes.