Episodes
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Episode 44 - 1986: George Perle, Wind Quintet IV
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
Tuesday Jun 27, 2023
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss someone they know primarily as a music theorist. George Perle is celebrated for his theoretical work on twelve-tone theory and Alban Berg's music, but how does he stack up as a composer? And what do they think of the first woodwind quintet to win a Pulitzer?
For more information about George Perle, we recommend:
- George Perle, Twelve-Tone Tonality, 2nd edition (University of California Press, 1996).
- George Perle, The Operas of Alban Berg, Vol I and Vol II (University of California Press, 1989).
- Elliott Antokoletz, "George Perle: Man, Composer, and Theorist," Theory and Practice 33 (2008): 55-63.
- Steven Rosenhaus, "Harmonic Motion in George Perle's Wind Quintet No. 4" Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1995.
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Episode 43 -1985: Stephen Albert, Symphony RiverRun
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
Wednesday Jun 07, 2023
In this episode, Dave and Andrew continue discussing the streak of Neo-Romantic winners of the Pulitzer Prize in music with Stephen Albert's Symphony RiverRun. But will this symphony win them over?
For more information about Stephen Albert, we recommend:
- Ron Petrides's dissertation "Pitch Organization in Stephen Albert's Symphony RiverRun: A Study in Modal Combinations and Tonal Centricity" PhD Diss, NYU, 2008.
- Holly Watkins's article "The Pastoral After Environmentalism: Nature and Culture in Stephen Albert's
Symphony: RiverRun" Current Musicology, no. 84 (2007): 7-24. - Stephen Albert's Website (maintained by Alissa Grimaldi)
Thursday May 11, 2023
Episode 42 - 1984: Bernard Rands, Canti del Sole
Thursday May 11, 2023
Thursday May 11, 2023
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer associated with New Romanticism. But is that label reductive or does it accurately describe Bernard Rands's music? How about this song cycle based on poems about the sun?
If you'd like more information about Rands, we recommend:
- Will Robin's article "Horizons ’83, Meet the Composer, and
New Romanticism’s New Marketplace" in Musical Quarterly, Vol. 102, nos. 2-3 (2019): 158–99. - Benjamin Rivera's thesis "An Introduction to the Musical Language of Bernard Rands, as Demonstrated in Canti d'Amor" from Roosevelt University in 2005.
- Bruce Duffie's interview with Bernard Rands.
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Bonus: An Interview with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
Saturday Feb 25, 2023
In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with Pulitzer Winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. What did she learn studying at Florida State University and with former Pulitzer winners Roger Sessions and Elliott Carter? And why does she have a framed "Peanuts" cartoon in her studio? We hope you enjoy hearing from her about these insights and more!
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first female Pulitzer Prize winner, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who wrote a symphony of all things. What will they think about the first symphony to win the prize since Walter Piston's Symphony No. 7 back in 1961?
As promised in the episode, here's Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's appearance in Peanuts.
If you'd like more information about Zwilich, we recommend:
- Julie Schnepel's article "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Symphony No. 1: Developing Variation in the 1980s" in Indiana Theory Review Vol. 10 (Spring and Fall 1989): 1-19
- Anthony J. Palmer's "Interview with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich" in Philosophy of Music Education Review Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring 2011): 80-99.
- Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's website.
Sunday Jan 15, 2023
Episode 40 - 1982: Roger Sessions, Concerto for Orchestra
Sunday Jan 15, 2023
Sunday Jan 15, 2023
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the third winner of the Pulitzer Prize to study with Horatio Parker at Yale, Roger Sessions, for his Concerto for Orchestra. Since the other two winners were Charles Ives and Quincy Porter, it isn't a shock that Sessions was 85 years old when he won. What will they think about this blast from the past?
If you'd like to learn more about Roger Sessions, we recommend:
- Roger Sessions on Music: Collected Essays, edited by Edward T. Cone (Princeton University Press, 1979).
- Andrea Olmstead's book Roger Sessions: A Biography (Routledge, 2008).
- The Correspondence of Roger Sessions by Andrea Olmstead and
Roger Sessions (Northeastern University Press, 1992) - The Roger Sessions Society
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Episode 39 - 1981: No Winner
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
In this episode, Dave and Andrew cover the fourth and final time (so far) that the Pulitzer Board decided not to award a music prize. Unlike 1965, which was the last year they didn't award the prize, 1981 wasn't mired in controversy. So why did the Pulitzer Board not award a prize and what should have won? As a bonus, Dave and Andrew also discuss lessons learned after covering 40 years of the Pulitzer Prize and make predictions for what's to come!
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Episode 38 - 1980: David Del Tredici, In Memory of a Summer Day
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer Aaron Copland called a "rare find among composers — a creator with a truly original gift." Will they agree with Copland about David Del Tredici's In Memory of a Summer Day?
If you'd like more information about David Del Tredici, we recommend:
- Contemporary Music Review's issue on New Tonality, volume 6, issue 2 (1992), including Paul Moravec's interview with Del Tredici.
- J. D. Dolan's article on Del Tredici in BOMB, No. 60 (Summer 1997): 42-45
- James E. Chute's dissertation "The reemergence of tonality in contemporary music as shown in the works of David Del Tredici, Joseph Schwantner, and John Adams" (University of Cincinnati, 1991)
- A recent interview with Del Tredici
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Episode 37 - 1979: Joseph Schwantner, Aftertones of Infinity
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Friday Oct 21, 2022
In this episode, Andrew and Dave explore a composer they first encountered with his music for wind band. In his Pulitzer-winning work, Schwantner fashioned a composition critics have described as creating a "poetic illusion—but only an illusion— of movement." Will this illusion win them over?
If you'd like more information about Schwantner we recommend:
- James Chute's dissertation "The reemergence of tonality in contemporary music as shown in the works of David Del Tredici, Joseph Schwantner, and John Adams" (University of Cincinnati, 1991)
- Schwantner's website
-
Cynthia Folio's article "The synthesis of traditional and contemporary elements in Joseph Schwantner's 'Sparrows,'" Perspectives of New Music, vol. 24, no. 1 (1985): 184-96.
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Episode 36 - 1978: Michael Colgrass, Déjà Vu
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Monday Sep 26, 2022
In this episode, Dave and Andrew record their first live podcast event! In front of the Kansas City Conducting Symposium, they discuss an unusual work for the Pulitzers in that Michael Colgrass featured the percussion section of the orchestra. Will they enjoy this departure from standard orchestration?
If you'd like more information about Colgrass, we recommend:
- Colgrass's autobiographies Adventures of an American Composer and My Lessons with Kumi
- James Donald Broadhurst's dissertation "The early drum-melodic music of Michael Colgrass and the evolution of the Colgrass drum" (The Ohio State University, 2005)