- Larry Austin
Larry Austin (born
12 September ,1930 inDuncan, Oklahoma ) is aUnited States composer noted for his electronic and computer music works. He was a co-founder and editor of theavant-garde music periodical "". [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:tBerHyOdU7UJ:mason.gmu.edu/~sgerber/sourceavantgarde.pdf+larry+austin+uc+davis&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us] Austin gained additional international recognition when he realized a completion ofCharles Ives 's "Universe Symphony". [ [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/May04/Ives_Universe_symphony.htm IVES Universe Symphony Col Legno WWE1CD20074 [TH: Classical CD Reviews- May 2004 MusicWeb(UK) ] ]Education
Austin received his undergraduate education at the
University of North Texas (BME, 1951). He also earned a master's degree at that institution (MM, 1952). [http://www.googlesyndicatedsearch.com/u/unorthtexas?q=+larry+austin&hq=inurl%3Awww.unt.edu%2Fdevelopment&sa.x=0&sa.y=0] In 1955 he studied at Mills College and from 1955-1958 he engaged in graduate study at theUniversity of California, Berkeley , leaving to accept a faculty position at theUniversity of California, Davis . Austin studied with Canadian composerViolet Archer at theUniversity of North Texas , [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-6016(198423%2F24)23%3A1%3C112%3ADOPADI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7] French composerDarius Milhaud atMills College [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,875397-2,00.html Cow College Conversion - TIME ] ] , and with American composerAndrew Imbrie at theUniversity of California, Berkeley . [ [http://www.albanyrecords.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AR&Product_Code=TROY538 Spring Fever & Other Works: Albany Records ] ]Teaching career
Austin taught at the University of California, Davis from 1958 till 1972 rising from assistant professor to full professor. While at the University of California, Davis, he founded the improvisational
New Music Ensemble . In 1972 he accepted a position at the University of South Florida, where he taught until 1978. In that year he returned to Texas, teaching at his alma mater, the University of North Texas, from 1978 until 1996 when he was namedProfessor Emeritus . His notable students includeDary John Mizelle andRodney Waschka II .Compositions
Austin received early recognition for his instrumental and orchestral works and of those pieces, "Improvisations for Orchestra and Jazz Soloists", was performed and recorded by the
New York Philharmonic underLeonard Bernstein . [ [http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/03/14/specials/copland-philh.html Music: Copland Plays at Philharmonic ] ] Other orchestral works of special note include "Universe Symphony, as realized and completed by Larry Austin" (1974-93) for large orchestra, [ [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Apr01/Ives_Universe.htm IVES Universe Symphony etc [RB: Classical CD Reviews- April 2001 MusicWeb(UK) ] ] and "Sinfonia Concertante: A Mozartean Episode" [ [http://www.musicfayre.com/music/item/0789368051229.html.en?currency=GBP Austin Larry, Clark Thomas, Hunt Jerry, Winsor Phil: CDCM Computer Music Series Vol 1 - Austin, Hunt, Clark, etc | EAN: 0789368051229 | Our price: 14.38 USD ] ] (1986) for chamber orchestra and tape. Chamber works with particularly significant computer music/electro-acoustic music aspects include "Accidents" [ [http://www.ubu.com/sound/source.html UbuWeb Sound - Source - Music of the Avant-Garde ] ] for electronically prepared piano (1967), written forDavid Tudor , "Canadian Coastlines: Canonic Fractals for Musicians and Computer Band" [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0148-9267(198921)13%3A1%3C21%3ACOTCEW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3] for eight musicians and tape from 1981, and "BluesAx" for saxophonist and tape (1995), which won the Magisterium Prize, at Bourges in 1996. [ [http://www.imeb.net/MFLi/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=179 Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique - Collection 'Cultures électroniques' ] ] "BluesAx" has been recorded bySteve Duke . [ [http://www.niu.edu/music/about/bios/sduke.shtml Steve Duke - NIU - School of Music ] ] His most recent work is "John explains..." (2007) for octophonic sound, based on a recording of an interview withJohn Cage . "John explains..." was premiered at the 2008 North Carolina Computer Music Festival. [ [http://www.cvnc.org/reviews/2008/022008/Computer.html Classical Voice of North Carolina ] ]The noted critic Tom Johnson has written of Austin's music, ""His style is neither uptown nor downtown, nor is it minimal, eclectic, hypnotic, or European. But it works, it is strongly personal, and it has something to say in all these directions.... The real source of Austin's music, however, is clearly Charles Ives, who also liked musical symbols, enjoyed collaging them together as densely as he could, and never had much of a knack for prettiness." [ [http://www.music.unt.edu/cemi/larry_austin/LARevs.htm Larry Austin - Performances and Activities ] ]
Austin has said that "Exploring new concepts, new materials and their interaction is essential to my work as a composer."
Partial Discography
"Leonard Bernstein Conducts Music of Our Time," New York Philharmonic, Columbia Masterworks, MS6733, 1965. [ [http://www.kollecta.com/Collector_Item/Vinyl_Record_(music)/Vinyl_Record/Leonard+Bernstein+Conducts+Music+Of+Our+Time+By+Larry+Austin/420838.htm Kollecta - Item (Vinyl Record (music)) ] ]
* "Improvisations for Orchestra and Jazz Soloists"Robert Floyd Plays New Piano Music by Hans Werner Henze and Larry Austin," Advance Records, FGR10S, 1970. [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/936712 Robert Floyd - Plays New Music By Hans Werner Henze - Larry Austin ] ]
* "Piano Set in Open Style"
* "Piano Variations"New Music for Woodwinds," Advance Records, FGR9S, 1974. (performed by Phil Rehfeldt, clarinet and Thomas Warburton, piano). [ [http://newton.uor.edu/facultyfolder/rehfeldt/resume.htm PHILLIP REHFELDT is Professor of Woodwind Instruments ( ] ]
* "Current"Larry Austin Hybrid Musics: Four Compositions," Canton, TX:IRIDA Records 0022, 1980.
* "Maroon Bells"
* "Catalogo Voce"
* "Quadrants: Event/Complex No. 1"
* "Second Fantasy on Ives' Universe Symphony"Volume 1, CDCM Computer Music Series." Baton Rouge: Centaur Records, Inc., (CRC 2029) 1988. [http://www.hbdirect.com/album_detail.php?pid=27506]
*Sinfonia Concertante (chamber orchestra conducted by Thomas Clark)
*Sonata Concertante (performed by pianist Adam Wodicki)"The Virtuoso in the Computer Age--I", Volume 10, CDCM Computer Music Series. Centaur Records, Inc., (CRC 2110) 1991. [ [http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown;jsessionid=015505062DAA32760A97A8A494879603?name_id1=474&name_role1=1&bcorder=1&comp_id=17508 Cdcm Computer Music Series Vol 10 - Virtuoso In Computer Age | ArkivMusic ] ]
*Montage:Themes and Variations for Violin and Computer Music on Tape (1985)"The Virtuoso in the Computer Age--III", Vol. 11, CDCM Computer Music Series, Baton Rouge: Centaur Records, 1993
* "La Barbara: The Name/The Sounds/The Music"A Chance Operation: The John Cage Tribute". New York: Koch International Classics (KIC-CD-7238) 1993. [ [http://www.kochdistribution.com/catalog/AudioInfo.aspx?number=KIC-CD-7238 Welcome To KOCH Entertainment ] ]
*art is self-alteration is Cage is... (1983/93), performed by Robert Black"Charles Ives's Universe Symphony, as realized and completed by Larry Austin (1974-93)" Baton Rouge: Centaur Records, CRC 2205, 1994.
* "Charles Ives's Universe Symphony, as realized and completed by Larry Austin (1974-93)"Composers in Computer Age II". Baton Rouge: Centaur Records, CRC 2193, 1994.
*"SoundPoemSet" (1990-91), computer music on tape."Tárogató", New York: Romeo Records (7212), 2001. Esther Lamneck, performer. [ [http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=2184924&cart=704760009&style=classical Esther Lamneck - Tárogató CD ] ]
*"Tárogató"UNconventional Trumpet", Camas, WA: Crystal Records, CD763, 2004. [ [http://www.amazon.com/UNconventional-Trumpet-Larry-Austin/dp/B0006MX9IM Amazon.com: UNconventional Trumpet: Larry Austin,Rule Beasley,Merrill Ellis,William P. Latham,Martin Mailman,Cindy McTee,Fisher Tull,Jason Baker,Mark Ford,Natalia Bolshakova,John Holt,Keith Johnson: Music ] ]
*"Charley's Cornet"References
External links
* [http://www.music.unt.edu/cemi/larry_austin/ Larry Austin's home page]
* [http://www.emfmedia.org/artists/austin.html EMF Media: Larry Austin]
*David Tudor [http://www.emf.org/tudor/Articles/austin.html and Larry Austin: A Conversation] April 3, 1989, Denton, Texas
* [http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/composer.pl?comp=90 Art of the States: Larry Austin]
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