- Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller (born
November 22 1925 ) is an Americancomposer and horn player. He is regarded as one of the key figures incontemporary classical music .The son of a violinist with the
New York Philharmonic , he studied at theSaint Thomas Choir School and became an accomplished horn player andflute player. At age 15 he played horn professionally with theAmerican Ballet Theatre (1943) followed by an appointment as principal hornist with theCincinnati Symphony Orchestra (1943–5), and then the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York (1945–59). He began his career in jazz by recording as afrench horn player withMiles Davis (1949–50).In 1955 Schuller and jazz pianist John Lewis founded the Modern Jazz Society, which gave its first concert in Town Hall, New York, that same year and later became known as the
Jazz and Classical Music Society . While lecturing atBrandeis University in 1957 he coined the term "Third Stream " to describe music that combines classical and jazz techniques. He became an enthusiastic advocate of this style and wrote many works according to its principles, among them "Transformation" (1957, for jazz ensemble), "Concertino" (1959, for jazz quartet and orchestra; one of its movements, "Progression in Tempo", has sometimes been performed separately), "Abstraction" (1959, for nine instruments), theopera "The Visitation" (1966), and "Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk" (1960, for 13 instruments), which was recorded byOrnette Coleman ,Eric Dolphy , andBill Evans . He also orchestratedScott Joplin 's only known surviving opera "Treemonisha " for theHouston Grand Opera 's premier production of this work.In 1959 Schuller gave up performance to devote himself to composition. He has conducted internationally and studied and recorded
jazz with such greats asDizzy Gillespie and John Lewis among many others. Schuller has written over 160 original compositions. In the 1960s, Schuller was president ofNew England Conservatory . He created the jazz program at NEC, which today is one of the strongest jazz centers in the world.Schuller is editor-in-chief of Jazz Masterworks Editions, and co-director of the
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra [http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/sjmo/sjmo_start.asp] inWashington, D.C. Another recent effort of preservation was his editing and posthumous premiering atLincoln Center in 1989 ofCharles Mingus ' immense final work, "Epitaph", subsequently released on Columbia/Sony Records.His notable students include
Irwin Swack . [http://www.dwightwinenger.net/swack.htm]Gunther is the father of jazz percussionist
George Schuller and bassistEd Schuller .Awards and recognition
Schuller has been the recipient of many awards, including the 1994
Pulitzer Prize for his composition written for the Louisville Symphony "Of Reminiscences and Reflections", theMacArthur Foundation "genius" award (1991), the William Schuman Award (1988), given byColumbia University for "lifetime achievement in American music composition", and ten honorary degrees. He received theDitson Conductor's Award in 1970. In 1993, "Down Beat " magazine honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to jazz.Grammy Award for Best Album Notes - Classical :
*Gunther Schuller (notes writer) for "Footlifters" performed by Gunther Schuller (1976)Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance :
*Gunther Schuller (conductor) & theNew England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble for "Joplin: The Red Back Book" (1974)ources
*Mark Tucker/Barry Kernfeld. The "
New Grove Dictionary of Opera ", edited by Stanley Sadie (1992), ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5External links
* [http://www.proarte.org/people/Schuller.html Pro Arte biography of Gunther Schuller]
* [http://www.gmrecordings.com GM Recordings] Gunther Schuller's recording label
* [http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/composer.pl?comp=211 Art of the States: Gunther Schuller] "Phantasmata" (1989)
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