Robert Muczynski

Robert Muczynski (March 19, 1929 – May 25, 2010) was a contemporary American composer. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. Muczynski studied composition with Alexander Tcherepnin at DePaul University in the late 1940s. At age 29 he made his Carnegie Hall debut, performing a program of his own compositions for piano.

Muczynski studied piano with Walter Knupfer and composition with Alexander Tcherepnin at DePaul University in Chicago, where he received the Bachelor of Music degree (1950) and the Master of Music degree (1952). Both degrees were in Piano Performance. Muczynski later taught at DePaul University (Chicago), Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa), and Roosevelt University (Chicago), before settling in Tucson in the 1960s where he joined the faculty of the University of Arizona as composer-in-residence and chairman of the composition department; he held both a positions until his retirement in 1988.^[1]

Among the more than fifty published compositions in his catalog, his Sonata for Flute and Piano (1961), his Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1970), and Time Pieces for clarinet and piano (1984) have entered the repertoire and remain frequently performed in recitals, as has much of his solo piano music.^[2] Works by Muczynski have also appeared with increasing frequency on programs in the US, Europe, the Far East, Australia and Mexico. Orchestral works have been performed by the Chicago Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (United States), D.C., the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and others abroad. He died in Tucson, Arizona in May 2010.

Notable works

• Six Preludes (1953–1954), op. 6 - a set of six short pieces for the solo piano
• Sonata for Flute and Piano op. 14
• Toccata, op. 15
• Three Preludes Op.18 for unaccompanied flute
• Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano Op. 29
• Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello, op. 31
• Duos For Flutes (1974), op. 34
• Maverick Pieces (1977), op. 37 - a set of twelve short pieces for the solo piano
• Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra, op. 41 - nominated for the Pulitzer Prize
• Maverick Trombone, op.42
• Time Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (1984), op. 43
• Duos for Flute and Clarinet (Copyright 1991), Op. 24

References

1. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/2328214,CST-NWS-xmucz28.article
2. ^ http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/Robert-Muczynski-19292010/

External links

• Classical Composers Database Entry

Persondata
Name	Muczynski, Robert
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 19, 1929
Place of birth
Date of death	May 25, 2010
Place of death