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| C.P.E. Bach Archive Discovered in Kiev, Ukraine
The musical estate of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, has been rediscovered in Kiev, Ukraine, by Harvard Bach scholar Christoph Wolff, William Powell Mason Professor of Music; Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute; Hennadii Boriak, deputy director of the Institute of Ukrainian Archeo-graphy and Source Studies, and Barbara Wolff, music cataloger at Harvard's Houghton Library. Wolff has been searching for the Bach Wolff has been searching for the Bach material for more than two decades in conjunction with his work on the Bach family's musical sources. The collection was found in Ukraine's Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art as part of the Berlin Sing-Akademie archive of 18th century music. Last available for study in the 1930s, the materials were evacuated from Berlin to Silesia in 1943. They have been missing for over half a century, and many Western scholars feared they had been destroyed. A catalog of the approximately 500 Bach family works in the Sing-Akademie music archive (including, now, the newly found works) is slated to be published as part of the Bach Repertorium series, another joint research project of Harvard's Music Department and the Leipzig Bach Archive. The Main Archival Administration of Ukraine, Harvard University, and the Packard Humanities Institute of Los Altos, California, will collaborate to make the materials available for research and performance. It is hoped that the priceless musical sources will eventually be returned to their home. back to top New A.M. Program in Performance Launched Beginning in September, 2001, the department will offer a master's degree in music with a specialty in performance practice. The program is designed to provide intellectual and scholarly background to finished musicians who are preparing or engaged in careers as performers and teachers. The emphasis is on preparing students to work with sources, editions, theoretical writings, organology and other matters, such as differences in notation from composer to composer or era to era; ornamentation; liberties of tempo and declamation; and improv-isation. This is a two-year program in which students will take a selection of departmental courses focused on this specialty and write a thesis. The Department expects to enroll one or two students each year. back to top Amati-Camperi Ph.D. '94 Inaugurates New Music Curriculum at USF Five years after she took her post as lecturer (she is now Assistant Professor of Music) at the University of San Francisco, Alexandra Amati-Camperi (Musicology) has fought for and won a new music minor for undergraduates. Where once there was nothing but a solitary Music Appreciation course and a freshman seminar on either Symphony or Opera, there are now eight music courses including "Music of the Americas," and "Popular Music and Communication," with more in the wings just waiting for a slot. Under development are courses designed by Amati-Camperi the likes of "The Symphonies of Beethoven" and "Mozart's Operas." Amati-Camperi, now program coordinator for for the minor in music, did this single-handed. "I did it because I think that a liberal arts education has to include music in it, and because I was tired of fielding questions such as, 'Are there any other music classes?' and seeing people transfer to other schools just because they could not study music here." She teaches all the courses of the minor herself within the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, and there are now, after one year, more minors in music than majors in the department. "The hope is some day to expand the program either by creating a major or by instating a collaboration with some music school or conservatory." You can reach Alexandra at camperia@usfca.edu/(415)422-2072 back to top Lima A.B. '00 Composition Premieres at Lincoln Center A new work by Matt Lima was premiered in the Rose Building at Lincoln Center as part of the Chamber Music Society's October 26th concert program. Anthony McGill played clarinet; Eliot Fisk, guitar; and John Feeney, bass. The title? "What Is It That It Is." "It's basically an affectionate jab at often-silly jazz titles, being a literal translation of the French for 'What is it?' The piece itself is a conversation among three instruments, inspired by Ornette Coleman's early records, Chick Corea's 'Now he sings, now he sobs' album and a healthy dose of 'The Soldier's Tale.'" Lima enrolled in the Royal Academy of Music's two-year Masters of Music program immediately after graduation from Harvard. He studied with Michael Finnissy and produced a portfolio of composition work of which "What Is…" is a part. Matt stayed on as a graduate fellow in the program, which enabled him to initiate a workshop for classical composers to collaborate with the jazz department. "The trio took really wonderful liberties with the piece, really brought it to life," says Lima. "The novel format of presenting the program twice in a single evening meant the audience had a chance to get involved a bit more with the music." To contact Matt Lima, write him at mlima@post.harvard.edu back to top Iris Lan A.B '98-'99 A.B/A.M.: Law, Medicine and...Music? Iris Lan loves playing Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" on the pipe organ. She also loves playing piano or viola, and studying composition with B.U.'s Lukas Foss. Then why does, or rather, how can this music department alum (Joint Music and Chemistry/Physics) fit in her current passion: combining work in science with the pursuit of a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School? Or vice versa. "I don't see myself ever leaving music behind. I would miss it too much. Composing music, analyzing music, shaping music&emdash;it's all a natural and necessary part of my life now." As an undergraduate, Iris developed a strong interest in the connection between law and medicine. She stayed on after graduating and earned a master's in the History of Science. Her inquiries and research then led her to law, where things are all finally coming together for her. "A year ago I thought I was here at the Law School to get the legal tools for research and then would continue on to medical school. But the law has been so intellectually fascinating that my life course seems to have changed&emdash;I am still interested in pursuing research in law and medicine, but it looks like I'm ultimately hoping to have a career firmly rooted in the law, perhaps as a professor or a judge. At the same time, I've discovered that music&emdash;composing and conducting&emdash;is a huge part of my life." Lan recently became assistant conductor of the HRO. She's also forming a cello consort with 20 to 30 cellists from the Harvard community, aiming for a spring concert to benefit the HRO's Outreach program and the Luise Vosgerchian teaching award. Shaping music, it turns out, is as intriguing to her as performing it. And she's found that music informs her work in the other fields, particularly in conducting, where working with people is key. Is there a place where music, law and science meet for her? "Law and medicine meet in my research," muses Lan, "but music and law are really two separate things. Yes, I'm busy, but if I had to give something up, music would be the last to go. It's not 'extra-curricular.' It's integral." back to top
Fromm Foundation 2000 Commission Winners Announced The Board of Directors of the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University is pleased to announce the names of the ten composers selected to receive Fromm commissions of $10,000 each. These composers were chosen from more than seventy applicants. Dan Asia, Arizona The Fromm Music Foundation seeks to strengthen composition and to bring contemporary concert music closer to the public. Applications for commissions are reviewed on an annual basis. The deadline for Fromm Foundation proposals for this year is June 1, 2001. Requests for guidelines should be sent to: The Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard, Department of Music, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 01238. back to top Composer's Colloquium Launched in 2000-01 Thanks to the efforts of graduate student Ken Ueno, a weekly Composer's Colloquium meets for two hours each and every Monday at 11 am. The Colloquium brings together composers, theorists and musicologists from both within and outside Harvard for lively discussion of music. "I'd like to see the Composer's Colloquium become a community building vehicle for not just composers but the department as well. It gives us all a meeting point&emdash;a place where we can talk about modern music with musicologists like Reinhold Brinkmann and Michael Cuthbert or theorists like Jon Wild or Peter Whincop. We had Peter Grilli come as a guest and screen his film on Takemitsu, which brought in Japan scholars from Northeastern and Tufts, and composers from Brandeis. We have undergraduates who regularly attend too." Other recent guests include Mario Davidsovsky, who presented a talk on his orchestral music, Australian composer and Harvard visiting professor of Australian Studies Barry Conyngham, and a guest composer from St. Petersburg, Grigori Korchmar. back to top Faculty & Staff News The Department is pleased to announce three new faculty appointments this year: Mauro Calcagno, Assistant Professor of Musicology, comes to Harvard from Yale, where he recently completed a multidisciplinary dissertation on 17th- century Venetian opera. His other main research interest is the work of Heinrich Schenker. Joshua Fineberg of Columbia University steps into the position of Assistant Professor of Composition, specializing in electronic music and French contemporary music. Current projects include music for a ballet at IRCAM for the 2003-2004 season, and several smaller works. Fineberg also collaborates with computer scientists and music psychologists to help develop tools for computer assisted composition. Kurt Stallmann (Ph.D. '99) is now Assistant Professor of Composition, teaching electronic/computer music composition and tonal analysis. Stallmann's works have been performed by groups throughout the United States including the Aspen Contemporary Chamber Players and the New Millenium Ensemble. Dwight P. Robinson, Jr. Professor of Humanities Robert Levin and Professor of Music Kay Kaufman Shelemay were elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on October 14, 2000. The Academy inducted 154 new Fellows and fifteen Foreign Honorary Members in a ceremony at the House of the Academy in Cambridge. The new members, chosen in recognition of their distinguished contributions to science, scholarship, public affairs, and the arts, represent 89 institutions in 22 states and 11 foreign countries. Other performing arts individuals included in the class of 2000 were filmmaker George Lucas and video artist Bill Viola. Virginia Danielson, Richard F. French Librarian of the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, has won the Alan Merriam Prize of the Society for Ethnomusicology for her 1997 book The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century, published by the University of Chicago Press. Professor Kay Kaufman Shelemay's newest book, Soundscapes. Exploring Music in a Changing World, will be out from W.W. Norton in February 2001. The book emerged from Shelemay's popular Soundscapes core course and will include three CD's and a "Soundscapes Classical" supplement. Music Department Chair and Harvard College Professor Thomas F. Kelly has recently published First Nights. Five Musical Premieres (Yale University Press, 2000). The volume is a colorful rendering of five famous premieres that details not only the music but the historic landscape and thinking of inaugural audiences. Walter Bigelow Rosen Professor of Music Bernard Rands was special guest composer at this past summer's Warebook Contemporary Music Festival in Vermont. Says 21st Century Music critic David Cleary of Rands' contribution, "'...sans voix parmi les voix...' is wonderfully irresistible, obsessive in its way, yet sinuous and supple&emdash;rather like a blue ribbon tabby fascinated by the sight of a whirling mobile." Newly published from William Powell Mason Professor of Music Christoph Wolff is Johann Sebastian Bach. The Learned Musician. The book is available from Harvard University Press. Driven Into Paradise. The Musical Migration from Nazi Germany to the United States, edited by Professors Reinhold Brinkmann and Christoph Wolff is now in its second printing (University of California Press). Also reprinted is Brinkmann's Arnold Schönberg: 3 Klavierstücke op.11, which is a second revised edition with a new preface. The Department welcomes four new administrative staff: Beth Canterbury, Staff Assistant; Amy Macon, Assistant to the Chair; Richard Picott, Building Manager, and Charles Stillman, Front Office Co-Manager. We are also pleased to announce the promotions of Karen Rynne to Financial Coordinator, and Lesley Bannatyne to Communications Coordinator. Congratulations to Department Administrator Nancy Shafman and her husband Mark Kagan on the birth of their daughter Shira ("song" in Hebrew) on May 22, 1999. Program Coordinator Ann Steuernagel won first place in the XX Video Art Festival in Switzerland with her short film, Boy Running. Ann is back from a leave of absence, where she taught filmaking at Amherst and Mt. Holyoke Colleges. back to top Alumni News David and Beverly Watts have endowed a new chair in music in honor of David's father, G. Gordon Watts. David Watts ('55) explained: "We find that Harvard's ability to attract world-class talent engenders a richness of community that is unequaled at any other institution. We want Harvard always to be a place where young musicians and leading music scholars can flourish, and where people who have no musical background can be exposed to the field." Alan Gilbert (A.B.'89) has assumed the title of Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra as of January 2000. Mr. Gilbert studied composition with Leon Kirchner, Peter Lieberson and Earl Kim during his undergraduate years at Harvard. Ed Gollin Ph.D. '00 has been named Preceptor in Music at Harvard for the 00-01 year. Alan Gosman Ph.D. '00 was appointed Lecturer on Music for the fall. back to top Graduate Student News June '00 Degrees Awarded: Karim Al-Zand (Theory) Theoretical Observations on Jazz Improvisation: The Solos of Julian 'Cannonball' Adderly November '00 Degrees Awarded: Alex Fisher recently returned from a year in Augsburg, Germany, where he examined archival and musical sources in preparation for a dissertation on German music and religion in the era of the Counter-Reformation. He received funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as well as from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Richard Whalley spent the summer of 1999 attending the advanced composition masterclass at the Aspen Music School with the aid of a Paine Fellowship. While there, his Elegy was performed by the Aspen Contemporary Music Ensemble and he studied with Bernard Rands and John Harbison. Lansing McLoskey and wife Kathleen had twin boys, Degan and Kai, on Mother's Day, 1999. His composition, Prex Penitentialis: The Prayer of Petrarch won the 1999 Omaha Symphony Guild International Music Competition; it will be performed during their 2000-01 season. Wild Bells, a viola sonata commissioned by the Barlow Foundation, was premiered last summer at the 1999 International Viola congress. back to top Undergraduate News Two Music Concentrators were selected to receive Prizes from the Office for the Arts at Harvard-Radcliffe. John Baxindine '00, a joint concentrator, won the Louise Donovan Award recognizing a Harvard student who has contributed most to the success of a production from behind the scenes. Joseph Lin '00, received the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, which recognizes outstanding artistic talent and achievement over a four-year period. Lin is a violinist. back to top Coda It is with great sadness that we report the loss of four valued members of our faculty over the past few seasons. In 1998 we said farewell to Ivan Tcherepnin, composer, senior Lecturer on Music and Director of the Electronic Music Studio. Ivan's irrepressible spirit remains with us still in both the memories and music he has left us. James Edward Ditson Professor Emeritus Earl Kim (1920-1998), possessor of an extraordinary compositional voice, was a beloved teacher and mentor of several generations of creative musicians. He taught at Harvard from 1971 to 1990. Fanny P. Mason Professor Emeritus A. Tillman Merritt (1902-1998) was a scholar of Renaissance music who served as leader and chair of the Department of Music from 1942 to 1952. Professor Merritt was instrumental in building the department by securing the first professorship in music as well as by enlarging the Department's facilities and overseeing the first expansion of the building. Our most recent loss is that of Walter W. Naumburg Professor Emerita Luise Vosgerchian, (1922-2000), a ground-breaking performer of new music who was as likely to be seen in the company of Stravinsky and Copland as she was her many beloved students. Professor Vosgerchian taught at Harvard for 31 years. back to top |
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