 |
Synchronisms No. 10 (1992)
Mario Davidovsky:
"The Synchronisms are a series of pieces for instruments and prerecorded sounds, composed during the last three decades. One of the central ideas of these pieces is the search to find ways of embedding both the acoustic and electronic into a single coherent musical and aesthetic space.
"Synchronisms #10 begins with an extended virtuoso introduction for solo guitar. As the piece progresses and the tape enters, the guitar part gradually becomes simpler. The tape part consists of both purely electronic sounds and samples of David Starobin's guitar playing."
Mario Davidovsky (b. 1934) is widely recognized for his pioneering work in electroacoustic music. His Synchronisms are early examples of successful integration of acoustic instruments with electronic sound; Davidovsky received the Pulitzer Prize in 1971 for his Synchronisms No. 6 for piano and tape. Since the 1970's the bulk of Davidovsky's output has consisted of chamber, orchestral, and vocal works.
Davidovsky was born in Médanos, Argentina into a family of 11 children, all of whom were musicians; he studied violin as a child and began to compose at the age of 13. His formal musical training began with Guillermo Graetzer in Buenos Aires, with whom he studied theory and composition. In 1958 he was invited by Aaron Copland to study at the Berkshire Music Center (now Tanglewood) in Lenox, Massachusetts; two years later he settled in New York City and began a long association with the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Davidovsky has since taught at a number of educational institutions: University of Michigan, Instituto Torcuato Di Tella of Buenos Aires, Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, City College of New York, and Harvard University. He has served as director of the CRI record label, Fromm and Koussevitzky Foundations, and for many years the Composers Conference at Wellesley College, Massachusetts.
Davidovsky has received commissions from a wide range of chamber ensembles and orchestras from across the US. Recordings of his work can be found on the Albany, Artek, Bis, Bridge, Capstone, Centaur, CRI, Decca, Delos, Deutsche Grammophon, and New World labels.
David Starobin is one of today's leading performers of contemporary music for guitar. He initially studied with Manuel Gayol, then later with Albert Valdes Blain and Aaron Shearer at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. More than 300 solo, chamber, and concerto works have been dedicated to Starobin by such composers as Poul Ruders, George Crumb, Jonathan Harvey, Lukas Foss, Gunther Schuller, Milton Babbitt, and Per Nørgård. Also a performer on early guitars, Starobin's concerts have often featured music by 19th century guitar virtuoso Giulio Regondi. He has received an award from the Fromm Foundation and is the only guitarist to be awarded the Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Career Prize. Currently the chairman of the Guitar Department at the Manhattan School of Music, Starobin is also the co-founder of the Bridge Records label, where many of his performances can be found.
related websites
http://www.bridgerecords.com/ds_artist.htm
| |
