Elliott Schwartz

Biography
Elliott Schwartz was born 1936 in New York City and studied composition with Otto Luening and Jack Beeson at Columbia University. He retired from the faculty at Bowdoin College, where he served for 43 years, twelve of them as department chair. His many extended residencies and/or visiting professorships include Ohio State University, the University of California (San Diego and Santa Barbara), Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge. Schwartz’s compositions have been performed by such groups as the Minnesota Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and the Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands and featured at numerous international music centers and festivals including Tanglewood, the Library of Congress, Monday Evening Concerts (Los Angeles), DeIjsbreker (Amsterdam), Music of the Americas (London), and the European Youth Orchestra Festival (Copenhagen).

Leading orchestras and chamber ensembles have recorded his music for New World, CRI, Albany, Innova, Capstone and other labels. Honors and awards for his compositions include the Gaudeamus Foundation (Netherlands), the Rockefeller Foundation (two Bellagio residencies), and the National Endowment for the Arts. Over the course of his career he has served as president of The College Music Society, president of the Society of Composers, Inc, vice-president of the American Music Center, and board member of the American Composers Alliance.

Schwartz wrote or edited a number of books on musical subjects. These include Music: Ways of Listening, Electronic Music: A Listener’s Guide, Music since 1945 (co-author with Daniel Godfrey) and the anthology Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music (co-editor with Barney Childs). Schwartz’s 70th and 80th birthdays were celebrated with concerts and guest lectures at Oxford, the Royal Academy of Music (London), Butler University, Concordia College, the University of Minnesota, the ACA Festival (NYC) and the Library of Congress.  His music is published by ACA, Associated Music Publishers, and Lauren Keiser Music, and is preserved at archives including the Library of Congress and Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland. He passed away December 7, 2016 in Brunswick.

 

ACE Publications

103 title(s)
Composer Title SCORING/INSTRUMENTATION Year
Elliott Schwartz ALTO PRISMS
8 violas
Elliott Schwartz ANAGRAMS
B flat trumpet and percussion (1)
Elliott Schwartz ARCHEOPTERYX tbn,pf
Elliott Schwartz ARIA WITH INTERRUPTIONS
vla, perc
Elliott Schwartz BEGINNER'S LUCK solo gtr, with pre-recorded gtr
Version II is guitar with added piano
Elliott Schwartz BIRD BATH
woodwind quintet, recording of bird sounds
Elliott Schwartz BIRTHDAY OFFERINGS
vla, cl
Elliott Schwartz BLOSSOMS AND CANNONS: A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE
pf, tape
Elliott Schwartz BY GEORGE ob., vc., pf.
Elliott Schwartz CAMBRIDGE MOSAIC
Flute, Horn, Violin, Cello, Piano-4-hands, Percussion (i.e. a total of six instruments, seven performers).
Elliott Schwartz CELEBRATION FANFARE 1 MIN 4141, 4441, 5 SAXES, CBASS, PERC (5)
large concert band
Elliott Schwartz CELEBRATION OVERTURE 4141, 4441, 5 SAXES, CBASS, PERC (5)
large concert band
Elliott Schwartz CHAMBER CONCERTO V bsn solo, fl, pf, perc(2), strings
Elliott Schwartz CHAMBER CONCERTO VI: MR JEFFERSON Violin solo, chamber orchestra 1-(Picc)-1 (E.H.)-1 (Bass Clar)-1 (CBsn), 1-1-1-0, Percussion (1 or 2 players), piano (doubles on harpsichord & celesta), strings.
Elliott Schwartz CLEVELAND DOUBLES
soli cl/bcl-sax/SA & concert band: 3/pic-0-3/bcl,dbl reeds,3 sax(atb);2-2-2-euph-1;2perc
Elliott Schwartz COLLAGE CONCERTANTE
cl, tpt, pno, guitar, drumset, boom box for CD playback
Elliott Schwartz CRYSTAL: A CYCLE OF NAMES AND MEMORIES
pf, perc
Elliott Schwartz DARWIN'S DREAM
any melodic instrument, piano, tape playback
Elliott Schwartz DARWIN'S DREAM II improvisation ensemble of 3 to 6 players, including piano and percussion
chamber ensemble, video projections with sound
Elliott Schwartz DARWIN'S DREAM III
Mixed choir SATB, narrator, piano, video/audio projections
Elliott Schwartz DIAMOND JUBILEE
pic,2fl,2ob,2cl,bscl,2bsn,cbsn;4hn,3tpt,2tbn,bstbn,tba; hp, pf(dbl elec kb); timp(4drums), perc(4), strings
Elliott Schwartz DOWNEAST FANFARE
3 tpts
Elliott Schwartz Downtown Crossing solo trombone and bass trombone, 3 percussion, and approx 15 additional woodwind and brass players

Additional Works

Lauren Keiser Music

Divertimento No. 4
Suite for Viola and Piano
Chamber Concerto 1
Chamber Concerto 3
Quartet for oboe and strings
Three Movements for Brass Quintet
Octagon
Fantastic Prisms
Four Maine Haiku (Maine Haiku)
 

Carl Fischer

Aria No. 2 for violin and drum