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.

 

  • voice+keyboard
  • 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