Stephen Joel Albert (6 February 1941 – 27 December 1992)[1] was an American composer. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning Symphony No. 1 RiverRun (1983) and his Cello Concerto (1990), written for Yo-Yo Ma. He died suddenly in a 1992 automobile accident, having just sketched out his Second Symphony. The work was subsequently completed by Sebastian Currier, and his death sparked musical tributes from composer colleagues such as Aaron Jay Kernis and Christopher Rouse.
A number of Albert's works were based on James Joyce texts. Finnegans Wake inspired three of Albert's pieces: To Wake the Dead, TreeStone, and Symphony RiverRun. [13] Albert's paired "Distant Hills" arias Flower of the Mountain and Sun's Heat were based on Ulysses, and the song "Ecce Puer" from Joyce's poem of the same name.[14]
His famous Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra started out as a request by the Baltimore Symphony in 1987 for a 15-minute orchestral piece. In 1988 the commission was changed to a concerto for Yo-Yo Ma. The composer credited Ma with his help completing the work. Albert started with material drawn two earlier works from 1988, "Anthem and Processionals" and "The Stone Harp." He started the composition in 1989 and finished in 1990. The premiere was on 31 March 1990 and featured Yo-Yo Ma along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Zinman. A revised version was featured on a 1993 album, "The New York Album."[14]
According to Yo-Yo Ma, the composition was a "kind of catharsis." It incorporated struggles in his life, including his writer's blocks and the death of his father. The work is dedicated to the memory of his father.[14]
Orchestral
Anthems and Processionals (1988) – 16 minutes
Into Eclipse (chamber with voice version) (1981) – 30 minutes
Rilke Song – On Nights Like This (1991) – 5 minutes
The Stone Harp (1988) – 14 minutes
To Wake the Dead (1977) – 25 minutes
Wedding Songs (1964) – 10 minutes
References
^ a bRandel, Don Michael, ed. (1996). "Albert, Stephen (Joel)". The Harvard biographical dictionary of music. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. pp. 11. ISBN 0-674-37299-9.
^"Albert, Stephen Joel". Who Was Who in America, 1993–1996, vol. 11. New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who. 1996. p. 3. ISBN 0-8379-0225-8.
^"History of the Rome Prize in Music Composition" (PDF). Retrieved 13 February 2015.
^"Stephen Albert". G. Schirmer Inc. October 1996. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
^ a bKozinn, Allan (29 December 1992). "Stephen J. Albert, 51, Composer; Won a Pulitzer for His 'Riverrun'". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
^ a b"Stephen Albert". Variety. 4 January 1993. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
^Wigler, Stephen (29 December 1992). "Stephen Albert, his melodious music helped define the 'New Romanticism'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^"Stephen ALbert - John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation". www.gf.org. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
^"The 1995 Grammy Winners". The New York Times. 3 March 1995. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
^Grayson, David. Liner notes to "The New York Album." 1994.