Jack Beeson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jack Hamilton Beeson (born July 15, 1921 in Muncie , Indiana , † June 6, 2010 in New York City , New York ) was an American composer .

Life

Beeson studied composition with Edward Royce , Burrill Phillips , Bernard Rogers and Howard Hanson at the University of Toronto until 1938 and at the Eastman School of Music until 1944 . In 1944 and 1945 he had lessons with Béla Bartók in New York City and took part in the opera workshop at Columbia University . In 1945 and 1946 he attended Paul Henry Lang's seminars and began conducting training with Rudolph Thomas . From 1948 to 1950 he stayed in Rome as the winner of the Prix ​​de Rome , after which he taught at Columbia University. After a renewed stay in Rome, he was a guest teacher at the Juilliard School from 1961 to 1963 . In 1965 he became a music professor at Columbia University. In 1976 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters .

Beeson emerged primarily as an opera composer . His sonata for piano from 1946/47 also became famous.

Works

Operas

  • Jonah, opera in two or three acts, libretto: Beeson after Paul Goodman , 1946–1950
  • Hello out there , chamber opera in one act, libretto: Beeson after William Saroyan , world premiere on May 27, 1957 at the Brander Matthews Theater in New York
  • The Sweet Bye and Bye, opera in two acts, libretto: Kenward Elmslie , premiered on November 21, 1957 at the Juilliard Concert Hall in New York
  • Lizzie Borden , opera (“family portrait”) in three acts, libretto: Kenward Elmslie based on a scenario by Richard Plant , composed 1960–1965, world premiere on March 25, 1965 at the New York City Opera , European premiere in 1992 at the Hagen Theater
  • My Heart's in the Highlands, chamber opera in two or three acts, libretto: Beeson after William Saroyan, world premiere on March 17, 1970 at the NET Opera Theater
  • Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, opera ("romantic comedy") in three acts, libretto: Sheldon Harnick after Clyde Fitch , world premiere: September 20, 1975 at the Lyric Opera in Kansas City
  • Doctor Heidegger's Fountain of Youth, chamber opera in one act, libretto: Sheldon Harnick based on Nathaniel Hawthorne , first performance on November 17, 1978 at the National Arts Club New York
  • Cyrano , opera (“heroic comedy”) in three acts, libretto: Sheldon Harnick based on Edmond Rostand , 1980–1991, world premiere on September 10, 1994 in the Hagen Theater
  • Sorry, Wrong Number, chamber opera in one act, libretto: Beeson after Lucille Fletcher , 1996, world premiere on May 25, 1999 at the Kaye Playhouse in New York
  • Practice in the Art of Elocution, chamber opera (“operina”) in one act, libretto: Beeson, world premiere on May 12, 1998 at Merkin Hall in New York

Choral works

  • A Round for Christmas (Bible: John Gospel ) for choir, 1942, revised 1951
  • Boys and Girls Together (anon.) For choir, 1965
  • Greener Pastures (anon.) For choir, 1965
  • Homer's Woe (anon. Nursery rhymes), Tr vv, 1966
  • In Praise of the Bloomers (anon., From Mrs Partington's Carpetbag of Fun ) for male choir, 1969
  • To a Lady Who Asked for a Cypher (anon., From Mrs Partington's Carpetbag of Fun ) for choir, 1969
  • Everyman's Handyman (Beeson, after Ethel Smyth ) for male choir, 1970
  • The Model Housekeeper (Ethel Smyth) for female choir, 1970
  • Knots: Jack and Jill for Grown-ups ( Ronald D. Laing ), 1979
  • Hinx, Minx (traditional nursery rhyme), 1980
  • Magicke Pieces (R. Herrick and others) for choir, three wind instruments and two bells, 1991
  • Epitaphs (anon.), 1993
  • Summer Rounds and Canons (anon.) For choir, 2002
  • other shorter choral works

Solo vocal works

  • 4 Crazy Jane Songs ( William Butler Yeats ) for alto and piano, 1944, revised 1959, 1992
  • 3 Songs ( William Blake ) for tenor and piano, 1945, revised 1951, 1995
  • 5 Songs ( Francis Quarles ) for soprano and piano, 1946, revised in 1950
  • Piazza Piece ( John Crowe Ransom ) for soprano, tenor and piano, 1951
  • 2 songs ( John Betjeman ) for baritone and piano, 1952
  • 6 Lyrics (English and American poets) for high voice and piano, 1952, revised 1959, 1995
  • 2 Concert Arias for soprano and orchestra: The Elephant ( DH Lawrence ), 1953, The Hippopotamus ( TS Eliot ), orig. for soprano and piano, 1951, revised and orchestrated, 1952, 1995
  • Indiana Homecoming ( Abraham Lincoln ) for baritone and piano, 1956
  • Leda ( Aldous Huxley ) for speaker and piano, 1957, revised 1995
  • Against Idleness and Mischief and In Praise of Labor ( Isaac Watts ) for high voice and piano, 1959
  • A Creole Mystery (Beeson, after Lafcadio Hearn ) for mezzo-soprano / baritone and string quartet, 1970
  • To a Sinister Potato ( Peter Viereck ) for baritone and piano, 1970
  • The Day's no Rounder than its Angles Are (Viereck) for mezzo-soprano / baritone and string quartet, 1971
  • Death by Owl-Eyes (R. Hughes) for high voice and piano, 1971
  • The You Should Have Done It Blues (Viereck) for soprano and piano, 1971
  • From a Watchtower ( William Wordsworth , WH Auden , Gerard Manley Hopkins , Walter de la Mare ), five songs for high voice and piano, 1976
  • Cat (J. Keats) for soprano and piano, 1979
  • Cowboy Song (Charles Causley) for baritone and piano, 1979
  • In the Public Gardens (John Betjeman) for tenor and piano, 1991
  • Inerludes and Arias from Cyrano for baritone and orchestra, 1997
  • The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (G. Leybourne and Beeson) for countertenor and chamber orchestra / piano, 1999
  • Ophelia Sings for mezzo-soprano and ensemble, 2000
  • A Rupert Brooke Cycle (five songs, Rupert Brooke , Beeson) for bass baritone and piano, 2002
  • Kilroy Was Here (Viereck) for baritone and piano, 2010
  • other songs

Orchestral works

  • Hymns and Dances, 1958 (from The Sweet Bye and Bye ), arrangement for band, 1966
  • Symphony No. 1 in A major, 1959
  • Transformations, 1959
  • Commemoration for band and choir ad lib., 1960
  • Fanfare for brass, woodwind and percussion, 1963

Chamber music

  • Song, for flute and piano, 1945
  • Interlude for violin and piano, 1945, revised 1951
  • Piano Sonata No. 4, 1945, revised 1951
  • Piano Sonata No. 5, 1946, revised 1951
  • Sonata for viola and piano, 1953
  • 2 Diversions for piano, 1953, arrangement of Piano Sonata No. 3 from 1944
  • Sketches in Black and White for piano, 1958
  • Round and Round for piano four hands, 1959
  • Sonata canonica for two treble recorders, 1966
  • 2 Pieces for Ensemble, 1967 (for film, radio or TV)
  • Old Hundredth: Prelude and Doxology for organ, 1972 (on the Geneva melody for Psalm 134 )
  • Fantasy, Ditty and Fughettas for two baroque or modern flutes, 1992
  • 45 works composed before 1950

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biographical data on Sigma Alpha Iota
  2. ^ Members: Jack Beeson. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed February 15, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Lizzy Borden. Program of the Theater Hagen , 1992/1993 season, issue 1.
  4. ↑ Article Beeson, Jack In: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia , 2012
personal data
SURNAME Beeson, Jack
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beeson, Jack Hamilton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 15, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Muncie , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH June 6, 2010
Place of death New York City , New York