Kirke Mechem
Kirke Lewis Mechem (born August 16, 1925 in Wichita (Kansas) ) is an American composer . His best known work is the opera Tartuffe based on the comedy by Molière .
Life
Kirke Mechem grew up in a musical family and received piano lessons as a child from his mother, who had studied piano in Germany. After initially enrolling in English at Stanford University to become a writer like his father, after a few years he switched to studying harmony and counterpoint . In 1953 he completed his master's degree at Harvard University .
After working as a choir director at Stanford University for three years, Mechem moved to Vienna for several years before returning to California in 1963 and working as a composer and lecturer at the University of San Francisco . He still lives with his family in San Francisco to this day .
In 2012, Mechem was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Kansas for his services to choral music and opera .
Compositions
Mechem's oeuvre mainly includes choral works , including female choirs , male choirs and pieces for mixed choir a cappella as well as choral works with piano or orchestral accompaniment. Mechem also wrote piano pieces, works for various chamber music ensembles, orchestral pieces (including two symphonies ) and four operas , for which he also wrote the libretti . He was best known for the opera Tartuffe , which is based on the comedy Tartuffe by Molière and has been performed over 400 times since its premiere in 1980.
Web links
- Homepage of the composer (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mechem, Kirke |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mechem, Kirke Lewis (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 16, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wichita, Kansas , United States |