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| name                = Frederic Rzewski
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'''Frederic Anthony Rzewski''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʒ|ɛ|f|s|k|i}} {{respell|ZHEF|skee}}; April 13, 1938&nbsp;– June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=latimes/> From 1977 up to his eventual death, he lived mainly in [[Belgium]]. His major compositions, which often incorporate social and political themes, include the minimalist ''Coming Together'' and the [[Variation (music)|variation]] set ''[[The People United Will Never Be Defeated!]]'',<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.secondinversion.org/2018/04/19/frederic-rzewski-at-80-directions-inevitable-or-otherwise/|title=Frederic Rzewski at 80: Directions Inevitable or Otherwise|last=Schell|first=Michael|date=April 19, 2018|website=Second Inversion|access-date=April 19, 2018}}</ref> which has been called "a modern classic".<ref name=latimes>{{Cite web|last=Swed|first=Mark|date=July 15, 2020|title=Listen to Rzewski's 'People United' and hear protest music that stirs the soul|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-07-15/how-to-listen-frederic-rzewski-people-united-will-never-be-defeated|access-date=June 27, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''Frederic Anthony Rzewski''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʒ|ɛ|f|s|k|i}} {{respell|ZHEF|skee}}; April 13, 1938&nbsp;– June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=latimes/> From 1977 on, he lived primarily in [[Belgium]]. His major compositions, which often incorporate social and political themes, include the minimalist ''Coming Together'' and the [[Variation (music)|variation]] set ''[[The People United Will Never Be Defeated!]]'',<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.secondinversion.org/2018/04/19/frederic-rzewski-at-80-directions-inevitable-or-otherwise/|title=Frederic Rzewski at 80: Directions Inevitable or Otherwise|last=Schell|first=Michael|date=April 19, 2018|website=Second Inversion|access-date=April 19, 2018}}</ref> which has been called "a modern classic".<ref name=latimes>{{Cite web|last=Swed|first=Mark|date=July 15, 2020|title=Listen to Rzewski's 'People United' and hear protest music that stirs the soul|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-07-15/how-to-listen-frederic-rzewski-people-united-will-never-be-defeated|access-date=June 27, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref>


== Early life and education ==
== Early life and education ==
Rzewski was born on April 13, 1938, in [[Westfield, Massachusetts]], to parents of Polish<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gilmore|first=Bob|date=September 30, 2011|title=Frederic Rzewski|url=http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/interviews/rzewski.html|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=www.paristransatlantic.com}}</ref> and Jewish descent,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Sujin|date=2011|title=Understanding Frederic Rzewski's North American Ballads|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1262054539&disposition=inline|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=etd.ohiolink.edu|page=19|archive-date=June 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626231047/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1262054539&disposition=inline|url-status=dead}}</ref> and raised Catholic.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Frederic Rzewski interview|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/6987672/Frederic-Rzewski.html|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=January 14, 2010 }}</ref> He began playing piano at age 5 and attended [[Phillips Academy]], [[Harvard University|Harvard]], and [[Princeton University|Princeton]], where his teachers included [[Randall Thompson]], [[Roger Sessions]], [[Walter Piston]], and [[Milton Babbitt]]. In 1960, he went to Italy on a [[U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission|Fulbright grant]], a trip which was formative in his future musical development. In addition to studying with [[Luigi Dallapiccola]] in Florence on a [[U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission|Fulbright scholarship]]<ref name=nytimes>{{Cite news|last=Robin|first=William|date=June 27, 2021|title=Frederic Rzewski, Politically Committed Composer and Pianist, Dies at 83|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/arts/music/frederic-rzewski-dead.html|access-date=June 28, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> he began a career as a performer of new piano music, often with an improvisatory element.<ref name="Grove"/>
Rzewski was born on April 13, 1938, in [[Westfield, Massachusetts]], to parents of Polish<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gilmore|first=Bob|date=September 30, 2011|title=Frederic Rzewski|url=http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/interviews/rzewski.html|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=www.paristransatlantic.com}}</ref> descent,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kim|first=Sujin|date=2011|title=Understanding Frederic Rzewski's North American Ballads|url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1262054539&disposition=inline|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=etd.ohiolink.edu|page=19|archive-date=June 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626231047/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1262054539&disposition=inline|url-status=dead}}</ref> and raised Catholic.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Frederic Rzewski interview|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/6987672/Frederic-Rzewski.html|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=January 14, 2010 }}</ref> He began playing piano at age 5 and attended [[Phillips Academy]], [[Harvard University|Harvard]], and [[Princeton University|Princeton]], where his teachers included [[Randall Thompson]], [[Roger Sessions]], [[Walter Piston]], and [[Milton Babbitt]]. In 1960, he went to Italy on a [[U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission|Fulbright grant]], a trip which was formative in his future musical development. In addition to studying with [[Luigi Dallapiccola]] in Florence on a [[U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission|Fulbright scholarship]]<ref name=nytimes>{{Cite news|last=Robin|first=William|date=June 27, 2021|title=Frederic Rzewski, Politically Committed Composer and Pianist, Dies at 83|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/arts/music/frederic-rzewski-dead.html|access-date=June 28, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> he began a career as a performer of new piano music, often with an improvisatory element.<ref name="Grove"/>


== Career ==
== Career ==
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In 1977, Rzewski became Professor of Composition at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in [[Liège]], Belgium, then directed by [[Henri Pousseur]]. Occasionally, he taught for short periods at schools and universities throughout the U.S. and Europe, including [[Yale University]], the [[University of Cincinnati]], the [[California Institute of the Arts]], the [[University of California, San Diego]], the [[Royal Conservatory of The Hague]], and [[Trinity College of Music]], London.<ref name="Grove" />
In 1977, Rzewski became Professor of Composition at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in [[Liège]], Belgium, then directed by [[Henri Pousseur]]. Occasionally, he taught for short periods at schools and universities throughout the U.S. and Europe, including [[Yale University]], the [[University of Cincinnati]], the [[California Institute of the Arts]], the [[University of California, San Diego]], the [[Royal Conservatory of The Hague]], and [[Trinity College of Music]], London.<ref name="Grove" />


Many of Rzewski's works were inspired by [[secular]] and socio-historical themes, show a deep political conscience and feature improvisational elements. His better-known works include ''[[The People United Will Never Be Defeated!]]'' (36 variations on the [[Sergio Ortega (composer)|Sergio Ortega]] song "[[El pueblo unido jamás será vencido]]"); ''Coming Together'', a setting of letters from [[Sam Melville]], an inmate at [[Attica State Prison]], at the time of [[Attica Prison riots|the riots there]] (1972); ''North American Ballads'' (I. ''Dreadful Memories''; II. ''Which Side Are You On?''; III. ''Down by the Riverside''; IV. ''Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues'') (1978–79); ''Night Crossing with Fisherman''; ''Fougues''; ''Fantasia'' and ''Sonata''; ''The Price of Oil'', and ''Le Silence des Espaces Infinis'', both of which use graphical notation; ''Les Moutons de Panurge''; and the ''Antigone-Legend''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rzewski, Frederic|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000024218|access-date=June 30, 2021|website=Grove Music Online|year=2001|language=en|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.24218|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0|last1=Murray|first1=Edward}}</ref> Rzewski's later compositions include ''[[Nanosonatas]]'' (2006–2010) and ''Cadenza con o senza Beethoven'' (2003), written for [[Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto]]. Rzewski played the solo part in the world premiere of his piano concerto at the 2013 [[BBC Proms]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/enprzc |publisher=[[BBC]] |title=Prom 50: White, Barry, Rzewski, Feldman |access-date=February 21, 2021 |date=August 19, 2013}}</ref>
Many of Rzewski's works were inspired by [[secular]] and socio-historical themes, show a deep political conscience and feature improvisational elements. His better-known works include ''[[The People United Will Never Be Defeated!]]'' (36 variations on the [[Sergio Ortega (composer)|Sergio Ortega]] song "[[El pueblo unido jamás será vencido]]"); ''Coming Together'', a setting of letters from [[Sam Melville]], an inmate at [[Attica State Prison]], at the time of [[Attica Prison riots|the riots there]] (1972), which were also the inspiration for the companion piece ''Attica''; ''North American Ballads'' (I. ''Dreadful Memories''; II. ''Which Side Are You On?''; III. ''Down by the Riverside''; IV. ''Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues'') (1978–79); ''Night Crossing with Fisherman''; ''Fougues''; ''Fantasia'' and ''Sonata''; ''The Price of Oil'', and ''Le Silence des Espaces Infinis'', both of which use graphical notation; ''Les Moutons de Panurge''; and the ''Antigone-Legend''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rzewski, Frederic|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000024218|access-date=June 30, 2021|website=Grove Music Online|year=2001|language=en|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.24218|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0|last1=Murray|first1=Edward}}</ref> Rzewski's later compositions include ''[[Nanosonatas]]'' (2006–2010) and ''Cadenza con o senza Beethoven'' (2003), written for [[Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)|Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto]]. Rzewski played the solo part in the world premiere of his piano concerto at the 2013 [[BBC Proms]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/enprzc |publisher=[[BBC]] |title=Prom 50: White, Barry, Rzewski, Feldman |access-date=February 21, 2021 |date=August 19, 2013}}</ref>


== Personal life and death ==
== Personal life and death ==
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== Appraisal ==
== Appraisal ==
[[Nicolas Slonimsky]] said of Rzewski in 1993: "He is furthermore a granitically overpowering piano technician, capable of depositing huge boulders of sonoristic material across the keyboard without actually wrecking the instrument."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Slonimsky|first=Nicolas|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28710250|title=The concise edition of Baker's biographical dictionary of musicians|date=1994|publisher=Schirmer Books|isbn=0-02-872416-X|edition=8|location=New York|oclc=28710250|page=857}}</ref> Michael Schell called Rzewski "the most important living composer of piano music, and surely one of the dozen or so most important living American composers".<ref name=":0" />
[[Nicolas Slonimsky]] said of Rzewski in 1993: "He is furthermore a granitically overpowering piano technician, capable of depositing huge boulders of sonoristic material across the keyboard without actually wrecking the instrument."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Slonimsky|first=Nicolas|title=The concise edition of Baker's biographical dictionary of musicians|date=1994|publisher=Schirmer Books|isbn=0-02-872416-X|edition=8|location=New York|oclc=28710250|page=857}}</ref> Michael Schell called Rzewski "the most important living composer of piano music, and surely one of the dozen or so most important living American composers".<ref name=":0" />


In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981), [[Robert Christgau]] reviewed ''Coming Together/Attica/Moutons de Panurge'', an album recorded with vocals by performance artist Steve Ben Israel and released in 1973 by Opus One Records. "The design of 'Coming Together' is simple, even minimal", Christgau said. "Steve ben Israel reads and rereads one of Sam Melville's letters from Attica over a jazzy, repetitious vamp. Yet the result is political art as expressive and accessible as ''[[Guernica (Picasso)|Guernica]]''. In ben Israel's interpretation, Melville's prison years have made him both visionary and mad, and the torment of his incarceration is rendered more vivid by the nagging intensity of the music. The [LP's] other side features a less inspiring political piece and a percussion composition, each likable but not compelling, but that's a cavil. 'Coming Together' is amazing."<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: R|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=R&bk=70|access-date=March 12, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981), [[Robert Christgau]] reviewed ''Coming Together/Attica/Moutons de Panurge'', an album recorded with vocals by performance artist Steve Ben Israel and released in 1973 by Opus One Records. "The design of 'Coming Together' is simple, even minimal", Christgau said. "Steve ben Israel reads and rereads one of Sam Melville's letters from Attica over a jazzy, repetitious vamp. Yet the result is political art as expressive and accessible as ''[[Guernica (Picasso)|Guernica]]''. In ben Israel's interpretation, Melville's prison years have made him both visionary and mad, and the torment of his incarceration is rendered more vivid by the nagging intensity of the music. The [LP's] other side features a less inspiring political piece and a percussion composition, each likable but not compelling, but that's a cavil. 'Coming Together' is amazing."<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: R|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=R&bk=70|access-date=March 12, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
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[[Category:American male classical composers]]
[[Category:American male classical composers]]
[[Category:American contemporary classical music performers]]
[[Category:American contemporary classical music performers]]
[[Category:American people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American male classical pianists]]
[[Category:American male classical pianists]]
[[Category:American male pianists]]
[[Category:American male pianists]]
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[[Category:Phillips Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Phillips Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
[[Category:American people of Polish descent]]

Latest revision as of 03:20, 1 December 2025

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Frederic Anthony Rzewski (Template:IPAc-en Script error: No such module "Respell".; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time.[1][2] From 1977 on, he lived primarily in Belgium. His major compositions, which often incorporate social and political themes, include the minimalist Coming Together and the variation set The People United Will Never Be Defeated!,[1] which has been called "a modern classic".[2]

Early life and education

Rzewski was born on April 13, 1938, in Westfield, Massachusetts, to parents of Polish[3] descent,[4] and raised Catholic.[5] He began playing piano at age 5 and attended Phillips Academy, Harvard, and Princeton, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston, and Milton Babbitt. In 1960, he went to Italy on a Fulbright grant, a trip which was formative in his future musical development. In addition to studying with Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence on a Fulbright scholarship[6] he began a career as a performer of new piano music, often with an improvisatory element.[7]

Career

In 1966, Rzewski co-founded Musica Elettronica Viva with Alvin Curran and Richard Teitelbaum in Rome. Musica Elettronica Viva conceived music as a collective, collaborative process, with improvisation and live electronic instruments prominently featured. In 1971, he returned to New York from Italy.[7]

In 1977, Rzewski became Professor of Composition at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Liège, Belgium, then directed by Henri Pousseur. Occasionally, he taught for short periods at schools and universities throughout the U.S. and Europe, including Yale University, the University of Cincinnati, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of California, San Diego, the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and Trinity College of Music, London.[7]

Many of Rzewski's works were inspired by secular and socio-historical themes, show a deep political conscience and feature improvisational elements. His better-known works include The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (36 variations on the Sergio Ortega song "El pueblo unido jamás será vencido"); Coming Together, a setting of letters from Sam Melville, an inmate at Attica State Prison, at the time of the riots there (1972), which were also the inspiration for the companion piece Attica; North American Ballads (I. Dreadful Memories; II. Which Side Are You On?; III. Down by the Riverside; IV. Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues) (1978–79); Night Crossing with Fisherman; Fougues; Fantasia and Sonata; The Price of Oil, and Le Silence des Espaces Infinis, both of which use graphical notation; Les Moutons de Panurge; and the Antigone-Legend.[8] Rzewski's later compositions include Nanosonatas (2006–2010) and Cadenza con o senza Beethoven (2003), written for Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. Rzewski played the solo part in the world premiere of his piano concerto at the 2013 BBC Proms.[9]

Personal life and death

In 1963, Rzewski married Nicole Abbeloos; they had five children.[10] While Rzewski never divorced Abbeloos, his companion for about the last 20 years of his life was Françoise Walot, with whom he had two children. He also had five grandchildren.[11] Rzewski died of an apparent heart attack in Montiano, Tuscany, Italy,[12] on June 26, 2021, at the age of 83.[11]

Appraisal

Nicolas Slonimsky said of Rzewski in 1993: "He is furthermore a granitically overpowering piano technician, capable of depositing huge boulders of sonoristic material across the keyboard without actually wrecking the instrument."[13] Michael Schell called Rzewski "the most important living composer of piano music, and surely one of the dozen or so most important living American composers".[1]

In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau reviewed Coming Together/Attica/Moutons de Panurge, an album recorded with vocals by performance artist Steve Ben Israel and released in 1973 by Opus One Records. "The design of 'Coming Together' is simple, even minimal", Christgau said. "Steve ben Israel reads and rereads one of Sam Melville's letters from Attica over a jazzy, repetitious vamp. Yet the result is political art as expressive and accessible as Guernica. In ben Israel's interpretation, Melville's prison years have made him both visionary and mad, and the torment of his incarceration is rendered more vivid by the nagging intensity of the music. The [LP's] other side features a less inspiring political piece and a percussion composition, each likable but not compelling, but that's a cavil. 'Coming Together' is amazing."[14]

Selected discography

As composer

As pianist

Literature

  • Rzewski, Frederic. Nonsequiturs—Writings & Lectures on Improvisation, Composition, and Interpretation (Unlogische Folgerungen—Schriften und Vorträge zu Improvisation, Komposition und Interpretation). Edition Musiktexte, Cologne, 2007. Template:ISBN.
  • Петров, Владислав Олегович. Фредерик Ржевски: путь обновления традиций. Astrakhan: AIPKP, 2011, p. 100.
  • Petrov, Vladislav O. Frederic Rzewski: upgrade path traditions. Astrakhan: AIPKP, 2011, p. 100.

References

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  7. a b c "Frederic Rzewski", in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980.
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Further reading

External links

Interviews

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