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John Corigliano

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John Corigliano
Birth nameJohn Paul Corigliano Jr.
Born(1938-02-16)February 16, 1938(age 86)
New York City, US
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Composer

John Paul Corigliano Jr.[1](born February 16, 1938) is an American composer ofcontemporary classical music.With over 100 compositions, he has won accolades including aPulitzer Prize,five Grammy Awards,Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition,and anAcademy Award.

He is a former distinguished professor of music atLehman Collegeand theGraduate Centerof theCity University of New Yorkand part of the composition faculty at theJuilliard School.Corigliano is best known for hisSymphony No. 1,a response to theAIDS epidemic,and his film score forFrançois Girard'sThe Red Violin(1997), which he subsequently adapted as the 2003 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra ( "The Red Violin" ) forJoshua Bell.[2]

Biography

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Before 1964

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Corigliano was born inNew York Cityto a musical family. His Italian-American father, John Paul Corigliano Sr., wasconcertmasterof theNew York Philharmonicfor 23 years. Corigliano's mother, Rose Buzen, an educator and pianist,[3]was Jewish.[4]

He attended P.S. 241 andMidwood High Schoolin Brooklyn.[5]He studied composition atColumbia University(BA 1959)[6]and at theManhattan School of Music.He studied withOtto Luening,[3]Vittorio Giannini,andPaul Creston.Before achieving success as a composer, Corigliano worked as assistant to the producer on theLeonard BernsteinYoung People's Concertsand as a session producer for classical artists such asAndré Watts.He was also music director for New York's listener-sponsored radio stationWBAI.

1964–1987

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Corigliano first came to prominence in 1964 at the age of 26 when his Sonata for Violin and Piano (1963) was the only winner of the chamber-music competition of theSpoleto Festivalin Italy.[7]In 1970, Corigliano teamed up withDavid Hessto createThe Naked Carmen.In a recent communication withDavid Hess,Hess acknowledged thatThe Naked Carmenwas originally conceived by Corigliano and himself as a way to update the most popular opera of our time (Carmen). Mercury Records wanted the classical and popular divisions to work together and after a meeting with Joe Bott, Scott Mampe and Bob Reno, it was decided to proceed with the project. In Hess's own words, the project was "a collective decision".[8]

After he was awarded aGuggenheim Fellowship,Corigliano began teaching at the Manhattan School of Music and became a music faculty member at Lehman College. He credits his first two concerti for solo wind for both changing his art and his career. It was during the composition of hisOboe Concerto(1975) and especially hisClarinet Concerto(1977) that he first used an "architectural" method of composing.

In 1974, he wrote his first film score for the documentaryA Williamsburg Sampler.He later wrote the score forAltered States(1980) for which he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Score.[9]The award-winning score forRevolution(1985), his third film, is one of Corigliano's most impressive creations, although it is less known, as it was never released in any recorded format;[10]it has existed in a bootleg form until Varèse Sarabande officially released the score for a limited time in December 2009 through their CD club, and then as a regular release in 2010.[11]Corigliano later used portions of the score in his first symphony.

For flutistJames Galway,he composed his third wind concerto, titledPied Piper Fantasy,which premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1982). In 1984, he became Distinguished Professor of Music at Lehman College and left his position at Manhattan School of Music in 1986.

1987–present

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In 1987, Corigliano was the first composer ever to serve as Composer-in-Residence for theChicago Symphony Orchestra.During his residency, he composedhis first symphony,which was inspired by theAIDS epidemicand to honor the friends he lost. His first symphony won him theUniversity of LouisvilleGrawemeyer Award for Music Compositionin 1991 and his firstGrammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Compositionin 1992.[12]

Corigliano's first opera,The Ghosts of Versailles,was theMetropolitan Opera's first commission in nearly three decades, celebrating the company's 100th anniversary. The opera was a huge success at the premiere and received the International Classic Music Awards Composition of the Year award in 1992.[7]In 1991, Corigliano became faculty member at the Juilliard School. In 1995, he was commissioned to write String Quartet (1995) by Lincoln Center for theCleveland Quartet,which won him his second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Corigliano's fourth film score was forFrançois Girard'sThe Red Violin(1997) which won him his second Academy Award nomination and the 1999 Oscar for best film score. Portions of the score were used in his violin concerto (2003), written forJoshua Bell,who premiered it on September 19, 2003, with theBaltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2001, he received thePulitzer Prizefor hisSymphony No. 2(2001).

In 2011, Corigliano's song cycleOne Sweet Morningpremiered atAvery Fisher Hallby mezzo-sopranoStephanie Blytheand theNew York Philharmonic,to commemorate the 10th anniversary of theSeptember 11 attacks.[13][14]Other important commissions have beenChiaroscuro(1997) for two pianos tuned aquarter toneapart forThe Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation,Vocalise(1999) for the New York Philharmonic,Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan(2003) which earned him his third Grammy Award,Symphony No. 3Circus Maximus(2004) for the University of Texas Wind Ensemble,STOMP(2011) written for the 2011Tchaikovsky Competitionin Russia, andConjurer(2008) commissioned by an international consortium of six orchestras forEvelyn Glennieand winning him his fifth Grammy Award.[15]

Among Corigliano's students areDavid Sampson,Eric Whitacre,[16]Elliot Goldenthal,Edward Knight,Nico Muhly,[14]Roger Bergs,Michael Gilbertson,Gary Kulesha,Scott Glasgow,John Mackey,Michael Bacon,Avner Dorman,Mason Bates,Steven Bryant,Jefferson Friedman,Jamie Howarth,Dinuk WijeratneandDavid Ludwig.In 1996, TheCorigliano Quartetwas founded, taking his name in tribute.[17]

Music

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See also:List of compositions by John Corigliano

Most of Corigliano's work has been for symphonyorchestra.He employs a wide variety of styles, sometimes even within the same work, but aims to make his work accessible to a relatively large audience. Many of his works have been performed and recorded by some of the most prominent orchestras, soloists, and chamber musicians in the world. He has writtensymphonies,as well as works forstring orchestra,wind band,concerti,chamberand solo pieces,opera,as well as for film.

Corigliano's most distinguished works include hisClarinet Concerto(1977),Symphony No. 1(1988),The Ghosts of Versailles(1991),Symphony No. 2for string orchestra (2000),Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan(2000), and his score for the filmThe Red Violin(1998). His clarinet concerto is the first by an American composer to have entered the standard repertoire sinceAaron Copland'sclarinet concerto.[18]

Awards

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Personal life

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Corigliano has lived in New York City all his life. He currently divides his time between homes inManhattanandKent Cliffs(in theHudson ValleyofUpstate New York) with his husband, the composer-librettistMark Adamo.[21]The two were married inSanta Cruz, Californiaby the conductorMarin Alsopduring the 2008Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.[22]

References

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  1. ^"John Paul Corigliano facts, information, pictures".
  2. ^Byrd, Craig (February 4, 2015)."Curtain Call: Award-winning Composer John Corigliano Encounters The Ghosts of Versailles".Los Angeles.RetrievedSeptember 1,2021.
  3. ^ab"C250 Celebrates John Corigliano".C250.columbia.edu.RetrievedApril 28,2012.
  4. ^Holland, Bernard(January 31, 1982)."HIGHBROW MUSIC TO HUM".The New York Times.Accessed January 13, 2021.
  5. ^Kozinn, Allan (March 26, 1999)."Decades in the Making, John Corigliano's 'Dylan Thomas' Gets Its Premiere".The New York Times.RetrievedApril 28,2012.
  6. ^McGinnis, Mara."The Music of Communion".Columbia Magazine.RetrievedApril 28,2012.
  7. ^ab"About John Corigliano".Coriglianoquartet.RetrievedJuly 28,2013.
  8. ^Lowengard, Henry."The Naked Carmen".RetrievedFebruary 1,2022.What I'm saying is that it was a collective decision.
  9. ^Ault, Susanne; Bing, Jonathan (February 15, 2000). "Nominees speak out".Daily Variety.
  10. ^"John Corigliano Awards"(PDF).The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on February 27, 2008.RetrievedAugust 27,2007.
  11. ^[1]ArchivedMay 31, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  12. ^ab"1991 – John Corigliano".Grawemeyer.org. April 23, 1991. Archived fromthe originalon March 18, 2014.RetrievedJuly 28,2013.
  13. ^Kozinn, Allan (September 23, 2011)."John Corigliano's New Work Commemorates 9/11".The New York Times.
  14. ^abRoss, Alex (November 28, 2011)."The Long Haul: Nico Muhly's first two operas".The New Yorker.RetrievedMay 23,2015.
  15. ^"Albany Symphony wins classical music Grammy".The Daily Gazette.January 27, 2014.RetrievedMay 15,2016.
  16. ^Camphouse, Mark (2004).Composers On Composing For Band, Volume 2.GIA Publications.pp. 253–262.ISBN9781579993856.
  17. ^Cantrell, Scott (July 10, 2005)."On the Outside Looking In: Gay Composers Gave America Its Music".The Dallas Morning News.Archived fromthe originalon November 24, 2006.RetrievedMarch 19,2007.
  18. ^Yvonne Frindle, "An American composer",ABC Radio 24 Hours,February 1997, p. 40
  19. ^"john Corigliano - John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation".gf.org.RetrievedJune 26,2024.
  20. ^"GLAAD".June 28, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon June 28, 2001.
  21. ^"John Corigliano on Composing at 80: 'An Adagio is What I Look For'".NPR.org.
  22. ^Vreeken, Stacey (July 19, 2016)."Marin Alsop's 25 Year Legacy with Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music".Good Times.RetrievedJune 12,2024.
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