Vincent Persichetti

Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia. He was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own work and teaching, and for training many noted composers in composition at the Juilliard School. His students at the Juilliard School included Philip Glass, Charles L. Bestor, Hall Overton, Karl Korte, Michael Jeffrey Shapiro, Larry Thomas Bell, Richard Danielpour, Kenneth Fuchs, Jing Jing Luo, William Schimmel, Robert Dennis, Peter Schickele, Louis Calabro, Ronald Caltabiano and Thelonious MonkFact|date=October 2008. He also taught composition to conductor James DePreist at the Philadelphia Conservatory.

Life

Persichetti was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1915, and remained a resident of that city throughout his life. Though neither of his parents were musicians, his musical education nonetheless began early. Persichetti enrolled in the Combs College of Music at the age of five, where he studied piano, organ, double bass, and later music theory and composition with Russel King Miller, whom he considered a great influence. By the time he reached his teens, he was paying for his own education by accompanying and performing; he continued to do so throughout high school, adding church organist, orchestral player, and radio staff pianist to his experience. His first public performance of his own original works came at the age of 14. In addition to his musical talents, the young Persichetti attended art school, and remained an avid sculptor until his death. He attended Combs for his undergraduate education as well, where upon receiving his bachelor's degree in 1936, he was immediately offered a teaching position.

By the age of 20, Persichetti was simultaneously head of the theory and composition department at Combs, a conducting major with Fritz Reiner at the Curtis Institute, and a student of piano (with Olga Samaroff) and composition at the Philadelphia Conservatory; He earned a master's degree in 1941 and a doctorate in 1945 from Philadelphia, as well as a conducting diploma from Curtis. In 1941, while still a student, Persichetti headed the theory and composition department as well as the department of postgraduate study at Philadelphia. In 1947, William Schuman extended an offer of professorship at Juilliard, where his students included Einojuhani Rautavaara, Leonardo Balada, Peter Schickele (P.D.Q. Bach), Michael Jeffrey Shapiro, Larry Thomas Bell, Claire Polin, Toshi Ichiyanagi and Philip Glass. He became Editorial Director of the Elkan-Vogel publishing house in 1952.

Music

Persichetti is one of the major figures in American music of the 20th century, both as a teacher and a composer. Notably, his "Hymns and Responses for the Church Year" has become a standard setting for church choirs, and high school and college students' introductions to contemporary music are often made by way of his numerous compositions for wind ensemble. His early style was marked by the influences of Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, and Copland before developing into his own distinct voice in the 1950s.

Persichetti's music draws on a wide variety of thought in 20th century composition as well as Big Band music while remaining in his own distinct voice. His own style is marked by use of two elements he refers to as "graceful" and "gritty": the former being more lyrical and melodic, the latter being sharp and intensely rhythmic. He frequently uses polytonality and pandiatonicism in his writing, and his style is marked by sharp rhythmic interjections, but his embracing of diverse strands of musical thought makes characterizing his body of work difficult. This trend continued throughout his compositional career; his music is not marked by sharp changes in style over time. (Persichetti once proclaimed in an interview in "Musical Quarterly " that his music was "not like a woman, that is, it does not have periods!").Citequote|date=September 2008 He frequently composed in his car, sometimes taping staff paper to the steering wheel.

His piano music forms the bulk of his creative output, with a concerto, a concertino, twelve sonatas, and a variety of other pieces written for the instrument, virtuosic pieces as well as pedagogical and amateur-level compositions; Persichetti was an accomplished pianist. Unlike many composers who restrict the mature output to heavier compositions, Persichetti wrote many pieces suitable for less mature performers, considering them too to have serious artistic merit. Persichetti is also one of the major composers for the concert wind band repertoire, with his 14 works for the ensemble; the "Symphony No. 6" for band is of particular note as a standard larger work. He wrote one opera, entitled "The Sibyl", which was a flop; the music was noted for its color, but the dramatic and vocal aspects of the work were found lacking. He wrote eight symphonies and four string quartets. Many of his other works are organized into series. One of these, a collection of primarily instrumental works entitled "Parables", contains 25 works, many for unaccompanied wind instruments (complete listing below), and his 15 "Serenades" include such unconventional combinations as a trio for trombone, viola, and cello as well as selections for orchestra, for band, and for duo piano.

In addition to his frequent appearances as lecturer on college campuses, in which he was noted for his witty and engaging manner, he wrote the music theory textbook "Twentieth Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice" as well as coauthoring a monograph, with Flora Rheta Schreiber, on William Schuman.

Works

elected works

*"Celebrations", for Chorus and Wind Ensemble, Op. 103
*"Chorale Prelude: So Pure the Star", Op. 91
*"Chorale Prelude: Turn Not Thy Face", Op. 105
*"Divertimento For Band", Op. 42
*"Masquerade" for Band, Op. 102
*"Masques" for violin and piano Op. 99
*"Mass" for a capella mixed chorus, Op. 84
*"Pageant", Op. 59
*"Parable IX" for Band, Op. 121
*"Pastorale" for Wind Quintet, Op. 151
*"Psalm for Band", Op. 53
*"Symphony No. 6" For Band
*"The Hollow Men", for trumpet and string orchestra, Op. 25
*"The Sibyl: A Parable of Chicken Little (Parable XX)": An Opera in One Act, Op. 135
*"Winter Cantata", Op. 97 for Women’s Chorus, Flute, and Marimba

Complete listing of Parables

*"Parable [I] " for Flute, Op. 100 (1965)
*"Parable II" for Brass Quintet, Op. 108 (1968)
*"Parable III" for Oboe, Op. 109 (1968)
*"Parable IV" for Bassoon, Op. 110 (1969)
*"Parable V" for Carillon, Op. 112 (1969)
*"Parable VI" for Organ, Op. 117 (1971)
*"Parable VII" for Harp, Op. 119 (1971)
*"Parable VIII" for Horn, Op. 120 (1972)
*"Parable IX" for Band, Op. 121 (1972)
*"String Quartet No. 4 (Parable X)", Op. 122 (1972)
*"Parable XI" for Alto Sax, Op. 123 (1972)
*"Parable XII" for Piccolo, Op. 125 (1973)
*"Parable XIII" for Clarinet, Op. 126 (1973)
*"Parable XIV" for Trumpet, Op. 127 (1973)
*"Parable XV" for English Horn, Op. 128 (1973)
*"Parable XVI" for Viola, Op. 130 (1974)
*"Parable XVII" for Double Bass, Op. 131 (1974)
*"Parable XVIII" for Trombone, Op. 133 (1975)
*"Parable XIX" for Piano, Op. 134 (1975)
*"The Sibyl: A Parable of Chicken Little (Parable XX)": An Opera in One Act, Op. 135
*"Parable XXI" for Guitar, Op. 140 (1978)
*"Parable XXII" for Tuba, Op. 147 (1981)
*"Parable XXIII" for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Op. 150 (1981)
*"Parable XXIV" for Harpsichord, Op. 153 (1982)
*"Parable XXV" for Two Trumpets, Op. 164 (1986)

Poems for piano

*Volume 1, Op. 4:
#"Unroll the flicker's rousing drum" (Louis Untermeyer "First Words Before Spring")
#"Soft is the collied night" (James Elroy Flecker "Fountains")
#"Gather for festival bright weed and purple shell" (William Watson "Songs from Cyprus")
#"Wake subtler dreams, and touch me nigh to tears" (William Watson "The Frontier")
#"Ravished lute, sing to her virgin ears" (Robert Fitzgerald "Song after Campion")
#"Whose thin fraud I wink at privily" (William Watson "The Mock Self")
*Volume 2, Op. 5:
#"And warms winds spilled fragrance into her solitudes" (Edmond Kowalewski "Change")
#"To whose more clear than crystal voice the frost had joined a crystal spell" (Léonie Adams "Home Coming")
#"Sleep, weary mind; dream, heart's desire" (Edna St. Vincent Millay "There are no islands any more")
#"Dust in sunlight, and memory in corners" (T. S. Eliot "A Song for Simeon")
#"Make me drunken with deep red torrents of joy" (John Gould Fletcher "Autumnal Clouds")
*Volume 3, Op. 14:
#"Rear its frondings sighing in aetherial folds" (Hart Crane "Royal Palm")
#"Listen! Can you hear the antic melody of fear those two anxious feet are playing?" (Walter Prude)
#"Puffed out and marching upon a blue sky" (Amy Lowell "Lilacs")
#"And hunged like those top jewels of the night" (Léonie Adams "Twilit Revelation")
#"Each gay dunce shall lend a hand" (John Trumbull "The Country Clown")

Piano sonatas

#Op. 3
#Op. 6
#Op. 22
#Op. 36
#Op. 37
#Op. 39
#Op. 40
#Op. 41
#Op. 58
#Op. 67
#Op. 101
#Op. 145 (Mirror Sonata)

Awards and honors

*In honor of Persichetti's vast influence on American music, on May 19, 1984 he was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit [cite web | url = http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/gleeclub/MEMBERS_merit.html|title=The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit Recipients] . Beginning in 1964, this award "established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression."

Further reading

*cite book |last=Persichetti |first=Vincent |title=Twentieth-century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice |date=1961 |publisher=W. W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=0-393-09539-8 |oclc=398434

References

*Walter G. Simmons: "Vincent Persichetti". Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy, (subscription access) accessed 22 April 2005.
*Donald L. and Janet L. Patterson: "Vincent Persichetti: A Bio-Biography". Westport, Conn. Greenwood Press, 1988.
*James P. Cassaro: "Vincent Persichetti". Grove Music Online (OperaBase), ed. L. Macy (subscription access), accessed 22 April 2005.
*Larry Bell, review of "Vincent Persichetti: The Louisville Orchestra" for Sequenza21.com [http://www.sequenza21.com/2005/03/larry-bell-on-vincent-persichetti.html]

Media

External links

* [http://www.nypl.org/research/manuscripts/music/muspersi.xml Vincent Persichetti Papers, 1901-1996] , the composer's manuscripts and personal papers at the [http://www.nypl.org/musicdiv Music Division] of [http://www.nypl.org/research/lpa/lpa.html The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts] .
* [http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/rha/persiche Vincent Persichetti Collection] , the composer's personal collection of recordings, at the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound in The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
* [http://www.lawrence.edu/fac/koopmajo/persichetti.html UNSUNG SONGS] discussion of Emily Dickinson Songs, Opus 77, by Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987)
* [http://www.bandroom.com/BCP/resources/ComposerSeries/VPers.pdf Bandroom.com Persichetti information and trivia]
* [http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Namedrill?&name_id=9340&name_role=1 List of works from ArkivMusic]
* [http://persichetti.org/ Vincent Persichetti Society]

Listening

* [http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/composer.pl?comp=212 Art of the States: Vincent Persichetti] "Night Dances, op. 114" (1970)