JAMES MATHESON
JAMES MATHESON
Composer James Matheson has rapidly emerged as one of the most distinctive, vital, and creative musical voices of his generation. The American Academy of Arts and Letters honored him in December, 2011, with the Charles Ives Living, an award of $100,000 a year for 2 years (2012-2014), allowing the composer to devote his time to composition, free of the necessity of other employment. A 2000 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship recipient, Matheson's music has been programmed by such organizations as the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Chicago, Seattle and Albany Symphony Orchestras, American Composers Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orchestra 2001, LA's Monday Evening Concerts Series, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and at the music festivals including Ravinia, Aspen, Spoleto, Santa Fe and many others.
In September of 2009, James became Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s innovative Composer Fellowship Program. Recent projects include True South, an orchestral work commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, and Borromean Rings, a piano quintet commissioned by the Cheswatyr Foundation for the Borromeo String Quartet and pianist Judith Gordon. Upcoming projects include a Violin Concerto, co-commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (with soloists Baird Dodge, Martin Chalifour, in Chicago and Los Angeles respectively), and a new work for soprano and chamber ensemble for Sequitur.
In December 2007, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented the West Coast Premiere of Matheson's Songs of Desire, Love and Loss, which was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and premiered in October, 2004 as part of Dawn Upshaw's Perspectives series. The Anatomy of Melancholy, commissioned by Antares, premiered at the Ravinia Festival in 2008. The 2006-07 season featured the NYC premiere of Colonnade on the 2007 MATA Festival, the World Premiere of Violin Sonata, commissioned by Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, West Coast performances of Falling, by Xtet on LA's Monday Evening Concerts series and by the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and the Midwest Premiere of Buzz by the Orion Ensemble. April 2004 saw the premiere of Umbras and Illuminations by the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the second commission awarded to Matheson by that ensemble (Colonnade premiered in 2002-03; a third commission, La Seine for English horn, premiered in March of 2007). Buzz, for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano was extensively performed worldwide by Antares and Ensemble X, and Pull was recently released by The Ambassador Duo on the Equilibrium label. Orchestra 2001 premiered The Paces for piano and large ensemble at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in 2002-03. In previous seasons, Ensemble X featured three Matheson works in a Merkin Hall (NYC) performance, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra chamber series featured the world premiere of Falling and the local premiere of Spin, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago world premiered the CSO-commissioned orchestral work River, River, River, and the MATA Festival programmed Pound.
In addition to the Guggenheim, Matheson has received fellowships and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship in 2008 and the Hinrichsen Award in 2002), the Bogliasco and Sage Foundations, ASCAP, and the Robbins Prize. From 2005-2007, Matheson was Executive Director of the MATA Festival of New Music in New York, which commissions and performs the work of young composers who are making their entry into professional musical life. Matheson was a 2000 participant in American Composers Orchestra's Whitaker New Music Readings with Gliss, has held residencies at Yaddo and the Liguria Study Center, and has been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.
For more information, please visit www.jamesmatheson.com
View scores here (roll over to view score title):
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 | 2011: Charles Ives Living Award | | 2008: Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters | | 2002: Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters | | 2000: Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship |
Burn for Wind Ensemble (2001) -- 8'30"
Wind Ensemble [2Picc. 3Fl. 2Ob. E.H. EbCl. 3Cl. B.Cl. Cb.Cl. 2Bsn. 4Sax.(SATB) 4Hn. 3Tpt. 2Tbn. B.Tbn. Euph. Tu. 2Cb. Pno. Timp. 5Perc.]
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Cornell University Wind Ensemble
Premiere Information: 2001, Cornell University Wind Ensemble, conducted by Mark Scatterday
Anatomy of Melancholy, The for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (2008) -- 16'
Cl. Vln. Vcl. Pno.
Commission Information: Commissioned by Antares
Premiere Information: February 8, 2008, by Antares at the Ravinia Festival
Additional Information: Published: #114-41414
• Reviews
Borromean Rings for Piano Quintet (2010) -- 23'
2Vln. Vla. Vcl. Pno.
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Cheswatyr Foundation.
Premiere Information: August 29, 2010 by the Borromeo String Quartet and Judith Gordon, piano at Maverick Concerts
Additional Information: Published: #114-41411
Buzz for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (2001) -- 7'
Cl. Vln. Vcl. Pno.
Premiere Information: September 22, 2001, Ensemble X
Additional Information: Published: #114-41419
• Recordings
• Reviews
Contact for Alto Saxophone and Piano (2005) -- 14'
Premiere Information: 2005-06 season by a consortium of nineteen saxophone/piano duos
Additional Information: Published: #114-41418
Fault Lines for Piano Quartet (2009) -- 10'
Vln. Vla. Vcl. Pno.
Commission Information: Commissioned by Mayfest
Premiere Information: May 21, 2010 by Nicholas DiEugeno, Roberta Crawford, John Haines-Eitzen and Xak Bjerken, at Mayfest
Additional Information: Published: #114-41412
La Seine for English Horn or Alto Saxophone (2007) -- 4'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Albany (NY) Symphony Orchestra for ASO English hornist Nat Fossner
Premiere Information: March 2007 by Nat Fossner as part of the Albany Symphony Orchestra's American Music Festival
Additional Information: Published: #114-41416 (for English Horn)
Published: #114-41417 (for Alto Saxophone
Premiere of an arrangement for Alto Saxophone: September 2007 by Tim McAllister at the University of Arizona Museum of Art
Pound for Piano Solo (1999) -- 11'
Premiere Information: May 4, 1998; Xak Bjerken at Cornell University
Additional Information: Published: #110-41784
• Recordings
• Reviews
Pull for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1995) -- 6'
Commission Information: Commissioned by saxophonist Samuel Lorber
Premiere Information: March 29, 1995
Additional Information: Published: #114-41421
• Recordings
Quartet for Oboe and Strings (2008) -- 11'
Ob. Vln. Vla. Vcl.
Commission Information: Commissioned by Winsor Music, Inc., for Peggy Pearson. Made possible by a grant from the Jebediah Foundation: New Music Commissions
Premiere Information: September 20, 2008 by Peggy Pearson, oboe; Gabriela Diaz, violin; Mark Berger, viola; Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello
Additional Information: Published: #114-41427
Sonata for Violin and Piano (2007) -- 16'
Vln. Pno.
Commission Information: Commissioned by Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music
Premiere Information: April 20 and 22, 2007 by Tereza Stanislav (violin) and Roberto Giordano (piano)
Additional Information: Published: #114-41415
Spin for String Quartet (1998) -- 13'
Premiere Information: May 16, 1999, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (chamber music series)
Additional Information: Published: #114-41420
On Spaces for Piano Six-hands (2007) -- 4'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Phillips Academy (Andover) for the dedication of the Academy's new Steinway D Grand piano
Premiere Information: November 29, 2007 by Christopher Walter, Sophie Scolnik-Brower and Andi Zhou
Additional Information: Published: #110-41785
Suitable for performance by students
Sharp Objects for String Orchestra (with or without basses) (2008) -- 4'
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Phillips Academy for the Corelli Ensemble
Premiere Information: Premiered February 29, 2007
Additional Information: Suitable for performance by intermediate-to advanced-level students
Colonnade for 11 Players (2003) -- 18'
Fl. Ob. Cl. Bsn. Hn. Hp. Vibe. 2Vln. Vla. Vcl. Cb.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Albany Symphony Orchestra
Premiere Information: March 8, 2003, Albany Symphony Orchestra, conducted David Alan Miller
Paces, The for Piano and Mixed Ensemble of 10 Players (2003) -- 20'
Piano Solo; 1 1(d.E.H.) 2(d.EbCl.) 0 – 0 0 0 0; Perc. Str.(Cb. with C extension)
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Stott Fund
Premiere Information: April 25, 2003, pianist Charles Abramovic and Orchestra 2001, conducted by James Freeman; Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Reviews
Sleep Concerto for Violin and Mixed Ensemble of Fourteen Players (1995-1997) -- 25'
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Premiere Information: March 29, 1997, Baird Dodge, violin and Festival Orchestra, Cornell University
Four Fanfares (With Assorted Nightmares) for Orchestra (2011) -- 1'45"
3(Picc.) 3 3 3(Cbsn.) – 4 3 3 1; Timp. 2Perc. Hp. Cel. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Premiere Information: 23rd, 30th April, 2011. Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Afkham; Toyota Symphonies for Youth series, Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California.
River, River, River (2001) -- 10'
3(d.Picc. d.A.Fl.) 3(E.H.) 3(d.B.Cl.) 3(Cbsn.) – 4 3 3(B.Tbn.) 1; Hp. Pno./Cel. 3Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Premiere Information: February 11, 2002, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, conducted by Cliff Colnot; Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Additional Information: Inspired by T.S. Eliot's "Virginia"
True South (2010) -- 20'
2 0 2 2 – 2 1 1 0; 2Perc. Hp. Pno.(Cel.) Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Premiere Information: 17th, 18th December, 2010. New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Alan Gilbert; Contact! New Music Series, Metropolitan Museum (17th), Symphony Space (18th), New York, NY.
• Reviews
Umbras and Illuminations (2004) -- 20'
3(d.Picc.) 3(E.H.) 2 2 – 4 2 3 1; Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Albany Symphony Orchestra
Premiere Information: April 23, 2004, Albany Symphony Orchestra
Violin Concerto for violin and large orchestra (2011) -- 25'
Violin solo; 3 3 3 3 – 4 3 3 1; 3Perc. Hp. Pno.(dbl.Cel.) Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Co-commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Premiere Information: Dec. 15-17, 2011, Baird Dodge, violin, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, cond. By Esa-Pekka Salonen, Orchestra Hall, Chicago, IL; March 2-4, 2012, Martin Chalifour, violin, LA Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. By Pablo Heras-Casado, Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, CA
• Reviews
Cradle Songs: II. Songs of Experience for SATB Chorus (2008) -- 4'
Commission Information: Commissioned by Phillips Academy (Andover) for Fidelio
Premiere Information: March 7, 2008, by The Fidelio Society
Additional Information: Settings of William Blakes two poems titled "A Cradle Song," suitable for performance by intermediate-level student chorus
Songs of Desire, Love, and Loss for Soprano and Mixed Chamber Ensemble (2004) -- 20'
Solo Soprano; Fl. Cl.(d.EbCl. d.B.Cl.) Perc. Pno. Vln. Vcl.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned by Carnegie Hall
Premiere Information: October 10, 2004, Dawn Upshaw Perspectives Series, Carnegie Hall; Weill Recital Hall, New York
Additional Information: A setting of seven poems by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Alan Dugan
| Buzz for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano |
| Pull for Alto Saxophone and Piano |
"The hypnotic power of this music arises from a moment-to-moment drama that fascinates the mind and creates its own unpredictable structure."-Jonathan Saville, San Diego Reader"James Matheson is simply one of the best of his generation of American composers. He speaks in a clear, humane, deeply expressive voice and with polished, elegant technique."-Steven Stucky"James Matheson is ignoring style labels and writing synthetic, satisfying music that avoids the glib theatricality of postmodernism."-The New Yorker"Matheson is formidable in talent and promise."-Jonathan Saville, San Diego Reader"Matheson’s music seems to be a breakthrough, an articulate new voice. What I like best is how fresh and independent it comes across."-John Harbison, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer"Matheson is an exceptionally talented composer of vital music. It is brilliant really, and it has many different and pleasing aspects to it despite the remarkable energy that drives it along."-Peter Lieberson, Grawemeyer Award-winning composer"All of Matheson’s works are lively, fresh, and bracing in their gestures, vivid in their timbres, intriguingly unpredictable in their shapes, and characterized by an intense, even obsessive, concentration on their central musical ideas."-Gerald Levinson"The music of James Matheson is free of academic sterility and postmodern irony in equal measures. He forgoes those well-worn refuges in favor of an eloquent language capable of deep feeling and genuine surprise: a language founded in some sense on tradition, but tradition constantly reinvented. Matheson is not afraid of beauty. His masterly play of consonance and dissonance affords him a broadly humane expression that has put him in the forefront of his generation."-Award Citation, The American Academy of Arts and Letters
"Matheson’s lively 20-minute sequence of ear-catching timbres and evocative passages was bracketed by episodes of surging energy and buoyant fanfares."-Steve Smith, New York Times
"Matheson writes in full orchestral 3-D. Waves of tonal sounds moved across the stage, and sections had individual voices and even voices within the sections."-Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun Times
| Paces, The for Piano and Mixed Ensemble of 10 Players |
"[The Paces] isn’t afraid to be quiet… it does not fear beauty… it is prone to turn a melody in an unexpected direction, or color a harmony with a subtle surprise."-Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Joined by clarinetist Garrick Zoeter, the group launched into The Anatomy of Melancholy by James Matheson, which they premiered two days ago in Chicago. The piece, written for the group, had a surprisingly beautiful and eerie feel. The composer created a delightful effect by having the violin or cello pluck the same notes at the same time as Huebner hit the keys - creating an almost bell-like sound. Later in the piece, the four players bounced a note back and forth and then finished in a frenzy."-Laura Stevens, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)"James Matheson's Songs of Desire, Love, and Loss, a song cycle for soprano and mixed ensemble, gave seven poems by Alan Dugan an evocative treatment, the soprano unfolding words carefully and pointedly while the instruments provided dappled, dovetailed, secretive underpinning – painting the place of the poems."-Timothy Mangan, Orange County Register"Matheson's Songs of Desire, Love and Loss illustrates and dramatizes seven poems by Alan Dugan. Matheson tends to build to a punch line, which often helps clarify Dugan’s slight obscurities. You may not know what the poet means, but the music at least directs you to the right place emotionally."-Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
| Buzz for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano |
"Buzz swoops and tumbles like a songbird coasting on a summer breeze."-Steve Smith, TimeOut New York"James Matheson's Buzz made the most of the instrumentation…, dividing the ensemble interestingly, with the clarinet and violin combining in a mercurial counterbalance to the weightier cello and piano writing. . . [I]t is accessible and eclectic."-Allan Kozinn, The New York Times
"James Matheson’s Pound opens with a soft repeated note that grows like a beast, forming a kind of rhythmic spine, with whorls of accented notes that dance around it in a concept that only grows more chilling in its relentlessness. Eric Huebner, who was so expert in the Ligeti Piano Concerto last season, seemed doggedly immersed in the pummeling rhythmic patterns that only grow more and more fiendish."-Bruce Hodges, MusicWeb’s “Seen and Heard International”
Page last updated January 26, 2012
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