SHULAMIT RAN
SHULAMIT RAN
"Shulamit Ran has never forgotten that a vital essence of composition is communication." So ran the review in the Chicago Tribune following the premiere of Legends by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This sort of reaction is by no means unusual. Around the country, from Seattle to Baltimore to Houston, commentary on her music typically runs thus: "gloriously human", and "compelling not only for its white-hot emotional content but for its intelligence and compositional clarity," — "Ran is a magnificent composer." It is hardly surprising, then, that Symphony, which has drawn references to "the superior quality of her musical imagination and artistic invention" and which has been hailed as "a work that will reward each new listening" should have won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Ms. Ran’s work displays an emotional quality and technical superiority that has led critics to acclaim her work as "written with the same sense of humanity found in Mozart’s most profound opera arias or Mahler’s searching symphonies."
Ms. Ran began composing songs to Hebrew poetry at the age of seven in her native Israel. By nine she was studying composition and piano with some of Israel’s most noted musicians, including composers Alexander U. Boskovich and Paul Ben-Haim, and within several years was having her early works performed by professional musicians, as well as orchestras. She continued her piano and composition studies in the U.S., on scholarships form the Mannes College of Music in New York and the America Israel Cultural Foundation, with Nadia Reisenberg and Norman Dello Joio, respectively, later studying piano with Dorothy Taubman. In 1973 she joined the faculty of the University of Chicago, where she is now the Andrew MacLeish Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Music and artistic director of Contempo, formerly the Contemporary Chamber Players. She lists her late colleague and friend Ralph Shapey, with whom she also studied in 1977, as an important mentor.
Among her numerous awards, fellowships and commissions are those from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Fromm Music Foundation, WFMT, Chamber Music America, the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Eastman School of Music, the American Composers Orchestra (Concerto for Orchestra), the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Concerto da Camera II), the Philadelphia Orchestra (Symphony, first performed in 1990, Pulitzer Prize 1991, first place Kennedy Center Friedheim Award 1992), the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Legends), the Baltimore Symphony (Vessels of Courage and Hope), and many more.
Orchestral works since the prize-winning Symphony include Legends (a joint commission celebrating the centennials of both the Chicago Symphony and the University of Chicago), which premiered in October, 1993, and Vessels of Courage and Hope, commissioned by the Albert Shapiro Fund and premiered by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1998, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel and the voyage of the S.S. President Warfield/"Exodus 1947."
More recent works include the flute concerto, Voices, commissioned by the National Flute Association for its year 2000 convention; Supplications, for chorus and orchestra, premiered in November, 2002 by the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; a Violin Concerto premiered in June, 2003 by Israeli violinist Ittai Shapira and British conductor Charles Hazelwood, also at Carnegie Hall; Bach Shards, commissioned by the Brentano String Quartet as part of the quartet’s Art-of-Fugue project and performed in many major venues since its premiere; Under the Sun’s Gaze (Concerto da Camera III), an ensemble work for nine players for the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation and premiered in April, 2005 in San Francisco; Fault Line for ensemble, commissioned by the Chicago Symphony MusicNOW series, premiered in May, 2006 at Chicago’s Symphony Center; and Credo/Ani Ma’amin, part of And on Earth, Peace: A Chanticleer Mass, commissioned and widely performed by Chanticleer, the noted 12-man vocal ensemble, following its premiere in New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in April, 2007.
In 1990, Ms. Ran was selected by Maestro Daniel Barenboim to be Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as part of the Meet the Composer Orchestra Residencies Program, a position she held for seven seasons. From 1994 to 1997, Ran also served as the fifth Brena and Lee Freeman Sr. Composer-in-Residence with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her first opera, Between Two Worlds (The Dybbuk), which received its much-acclaimed premiere in June, 1997, was commissioned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and was described in Opera News as "the most powerful new music-theater piece to emerge from Lyric’s composer-in-residence program." The European premiere of Between Two Worlds took place in May, 1999, at the Bielefeld Opera, in a German translation.
Ms. Ran’s music has been played by many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Jerusalem Orchestra, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Amsterdam Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the American Composers Orchestra; her works have been conducted by, among others, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Gary Bertini, Christoph Von Dohnanyi (in two U.S. tours), Gustavo Dudamel, and the late Yehudi Menuhin. Other performers include the Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago under Ralph Shapey and Cliff Colnot, Da Capo Chamber Players, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble under Arthur Weisberg, Twentieth Century Consort, Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles, New York Philomusica, the Pennsylvania Contemporary Players, on "Music Today" in New York directed by Gerard Schwarz, the Mendelssohn String Quartet, the Lark Quartet, the Penderecki Quartet, the Cassatt Quartet, the Peabody Trio, Musical Elements, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Callisto Ensemble (for which Ms. Ran was the 2006-2007 theme composer), both Collage and Musica Viva in Boston, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Ms. Ran’s works have been performed at the Library of Congress, Kennedy Center, and at the Tanglewood, Aspen, Santa Fe and Yellow Barn summer festivals, among many others. In 1989, her second string quartet ("Vistas"), commissioned by C. Geraldine Freund for the Taneyev String Quartet of Leningrad, received its first performance. It was the first commission given in this country to a Soviet chamber ensemble since the 1985 cultural exchange accord between the former Soviet Union and the United States.
Shulamit Ran, who formerly performed extensively as a pianist in the U.S., Europe, Israel and elsewhere, is presently the Andrew MacLeish Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Music at the University of Chicago, where she has taught since 1973. In 1987, Ms. Ran was Visiting Professor at Princeton University. She has received honorary doctorates from Mount Holyoke College (1988), Spertus Institute (1994), Beloit College (1996), the New School of Social Research in New York (1997), and Bowdoin College (2004). Ms. Ran was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1992 and of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2003. Her works are published by the Theodore Presser Company and by the Israeli Music Institute. Recordings have been released on more than a dozen labels, including Albany, Angel, Bridge, Centaur, CRI, Erato, Koch International Classics, New World, Vox, and Warner Classics, with several all-Ran discs available.
Current as of August 2007
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"Song and Dance" Duo for Saxophones and Percussion (2007) -- 11'
soprano and alto saxophones, mallet percussion
Commission Information: Network for New Music
Premiere Information: April 24, 25, 27, 2008, in Philadelphia
Bach-Shards for String Quartet (2002)
Commission Information: commissioned by the Brentano String Quartet as part of the quartet’s Art-of-Fugue project.
Additional Information: prelude to Bach Fugue X of the Art-of-Fugue
• Reviews
Chicago Skyline for Brass and Percussion (1991) -- 7'
4Tpt., 6Hn., 3Tbn.(B.Tbn.), 2Tu., Timp., 3Perc.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: WFMT Chicago for the station’s 40th anniversary
Premiere Information: December 12, 1991, Chicago Symphony, Pierre Boulez, conductor
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#416-41249)
Concerto da Camera I for Woodwind Quintet (1985) -- 15'
Fl./Picc./A. Fl., Ob./Eng.Hn., B.fl.Cl./B.Cl., Bsn./Cbsn., Hn.
Not yet released (in prep: #554-00722)
Commission Information: National Endowment for the Arts Consortium
Premiere Information: February 25, 1986, Musical Elements, Dan Asia, conductor; Cooper Union Hall, New Yor, NY
Concerto da Camera II for Clarinet, String Quartet and Piano (1987) -- 17'
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in conjunction with Mount Holyoke College for the College’s sesquicentennial, 1987
Premiere Information: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on a 10-city tour, 1987
• Recordings
Available Separately:Score and parts (#114-40558)
Full Score - Large (#114-40558S)
Concerto da Camera III (Under the Sun's Gaze) (2003-2004) -- 20'
2Fl.(A.Fl., Picc.) 2Cl.(B.Cl.) Sop.Sax. Perc. Pno. Vln. Vcl.
Commission Information: Commission Information: commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation at the Library of Congress.
Premiere Information: Premiere Information: April 25th, 2005. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, conducted by David Milnes.
Double Vision for Two Quintets (Woodwinds, Brass) and Piano (1976) -- 22'
1 1 2 1 - 1 2 2(T&B) 0; Pno.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Marion Corbett Memorial Fund, Contemporary Concerts, Inc.
Premiere Information: January 21, 1977, for Contemporary Concerts, Inc. by the Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago
• Reviews
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#416-41250)
Fault Line for Ensemble (2005-06) -- 15'
Soprano (opt.); 1(d.Picc.) 2(d.E.H., d.B.Cl.) 1(d.E-flat Cl.) 0 – 1 1 1 0; 2Perc. Pno. 2Vln. Vla. Vcl. Cb.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Chicago Symphony for MusicNOW
Premiere Information: May 8, 2006, Cliff Colnot, Conductor, Tony Arnold, soprano, Symphony Center, Chicago
Invocation for Horn, Timpani and Chimes (1994) -- 4'
Published: #114-41021
Commission Information: Written in celebration of the L.A. Philharmonic's 75th anniversary
Premiere Information: February 15, 1995, Los Angeles Philharmonic
• Recordings
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#114-41021S)
Lyre of Orpheus for String Sextet with featured Cello solo (2009) -- 15'
2Vln. 2Vla. 2Vcl.
Commission Information: Commissioned by Concertante for their “One Plus Five” project, with additional support from Chamber Music America.
Premiere Information: 14th March, 2009. Zvi Plesser, featured Cello solo, Concertante, Rose Lehrman Arts Center, Harrisburg, PA. Premiere concert series in Harrisburg (14th), Baltimore (College of Notre Dame, 15th) and New York (Merkin Concert Hall, 16th).
Mirage for Five Players (1990) -- 12'
Fl.(d.Amplified A. Fl., Picc.) Cl., Vln., Vcl., Pno.
Published: #414-41170
Commission Information: National Endowment for the Arts Consortium commission which included the Da Capo Chamber Players for their 20th anniversary concert
Premiere Information: March 7, 1991, 92nd Street "Y", New York, NY
• Recordings
• Reviews
Available Separately:Set of parts (#414-41170P)
Private Game for Clarinet and Cello (1979) -- 4'
Published: #114-40287
Commission Information: Da Capo Chamber Players, for their 10th anniversary concert
Premiere Information: March 23, 1980, Alice Tully Hall, New York, NY
• Recordings
Silent Voices for 14 players with optional reader (2010) -- 8'
Reader (opt.); 1 1 1 1 – 1 1 1 0; Perc. Pno. 5Str.(1 1 1 1 1)
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned by the Israel Contemporary Players, Dan Yuhas, Music Director, in celebration of the ensemble’s 20th anniversary season.
Premiere Information: 9th, 10th April, 2011. Israel Contemporary Players, conducted by Dan Yuhas; Tel Aviv Museum (9th), Jerusalem Music Center (Mishkenot Sha’ananim) (10th).
Soliloquy for Violin, Cello and Piano (1997) -- 8'
Published: #114-41033
Commission Information: Dedicated to the Peabody Trio
Premiere Information: February 27, 1998, Peabody Trio, Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst, MA
Additional Information: Adaptation of "Yearning for Violin and String Orchestra"
• Recordings
Sonatina for Two Flutes (1961) -- 5' 30"
Published: #114-40806
• Recordings
String Quartet No. 1 (1984) -- 24'
Published: #514-02724
Commission Information: Chamber Music America, for the Mendelssohn String Quartet
Premiere Information: July 31, 1985, 15th Annual Mozart Festival, San Luis Obispo, CA
Additional Information: Score
• Recordings
Available Separately:Set of parts (#514-02724P)
String Quartet No. 2 "Vistas" (1989) -- 25'
Published: #114-40698
Commission Information: C. Geraldine Freund, for the Taneyev String Quartet of St. Petersburg (First U.S. commission to a Soviet chamber group since 1985 Reagan/Gorbachev accord)
Premiere Information: November 17, 1989, Mandel Hall, University of Chicago
• Reviews
Available Separately:Set of parts (#114-40698P)
Full Score - Large (#114-40698S)
Under the Sun's Gaze (Concerto da Camera III) (2003-2004) -- 20'
2Fl.(A.Fl., Picc.) 2Cl.(both d.B.Cl.) Sop.Sax. Perc. Pno. Vln. Vcl.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation at the Library of Congress.
Premiere Information: April 25th, 2005. San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, conducted by David Milnes.
• Reviews
East Wind for Flute (1987) -- 6'
Published: #114-40469
Commission Information: National Flute Association, for 1988 Young Artists Competition
Premiere Information: August 19, 1988, by 6 semifinalists at NFA San Diego Convention
• Recordings
• Reviews
Fantasy Variations for Solo Cello (1979, rev. 1984) -- 14'
Published: #114-40392
Commission Information: Andre Emelianoff
Premiere Information: Andre Emelianoff, November 24, 1980, Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, NY
• Recordings
• Reviews
For an Actor Monologue for Clarinet (1978) -- 8'
Published: #114-40236
Commission Information: Laura Flax (of the Da Capo Chamber Players)
Premiere Information: Laura Flax; Carnegie Recital Hall, New York; May 10, 1978
• Recordings
Ha'llel for Solo Organ (2005) -- 7'
Commission Information: American Guild of Organists for the Biennial National Convention in Chicago, IL
Premiere Information: July 2, 2006, David Schrader, organist, at the Symphony Center, Chicago
Hyperbolae for Piano (1976) -- 7'
Published: #510-03095
Additional Information: Winner of competition for set piece to be performed by all contestants in the Second Artur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, Israel, 1977.
• Recordings
Inscriptions for Solo Violin (1991) -- 9'
Published: #114-40643
Commission Information: Samuel Magad
Premiere Information: Samuel Magad, June 9, 1991, Orchestra Hall, Chicago, in Great Performers Series
• Recordings
• Reviews
Sonata Walzer for Piano (1983) -- 10'
Published: #110-40707
Commission Information: Claudia Stevens
Premiere Information: Claudia Stevens, December 5, 1983, Carnegie Recital Hall (Concert sponsored by Composers Forum in honor of Elliott Carter’s 75th birthday)
Three Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano (1971) -- 22'
Published: #114-40721
Commission Information: Richard Markson
Premiere Information: Richard Markson, violoncello, London and Hong Kong, 1972.
Additional Information: Transcription for Cello and Orchestra also available (Cliff Conot, arr.).
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#114-40721S)
Three Scenes for Clarinet (2000) -- 8'
Published: #114-41138
Commission Information: Yamaha Corporation Band and Orchestral Division, for Arthur Campbell
Premiere Information: Arthur Campbell, November 12, 2000, Loosemore Auditorium, Grand Rapids, MI
• Recordings
Verticals for Piano (1982) -- 17'
Published: #410-41308
Commission Information: Alan Feinberg
Premiere Information: Alan Feinberg, March 2, 1983, Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY
• Recordings
• Reviews
Between Two Worlds (The Dybbuk) Opera in Two Acts (1997) -- ca. 2 hrs.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Lyric Opera of Chicago as part of the fifth Brena and Lee Freeman Sr. Composer-in-Residence program
Premiere Information: June 20, 1997, Merle Reskin Theater, Chicago, The Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, Arthur Fagan, conductor
Additional Information: Libretto by Charles Kondek, based on the drama "The Dybbuk" by Ansky.
• Reviews
Available Separately:Piano/Vocal Score (#411-41103)
Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra (1970) -- 14'
Solo Pno., 4 2 3[B.Cl.] 2[Cbsn.] - 5 4 2[B.Tbn.] 1; 5Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Premiere Information: July 12, 1971, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Tel Aviv; Zubin Mehta, conductor, composer as soloist
• Reviews
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#416-41247)
Concerto for Orchestra (1986) -- 25'
2 2 3 2 - 4 3 3 1; Timp. 3Perc. Pno. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: American Composers Orchestra for its 10th anniversary, with funding from Francis Goelet
Premiere Information: February 1, 1986, ACO at Carnegie Hall, Catherine Comet, conductor
• Reviews
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#416-41125)
Legends for Orchestra (1992-93, rev. 2001) -- 20'
3(Picc., A.Fl.)-2(E.H.)- 3(E-flat Cl., 2B.Cl.)-3(Cbsn.); 4-3-3(B.Tbn.)-2; Timp., 5Perc., Pno., Cel., Hp., Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: AT&T Foundation and Meet-the-Composer Orchestra Residencies Program for the centennials of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the University of Chicago, Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Premiere Information: October 7, 1993, Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor.
• Recordings
• Reviews
Available Separately:Full Score - Study (#416-41248)
Full Score - Large (#416-41248A)
Show Goes On, The (Ha’hatzaga Nimshechet) Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (Ha’hatzaga Nimshechet) (2008) -- 15'
Solo Clarinet (B(, A); 2 1 2 2 – 2 2 2 0; Timp. 3Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Premiere Information: 28th, 29th December, 2008. Udi Nave, Clarinet, Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Symphony at the Tel Aviv University, conducted by Zeev Dorman.
• Reviews
Symphony (1989-90) -- 34'
2(Picc.) 2(E.H.) 2(E-flat) A-flat Cl.(B.Cl.) 2Cbn.(Bsn. III) - 6 4 3 1; Timp. Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Philadelphia Orchestra
Premiere Information: October 19, 1990, Philadelphia Orchestra, Gary Bertini, conductor
Additional Information: 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
First place Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, 1992.
• Reviews
Available Separately:Full Score - Study (#416-41126)
Vessels of Courage and Hope for Orchestra (1998) -- 13'
3(Picc.) 3(E.H.) 3(E-flat Cl., B.Cl.) 3(Cbsn.) - 4 3 3 1; Timp. 5Perc. Pno. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Commissioned in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel and the voyage of the S.S. President Warfield/"Exodus 1947."
Premiere Information: May 21, 1998, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Stefan Sanderling, conductor
• Reviews
Available Separately:Full Score - Study (#416-41213)
Violin Concerto (2002-03) -- 32'
2 2 2 2 - 2 2 2 2; 2Perc.(Timp.) Cel. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Ittai Shapira
Premiere Information: June 13, 2003; Ittai Shapira, violin, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Charles Hazlewood, conductor, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
• Recordings
• Reviews
Available Separately:Set of parts (#416-41285)
Full Score - Large (#416-41285L)
Voices for a Flautist with Orchestra (2000) -- 16'
2(Picc.) 2 2(B.Cl.) 2 - 2 2 2 1; 3Perc., Solo Flute/Amplified A. Fl./Picc., Str
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: National Flute Association for its year 2000 convention
Premiere Information: August 19, 2000, Columbus, Ohio, Patricia Spencer, solo flautist, Ransom Wilson, conductor
• Recordings
Available Separately:Solo Part (#416-41222P)
Full Score - Large (#416-41222S)
Yearning for Violin and String Orchestra (1995)
Available From Composer
Fanfare for Brass (1991) -- 4'
2Tpt., 2Hn. Tbn.
Published: #114-40627
Additional Information: Transcribed by Cliff Colnot from "Fanfare for Two Multi-tracked Sopranos."
Soliloquy II (2007) -- 8'
Solo Violin, Str. (3 3 3 3 1) Perc.
Premiere Information: July 28, 2007, Yellow Barn Festival, Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst, MA, with Violaine Melancon, solo violin
Additional Information: transcription by Cliff Colnot
Three Fantasy Movements for Cello and Orchestra (1993) -- 22'
2 2 2 2 - 2 2 2 0; Timp. 2Perc. Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Premiere Information: October 2, 1993, The Women's Philharmonic, Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley, CA; JoAnn Falletta, conductor, Nina Flyer, cello
Additional Information: Transcription by Cliff Colnot, from "Three Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano" (1971, also available).
• Recordings
• Reviews
Adonai Malach (Psalm 93) -- 5'
Cantor, Hn. Picc. Ob. Cl.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Congregation of Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, Milwaukee, WI, for the first Composers/Cantors Conference, November, 1985
Premiere Information: November 5, 1985
Amichai Songs (1985) -- 18'
Mezzo-sop., Ob.(d.E.H.) B(d.VdG) Hpsd.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Eastman School of Music
Premiere Information: Jan DeGaetani, Philip West, Martha McGaughey, Arthur Hass, November 1, 1985, Rochester, NY
Available Separately:Score and parts (#111-40144)
Set of parts (#111-40144P)
Full Score - Large (#111-40144S)
Apprehensions for Voice, Clarinet and Piano (1979) -- 20'
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: WFMT Chicago as part of a series on the 20th Century Art Song
Premiere Information: Radio broadcast June 20, 1979, Judith Nicosia, soprano, Laura Flax, Clarinet, Alan Feinberg, piano
• Recordings
• Reviews
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#511-01815)
Score and parts (#511-01816)
Credo/Ani Ma'amin (2006) -- 12'
Commission Information: commissioned by Chanticleer, the vocal ensemble
Premiere Information: Chanticleer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, April 26, 2007
Additional Information: abridged version
• Recordings
Ensembles for 17 for Soprano and Instrumental Ensemble (1975) -- 20'
Picc.(d.Fl.) Fl.(d.A.Fl.) 2Cl. Bsn. Hn. Tpt. Tbn. B.Tbn. 2Perc. Pno. 2Vln. Vla. Vcl.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Fromm Music Foundation
Premiere Information: April 22, 1975, Elsa Charlston, Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago, Ralph Shapey, conductor
Available Separately:Full Score - Large (#416-41251)
Fanfare for Two Multi-Tracked Sopranos (5-Voice Adaptation for live performance) (1981) -- 4'
4 Sop., 1 Mezzo
Published: #111-40177
Commission Information: WFMT Chicago for the station’s 20th anniversary
Premiere Information: Elsa Charlston, Diana Ragains, recorded sopranos
Additional Information: Transcription for Brass also available.
Hatzvi Israel Eulogy for Mezzo-soprano, Flute, Harp, String Quartet (1969) -- 7'
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Stanley Hoffman
Premiere Information: Susan Reid-Parsons, mezzo-soprano, Town Hall, NYC
• Recordings
O The Chimneys for Mezzo-soprano and Chamber Ensemble
Not yet released (in prep: #111-40180)
• Recordings
• Reviews
Available Separately:Set of parts (#111-40180P)
Supplications for Chorus and Orchestra
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Additional Information: Text from the book of Psalms, in Hebrew and English.
• Reviews
 | Voices for a Flautist with Orchestra |
Albany Records TROY743:
Christina Jennings, flute, Bowling Green Philharmonia, Emily Freeman Brown, Conductor
Vox-Box CDX 5145:
Gloria Davy, soprano, New York Philomusica Ensemble, A. Robert Johnson, cond.
Erato Disques 0630-12787-2:
Mary Stolper, flute; Lucy Shelton, voice; Cliff Colnot, conductor.
Koch International Classics 3-7269-2H1:
Nina Flyer, cello and the English Chamber Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, conductor.
"Shulamit Ran won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for her symphony, which one critic said ‘has the stamp of genius— the quality that distinguishes a masterpiece from merely competent workmanship’"-James H. North, Fanfare"…Ran’s music was gloriously human, whether slow or fast, solo or ensemble. Within the parameters of her style, she has written with the same sense of humanity found in Mozart’s most profound opera arias or Mahler’s searching symphonies… Ran’s music had the shape and the build to an emotional peak that great speakers exploit so effectively."-Houston Chronicle"…an exhilarating variety of music, all of it bearing the instrumental mastery, the bold dramatic invention, the clean avoidance of superficiality that have always been hallmarks of her style…"-John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune"She has a distinct artistic profile, based on the same things that distinguish all the great composers of the past, the superior quality of her musical imagination and artistic invention."-Robert C. Marsh, Chicago Sun-Times"…She firmly grasps a principle that makes all the difference in how contemporary music hits the listener's ear. She genuinely seems to want her audiences to follow her train of musical thought."-Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times"[Violin Concerto and Legendson Albany TROY970
]This disc presents two extremely satisfying orchestral works.
Ran is a composer who’s stayed the course, following her own vision, open to the general changes of the aesthetic climate that have allowed the return of “beauty,” but never pandering to easy or cheap pleasures. Highly recommended."-Robert Carl, Fanfare"It would be good to hear more of Shulamit Ran's music, especially where, as in the second part of Legends and the finale of the concerto, she exposes the vulnerable humanity of her inspiration."-Rob Barnett, Music Web International"Shulamit Ran’s smart, sinewy music is the genuine article. Its tone of intelligence is congruent with its sense of aliveness, necessity, soul."-The Boston Globe
"…a bold setting of Psalms texts in Hebrew, complete with crashing cymbals, surging choral outbursts and hauntingly sustained harmonies, yet always direct, sonorous and impeccably tasteful."-Anthony Tommasini, New York Times"…many beautiful moments and expressive gestures, quite appropriate for the text [from Deuteronomy and Psalms]."-Leo Kraft, The New Music Connoisseur
"A strongly felt piece in three contrasting movements, mercurial in mood and character, it made full use of [Shapira's] virtuosity and big, expressive tone… virtuosic enough to qualify as a high-wire act, although its most distinctive feature was its strong, melodic emotionalism, from lingering melodies to big, difficult climaxes… Mr. Shapira played it with conviction, through to its beautiful, singing finish."-Anne Midgette, The New York Times"Ran intended that the concerto should explore various aspects of the violin’s soul. This she does in its devilish brilliance, its consolatory voice and its seductive honeyed song."-Rob Barnett, Music Web International"A remarkably grateful and graceful vehicle, it explores the instrument's expressive range with idiomatic sensitivity for 20 taut minutes. Shapira played it with silken tone and gutsy bravado."-Martin Bernheimer, Financial Times"…memorable, and affecting.
…it settles down and focuses on what it really wants to say, and expresses it clearly, economically, and passionately."-Robert Carl, Fanfare"On June 13 at Carnegie Hall, the infinitely versatile Orchestra of St. Luke's presented the Violin Concerto by Israeli-born Pulitzer Prize winner Shulamit Ran, commissioned and performed by her compatriot Ittai Shapira. A strongly felt piece in three contrasting movements, mercurial in mood and character, it made full use of his virtuosity and big, expressive tone; his identification with this clearly very personal music spoke through every note."-EPULSE"Ran's orchestral writing in the concerto is just as alluring as the whirlwind solo line -- darkly moving brass chords in the first movement, Bartok-like strings buzzing in the second. The third is a long aria of farewell, with winds, strings and brass joining the solo violin's sad song like fellow mourners."-Bradley Bambarger, The Star Ledger (NJ.com)
"Ran's beautiful 18-minute opus certainly does its bit to welcome listeners into its orbit. The melodies are gracious and shapely, the form clear without being predictable, and the rhythmic language sparklingly brisk…the most alluring aspect of the new piece is the pungency and variety of its textures…a constantly shifting sonic landscape that is crisp and lyrically swirling by turns. The plaintive introduction of a soprano saxophone midway through sets the rest of the work in dazzling relief."-Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle"Under the Sun's Gaze… uses a rich palette of nine woodwinds, saxophone, strings, piano and percussion to create an absorbing evolution of starkly contrasted sounds moving from darkness to light and back again. In the course of the three interlocking movements, flute and violin dance a quirky duet; a folklike melody in flute and piccolo builds to an exultant blaze of sound as various instrumental layers are piled atop the tune."-John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune"…summed up the evening’s brainy delight in musical complexity.
…its raucous outbursts evoked a merciless noonday sun while its more languorous moments hinted at a Middle Eastern desert cooling into twilight."-Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Classical Review"…deploys an inventive palette of nine woodwinds, strings, piano and percussion, often used in quirky combinations, to trace a sonic journey from darkness to light and back again."-John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"…a work of uncompromising brilliance… gripping drama in razor-sharp musical responses… riveting…"-Los Angeles Herald Examiner
"…a score of remarkable beauty, passion and formal clarity, and one that any cellist would be glad to learn."-San Francisco Chronicle
"…runs through a gamut of passions and techniques, with an extended passage that reaches volumes not normally associated with the flute. Mimi Stillman gave it a hypnotic performance – the musical equivalent of a great actor declaiming a famous speech."-Tom Purdom, Broad Street Review
"...began with a burst of fierce agitation suggesting Paganini on speed, segued to a Rondino built around scampering pizzicati and ended with a shadowed surge of melody that spiraled to poetic heights. Violinists are always complaining about the dearth of good modern solo pieces; Ran has given them one. Inscriptions is a score of varied and serious substance, grateful to perform and rewarding to listen to…"-John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"…the four-movement "Vistas" turned out to be an important discovery — full of anguished unisons and mysterious, keening solos that finally coalesce into music that is intense, cathartic and beautiful. The ideas are forcefully stated and sharply contrasted, set forth in clear textures and resonant timbres that reveal a deep understanding of the medium’s expressive possibilities."-Chicago Tribune
"…a highlight of the concert."-Michael Cameron, Chicago Tribune
"…a grand, passionate, Lisztian composition, rhapsodic and shapely…"-The New Yorker
"Typically of her music, this is a highly expressive score… compelling not only for its white-hot emotional content but for its intelligence and compositional clarity…"-Seattle Times"A characteristic blend of lyricism and academic modernism."-John Rockwell, The New York Times"…the landscape shifted from curving lines to bright, crisply articulated statements, then again to melismas that wiggled and then disappeared like a wisp of smoke."-Elaine Guregian, Akron (OH) Beacon Journal"Mirage,imbued with the composer's characteristic brand of dissonant lyricism, captured the imagination. The writing is spiky but ineffably lovely, dominated by purling flute melodies over still-toned backgrounds."-Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
"… a powerful 20+ minute, four-song cycle based on poems from Sylvia Plath’s Winter Trees. Yes, it is Sylvia Plath, and there is gloom and doom, but this work is too good to be ignored. It wil grab and hold your attention. Diane Ragains’ sung, half-spoken and spoken delivery of the text is at times blood curdling, and throughout this work is heard a committed and virtuoso performance by this trio… …one of the best large works in the soprano/clarinet repertoire."-William Nichols, The Clarinet"Ran draws you into the bleak, pained, uneasy imagery of the Plath poetry in a way that makes you feel at once assaulted, ennobled, and spiritually cleansed."-Chicago Tribune"One should never use the term masterpiece for a work one has just heard for the first time. So let me say this: the force with which Ran’s Apprehensions… hit me on first hearing has been equaled only twice before by 20th century vocal works— by Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Britten’s Illuminations."-Stephen Wigler, Baltimore Sun"Shulamit Ran’s Apprehensions for soprano, clarinet and piano – a major work and significant contribution to the medium"-William Nichols, The Clarinet"…Israeli by birth and a dramatic philosopher by musical inclination… powerful…"-The Washington Post
"Ran’s Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra is not a lengthy work, but it packs quite a wallop… The orchestration is imaginative and the piano part is extremely brilliant, with several big cadenzas, much rapid, scampering, highly percussive passage work… This piece, though short, is large in emotional scale… the extroverted quality of this vivid piece won for it a warm reception last night."-The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
"The work is essentially lyric-dramatic in spirit… This is music that clearly repays careful study. It has substance, and it is not afraid to be adventurous."-Chicago Sun-Times"Concerto for Orchestra (1986) is big in musical scope and gesture, big in the technical demands it makes of the modern symphony orchestra… Ran is a composer whose music lives intensely in the late 20th Century, mindful of tradition but possessed by a fiercely lyrical voice all its own. She is a dramatist who happens to work with clashing, coalescing sonorities rather than with actors, but her music is no less theatrical for that. She gives her instrumentalists all sorts of rewarding, virtuosic things to do even if her orchestral concerto is not primarily about virtuosity. Did Ran perhaps unconsciously have the punchy brilliance of this orchestra in mind when she wrote this commanding score? It certainly seemed that way…"-John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"…a complex and ingenious work that makes a very positive impression through the pure vitality of its content and the immediate effect of its strong writing…"-Chicago Sun-Times"Every measure… is charged with dramatic intensity… Forceful, compelling, beautifully wrought music: here is a new piece one would very much like to encounter again."-Chicago Tribune
"…the piece is luxuriant in its sounds and materials.
…brilliant orchestration technique
…a rich melodic gift, that spins out arabesque like tendrils of blossoming vines…a capacity to keep the music moving…
The music is always advancing dramatically, and one eagerly follows its course, but that momentum comes through large-scale “breathing” of the orchestra, not its dancing."-Robert Carl, Fanfare"There’s no mistaking that this is a work of brilliance and upheaval.
… iridescent textures buzzingly suggestive of the Thousand and One Nights."-Rob Barnett, Music Web International"…one hopes it finds the wide public it deserves. Legends means to evoke a mystical, timeless aura, and it achieves that timeless quality without resource to the obvious orchestral effects such evocation would invite. Ran’s ideas and gestures carry within them the seeds of their own development, and she compels us to follow their evolution through a two-movement quasi sonata lasting about 20 absorbing minutes."-Chicago Tribune"… With its Sephardic echoes along its vast harmonic palette, the music boasts vivid links to the composer’s homeland – a legendary, timeless cycle."-Andrew Adler, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)"The two movements are natural, even inevitable complements, bound by precise structural components and each sumptuously orchestrated. The lower winds and brass (bass clarinet, paired tubas, etc.) plus touches of muted trumpet, celesta and great washes of percussion create an alluring swirl of intricate sonorities."-Andrew Adler, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
"Ran’s work was radiant from the French horn opening solo to the spectacular percussion cadenza… This is a work that will reward each new listening."-The Washington Post"The Symphony, which won her the Pulitzer award… is immediately notable for its energy. It has a thrust to the thematic ideas that sets her phrases moving over a compelling pulse."-Chicago Sun-Times"…clear instrumental manner allows her to weave some tight musical ideas without letting her listeners miss any details, or lose the thread of her argument… it is music to exemplify an ideal — dramatic, colorful, clearly directed."-Philadelphia Inquirer
"It's a big, important work, right down to the mock-Bach finale."-John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"The clarinet is the great mimic of the orchestra, with its extraordinary four-plus octave range…Ms Ran exploits all of this… But even more remarkable was her extension of this mimicry through thematic recall and theatrical caricature.
…the solo material seemed to evoke familiar roles in the instrument’s past. The clarinet, whether plaintive or shrill, never seemed to stray from assuming some theatrical character.
In various transformational moments, the clarinet, as dancer, materialized in a zesty tango; at another point, the protean soloist called to mind the storied opening glissando from Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, as a riff artist in some jazzy ensemble, à la Bernstein; and finally was ushered off in what sounded like a terrifying reference to Shostakovich."-Seth Lachterman, The Berkshire Review
"Woodwind quintets everywhere should be eternally grateful to her for producing a work so refreshingly free of the cliches of the genre."-John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune
"… full of percussive invention."-Kurt Loft, Tampa Tribune"Dudamel first conducted a wondrous, impressive composition by Shulamit Ran, Vessels of Courage and Hope… …in this enthralling piece a festive, extended fanfare was first heard, followed by splendid poetic passages of serenity and longing…"-Translated from Hebrew, Ma’ariv, Israel"…a distinguished work by one of our most gifted composers."-Baltimore Sun
"This was Ran’s first opera, but her writing for voice is every bit as colorful as her orchestral works…"-William Shackelford, Opera (England)"…Ran’s Between Two Worlds (The Dybbuk)… is the most powerful new music-theater piece to emerge from Lyric’s composer-in-residence program and just might be the one that will last… Ran’s sophisticated music drives the drama rather than merely illustrating it…"-Opera News"…strong stuff… Ran drew upon everything from faux-Hassidic lament to creepy Bartokian slithers, conventional arioso and spoken word, fusing these diverse elements with her usual craft and sophistication… she writes with remarkable assurance for voices… Charles Kondek worked minor miracles in pruning, reworking and distilling a talky four-act play into a libretto that clearly fired Ran’s musical imagination… With amplified and prerecorded voices echoing through the theater, and prayer-shawl-clad Wandering Spirits haunting the spooky recesses of Korogodsky’s semi-abstract stage, the opera’s two worlds – the spiritual and the profane – merged in a rather wonderful way…"-Tribune"It is a potent tale, and the libretto is nicely rendered in a singable poetic style… Ms. Ran, the 1991 Pulitzer Prize winner, is unquestionably a gifted concert composer, and her orchestra writing is the real glory of this opera... Wonderful colors emerge from the pit… Leitmotifs and musical themes are assembled with great sophistication."-James Paulik, New Music Connoisseur"…Ran’s score is formidable. Resisting the soft, meditative trends of the 90's, she sticks with a language as mercurially free as atonality but uses dramatic gestures that ground the ear in the familiar…"-David Patrick Stearns, USA Today"…The opera delivers… the music lends itself extraordinarily well to dramatic interpretation. It is cleverly orchestrated, generally with a free-tonality, though with appropriate references to Klezmer and liturgical music. Shulamit Ran has succeeded in writing an impressive synthesis in which she gives full vocal lines to the singers – in contrast to the philosophy of so many contemporary German composers… this opera received long ovations, with cheering… New Productions of Between Two Worlds – The Dybbuk are strongly recommended as Ms. Ran and her librettist have given something rare to contemporary music theater: a work of substance at the highest musical level, which shuns banalities yet speaks to the ear of the audience. This happy combination is rare in contemporary music theater…"-Neue Westfalische (Bielefeld, Germany)"…extremely successful premiere of the opera The Dybbuk by Shulamit Ran… Her opera is a great musical achievement… A CD recording would be highly desirable…"-Westfalen-Blatt"The music of Shulamit Ran, for many years Composer-in-Residence of the Chicago Symphomy, is alive with a subtle mixture of melodic material, both dancing and lamenting Klezmer-motives, iridescent clusters and folklore – but this is also a score that always allows the soloists to sing effortlessly. She works tonally and atonally and expertly illuminates the story with leitmotives… wonderful music…"-Opernwelt (Germany)"…impresses with its strength of expression… The orchestral accompaniment plays ecstatic accents and at the same time sets the rhythm for the impressive vocal lines. On top of this, there are elements of folklore and musical passages of the Jewish liturgy. Between Two Worlds is an inspiring opera… A moving experience!"-Stadtblatt (Germany)"…Shulamit Ran has composed a remarkable opera…"-Westfalische Rundschau (Germany)"…Shulamit Ran has composed this love story with strong expressive sounds that equally impress with both the horror of possession and great emotions…"-Munstersche Zeitung (Germany)"…A fascinating opera evening…"-Westfalischer Anzeiger (Germany)"…an impressive piece on several levels. Musically, it has the vivid orchestral color and highly charged vocal writing so typical of Ran, winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for music… and Ran’s score ranged easily from cheery klezmer-shaded tunes to austere but compelling love duets… unmistakably a 20th century work, though anyone expecting unrelenting dissonance or constantly high decibel levels would be disappointed. Between Two Worlds is above all a compelling story, not a polemic for a given musical style."-Wynne Delacoma, Sunday Sun-Times (Chicago)
Page last updated January 23, 2013
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