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Home > Composers > Composer Gallery > Composer Information

ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH


	Awards
	Works
	Recordings
	Reviews

At a time when the musical offerings of the world are more varied than ever before, few composers have emerged with the unique personality of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Her music is widely known because it is performed, recorded, broadcast, and – above all – listened to and liked by all sorts of audiences the world over. Like the great masters of bygone times, Zwilich produces music "with fingerprints," music that is immediately recognized as her own. In her compositions, Ms. Zwilich combines craft and inspiration, reflecting an optimistic and humanistic spirit that gives her a unique musical voice.

Ellen Zwilich is the recipient of numerous prizes and honors, including the 1983 Pulitzer Prize in Music (the first woman ever to receive this coveted award), the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Chamber Music Prize, the Arturo Toscanini Music Critics Award, the Ernst von Dohnányi Citation, an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, 4 Grammy nominations, the Alfred I. Dupont Award, Miami Performing Arts Center Award, the Medaglia d'oro in the J.B. Viotti Competition, and the NPR and WNYC Gotham Award for her contributions to the musical life of New York City. Among other distinctions, Ms. Zwilich has been elected to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1995, she was named to the first Composer’s Chair in the history of Carnegie Hall, and she was designated Musical America’s Composer of the Year for 1999. Ms. Zwilich, who holds a doctorate from The Juilliard School, has received honorary doctorates from Oberlin College, Manhattanville College, Marymount Manhattan College, Mannes College/The New School, Converse College, and Michigan State University. She currently holds the Francis Eppes Distinguished Professorship at Florida State University.

A prolific composer in virtually all media, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s works have been performed by most of the leading American orchestras and by major ensembles abroad. Her music first came to public attention when Pierre Boulez conducted her Symposium for Orchestra at Juilliard (1975), but it was the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for the Symphony No. 1 that brought her instantly into international focus. Commissions, major performances and recordings soon followed: the Symphony No. 2 (Cello Symphony), premiered by Edo de Waart and the San Francisco Symphony; Symphony No. 3, written for the New York Philharmonic’s 150th anniversary; Symphony No. 4 "The Gardens" (with chorus), commissioned by Michigan State University and the subject of a PBS documentary seen nationally; the Juilliard-commissioned Symphony No. 5 (Concerto for Orchestra) premiered at Carnegie Hall under James Conlon's direction; the string of concertos commissioned and performed over the past two decades by the nation’s top orchestras — for Piano (Detroit Symphony under Günther Herbig), Trombone (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti), Flute (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa), Oboe (Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi), Violin and Cello (Louisville Orchestra, Lawrence Leighton Smith), Bass Trombone (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim), French Horn (Rochester Philharmonic, Lawrence Leighton Smith), Bassoon (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel), Trumpet (San Diego Symphony, JoAnn Falletta), Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello (Minnesota Orchestra, Zdenek Macal), Violin (Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Hugh Wolff), and Millennium Fantasy for Piano (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Jesús López-Cobos). Ms. Zwilich’s most recent concertos include the Clarinet Concerto (2002-2003), written for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Buffalo Philharmonic, conducted by JoAnn Falletta (chamber and orchestral versions, respectively) with soloist David Shifrin; and Rituals (2004) for 5 Percussionists and Orchestra, premiered by IRIS Orchestra under Michael Stern, featuring the renowned Nexus percussion ensemble.

Ms. Zwilich’s orchestral essay Symbolon was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic expressly to receive its world premiere in what was then Leningrad. Conductor Zubin Mehta subsequently performed it in Europe, Asia and America and recorded it on the New World label. Carnegie Hall’s 1997 family concert series featured Peanuts® Gallery for piano and orchestra, a work based on Charles Schulz’s Peanuts® characters. Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, a commission by a consortium of 27 orchestras, was premiered in September, 2000, by Jeffrey Biegel and the Cincinnati Symphony under Jesús López-Cobos. At the premiere, the mayor of Cincinnati issued a proclamation naming September 23, 2000 "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Day", and presented Ms. Zwilich with the Keys to the City.

Ms. Zwilich’s chamber works have been commissioned by the Boston Musica Viva (Chamber Symphony, Passages), the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 92nd Street Y and San Francisco Performances (Piano Trio), the New York State Music Teachers Association (Divertimento), the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress (Romance for Violin), the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Chamber Music Northwest (Clarinet Quintet), the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Double Quartet and Clarinet Concerto), Carnegie Hall (String Quartet No. 2), Ruth Eckerd Hall for Itzhak Perlman (Episodes for Violin and Piano), the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival (Oboe Quartet), and California EAR Unit (LUVN BLM). The 2007-2008 concert season saw the premiere of Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet, commissioned by a consortium comprising Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Fontana Chamber Arts, and Michigan State University.

Zwilich has been the subject of two cartoons in the late Charles Schulz’s celebrated Peanuts® series. The first cartoon, in which the Peanuts® characters attend the premiere of Ms. Zwilich’s Concerto for Flute, set off a chain of events which led eventually to the completion of Zwilich’s Peanuts® Gallery for piano and orchestra, which was also featured in Schulz’s comic strip. Peanuts® Gallery, which Ms. Zwilich wrote for a 1997 Carnegie Hall children’s concert, went on to become the basis of the second PBS documentary to feature her music (the first, "The Gardens: Birth of a Symphony", featured Symphony No. 4 "The Gardens"). The acclaimed "Peanuts® Gallery" special has aired hundreds of times nationwide since its 2006 PBS debut, and will be rebroadcast during the 2007-2008 season.

Many of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s works have been issued on recordings, and Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians [8th edition] states: "There are not many composers in the modern world who possess the lucky combination of writing music of substance and at the same time exercising an immediate appeal to mixed audiences. Zwilich offers this happy combination of purely technical excellence and a distinct power of communication."

Click here to read a press release about Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's activities during the 2012-2013 season, including information on her new String Quartet, "Voyage." (PDF)

View scores here (roll over to view score title):

Awards

	2008: PBS show on "Peanuts Gallery" named "Best Performance Program from a large-market broadcaster" by NETA
	2006: Honorary doctorate, Michigan State University
	2004: Composer-in-Residence, Saratoga Chamber Music Festival
	2004: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
	2000: Mayoral proclamation "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Day," Key to the City: Cincinnati
	1999: "Composer of the Year," Musical America
	1999: Miami Performing Arts Center Award
	1998: "Best new chamber piece (“String Quartet No.2”)," USA Today
	1998: NPR and WNYC Gotham Award for contribution to musical life of NYC (for "Making Music" Series at Carnegie Hall)
	1996: Grammy nomination (for “Symphony No.3”)
	1995: Honorary Doctorate: Mannes/New School
	1994: Elected to Florida Artists Hall of Fame
	1994: Honorary Doctorate: Marymount Manhattan College
	1992: Elected to American Academy of Arts and Letters
	1992: Grammy nomination (“Flute Concerto”),
	1992: Honorary Doctorate: Converse College
	1991: Alfred I. Dupont Award
	1991: Honorary Doctorate: Manhattanville College
	1990: Grammy nomination (“Symphony No.2”)
	1990: Resident, American Academy in Rome
	1987: Honorary Doctorate: Oberlin
	1987: Lancaster Symphony Composer’s Award
	1986: Grammy nomination (“Symphony No.1”)
	1985: Arturo Toscanini Music Critics Award
	1984: Academy Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters
	1983: Lifetime Honorary Membership: American Federation of Musicians, Local 802
	1983: Pulitzer Prize (for “Symphony No. 1”)
	1981: Ernst von Dohnányi Citation
	1980: Guggenheim Fellowship
	1980: Norlin Foundation Fellowship from MacDowell Colony
	1979: Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music Awards
	1977: Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music Awards
	1976: Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music Awards
	1975: International Composition Competition, J.B. Viotti, in Vercelli, Italy awarded the "medaglio d'oro" (for Sonata in Three Movements for Violin and Piano)
	3 Marion Freschl prizes from Juilliard
	3 student-composer’s prizes from Florida Composers League
	Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Chamber Music Prize (for “String Quartet 1974”) from Juilliard
	Medaglia d’Oro (for “Sonata in Three Movements for Violin and Piano”) from J.B. Viotti
	Richard Rogers Award Scholarship from Juilliard

"This is a big piece, in scope if not its modest instrumentation, enormously virtuosic and demanding on its participants. Zwilich… is a composer of substance and imagination who seems to grow with every new work."

-Robert Croan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"It was refreshing to hear a modern trumpet concerto and, especially, one containing such distinctive and interesting ideas."

-Suzanne Levinson, Pittsburgh Market Square

"…clarity of form; jaunty, ostinato rhythms; atmospheric instrumental writing and a trumpet part that ought to challenge the greatest virtuoso… The result is a three-movement work whose writing is passionate, romantic and witty, and whose gestures derive from the whole history of music, including jazz… lots of fun"

-Ellen Pfeifer, The Boston Herald

"The clever scoring for bass clarinet, vibraphone, and contrabass provides a refreshing aural experience within a conservative twentieth-century context."

-Norbert Carnovale, MLA Notes

"The very sound of [it] quivered with imagination; and the piece’s formal outlines… were alive with feeling."

-Richard Buel, Boston Globe

Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello

"The players created an absolute thrill ride with the Zwilich trio…

A bit edgy, Zwilich’s piece holds tremendous expressive possibilities.

…sinewy, weeping lines…urgent pizzicato passages…"

-Elaine Schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Zwilich's most striking gift – the ability to express lyrical enchantment without sounding at all glib or derivative or retrograde in the doing. It is music with a soundly argued quality, steeped in a craftsmanship one instinctively trusts."

-Richard Buell, Boston Globe

"[Zwilich's Trio] never flags in interest, never divorces itself from the contemporary-music language, yet never wallows in pure academic fussiness, and never shies away from statements of tonality or from snippets of recognizable melody. In short, it is an immensely satisfying, unabashedly modern look at the centuries-old piano trio… It's the sort of new music that one yearns to hear again."

-Marc Shulgold, Houston News

"The Trio makes a remarkably clear, succinct statement and displays a craftsmanship few living composers have been able to acquire."

-Terry McQuilkin, Los Angeles Times

"One of the finest composers of her generation."

-Richard Dyer, Boston Globe

"…the Piano Trio impressed as a work deserving wide exposure… one listened to the Piano Trio’s unfolding with a sense of eager expectation owing to music that is brilliant in conception, crystalline in organization, dramatic yet accessible in expression."

-John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune

"The piano trio of American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich breathed with expressive variety, rhythmic grace with ascending and descending sequences. It was a great pleasure to hear."

-Frankfurter Neue Presse

"…a work of mighty effects -- energetic and athletic, with lightning fast changes in registers and dynamic levels, portentous ostinatos and masses of dissonant, chromatic chords…It's a "listener-friendly" modernism."

-Richard Rand, Tuscaloosa News

"There is more than a passing trace of Beethoven's intensity and thematic cohesiveness in the 1987 Trio by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich… The end result is a gripping aural experience and a major addition to the treasury of chamber music."

-Tim Smith, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

"Appeals to the mind as well as the heart… I found it a thoroughly pleasing and intriguing work."

-Robert C. Marsh, Chicago Sun-Times

String Quartet No. 2

"The Zwilich quartet held listeners spellbound (coughless and quiet) for 25 minutes. The first movement is curiously passionate and emotional; the second fascinates with suddenly shifting harmonies; the plaintive third goes straight to the heart and pierces it; the fourth has an ecstatic apotheosis before a coda that stays with you after music's end… [Zwilich] certainly knows how to weave a spell, tell and interesting story. You hang on her every note. The audience rose in ovation as she raced to the stage amid shouts of 'Brava! Brava!' What a stunning and triumphant evening for everybody."

-Faubion Bowers, American Record Guide

"…her String Quartet No. 2… has visceral impact. The style is post-Bartok, with scintillating surprises at every turn."

-USA Today

"Best new chamber piece"

-USA Today (1998)

"Zwilich has rarely met an audience she didn’t please or a musician who didn’t dig into her music with gumption and glee. Hardly any other composer in America gets such consistently first-rate premieres, and this was no exception."

-Justin Davidson, Newsday

"Zwilich's new quartet is a winner, quite likely to make it well into the 21st century and beyond. It is full of passion, eloquence, individuality, strong rhythmic drive, gentleness, and yes, melody in the traditional tonal sense."

-Ron Emery, Albany Times Union

Partita for Violin and String Orchestra

"… a wonderful five-movement suite… In dedicating this piece to pedagogue and violinist Louise Behrend, Zwilich seems to have been intent to compose something that is playable and open, like an updated Bach partita… What could better honor Behrend's career than such a work?"

-A.M.H., American String Teacher

Episodes for Violin and Piano

"…The work is impressive in its idiomatic writing for the violin."

-Jeremy Eichler, New York Times

"'Episodes' unfolds without pitfalls or pretension. The Arioso is a soulful, eight-note melody that tests both deep and shallow tonal waters, but stays surprisingly simple… the Vivace, a frenetic dance full of searing high notes, glissandos, double-stops and pizzicato embellishments."

-Kurt Loft, Tampa Tribune

"Perlman's giving the first performance was a coup because, for all his eminence, the violinist hasn't played a lot of premieres… It was a tremendously exciting performance of a satisfying piece… then [Perlman] did an excellent thing. He and [pianist] de Silva played Episodes…one more time. They gave it stronger dynamic force and brought out the drama of the first movement."

-John Fleming, The Times (St. Petersburg, Florida)

"Zwilich's Episodes is working its way into the standard chamber repertory - and deservedly so…Episodes creates a personal and compelling musical world"

-Keith Powers, Boston Herald

"Episodes, an accessible work played with heart, consists of an intense arioso and a fiery vivace."

-Wilma Salisbury, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Quartet for Oboe and Strings

"The handsome two-movement piece did something rare among contemporary works. It left one wanting more. It’s obvious why musicians are drawn to Zwilich’s scores- they are modern and abstract yet cogent and expressive. And from a performance perspective, the music is both challenging and flattering. The new quartet is full of ideas that exploit the interplay of instruments in their varied ranges."

-Joseph Dalton, Albany Times Union (NY)

Clarinet Concerto for Solo Clarinet and Large Chamber Ensemble or Orchestra

"[9/11] arrived just as [Zwilich] was about to start work on the second movement.

Astonishingly…the entire piece shows no sign of sudden gear-shifting. The instrumentally brilliant opening is brash, hectic, and streetwise, the perfect picture of a city going about its business until stopped in its tracks. After the scream-punctuated lament, the rest of the work struggles to pick up the pieces and restore a semblance of normality, ending on a note of cautious optimism. It’s all done with the most skillful application and development of its musical materials – a score truly inspired by a tragic event and one that is likely to transcend it."

Delos

"It's a superb piece of music, a model of bold spirit and careful craftsmanship; Zwilich has struck a fine balance between touching lyricism and muscular, jumpy energy…Zwilich writes masterfully for clarinet, with an unerring grasp of its idiom: The liquid flow of the solo part in and out of the orchestra was as natural as water, and every phrase seemed placed exactly where it ought to be in the instrument's wide and varied range."

-James McQuillen, Orgeon Live.com

Thanksgiving Song for SATB and Piano

"It shows her lyric melodic style combined with a sparse texture – much of the vocal writing is in octaves…"

-Richard J. Bloesch, Choral Journal

A Simple Magnificat for SATB and Organ

"The choral parts in her five-minute Magnificat, set primarily in octaves convey the effect of great strength and asurance, as this text demands. The independent organ accompaniment is supportive, adding texture and color."

-Richard J. Bloesch, Choral Journal

Fantasy for Harpsichord

"…a remarkable musical postcard…"

-John Pitcher, Blog: Pith in the Wind

Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, and Piano

"Jazzy, bluesy, and full of American optimism...it is, of all things, an homage to Schubert’s Trout Quintet. ...what a feat of loving reimagination this was, finding the Gershwin in Schubert. This time [Zwilich] struck gold."

-Leslie Kandell, American Record Guide

"It’s not often that a new work of music gets such an immediate, warm buy-in, but a quintet that had its Florida premiere Tuesday night didn’t do a lot of things you might expect.

The Quintet for Contrabass, Cello, Violin, Viola and Piano by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, written in 2010 on commission from the Kravis Center and 10 other groups and individuals, is a muscular, bluesy work that takes the performing forces of Schubert’s Trout Quintet and gives them smoky-club music to play.

The quintet is a three-movement work of vigor and wit that has taken some of the technical elements of jazz and blues — the minor third, the blues scale — and treated them in a Beethovenian way."

-Greg Stepanich, Palm Beach Daily News

"The musicians performed with knife-edged ensemble precision in this work that was written for them, giving it the extra jolt of energy that comes from a well-rehearsed, confident performance."

-David Fleshler, South Florida Classical Review

"But the showpiece of the evening was Zwilich’s “Quintet…”

She wrote it for the same instruments as Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet…but the piece turned out to be a different kettle of fish entirely. Where Schubert’s trout plays happily in calm and limpid waters…Zwilich’s is named “Die Launische Forelle” – “The Moody Trout” – and churns and thrashes its way darkly upstream."

-Stephen Brookes, Washington Post

"The new Quintet proved to be a crowd-pleaser that had the audience on its feet at the conclusion. But it also seems destined to find a home among the established chamber music repertoire…

Zwilich’s new Quintet is inventive, witty and well-constructed, and it gave ample opportunity for each musician to shine.

It was a fun piece, partly because the performers communicated how much fun they were having."

-Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati.com

"New companion pieces to long-established masterworks are arriving with increasing frequency, often with an inhibiting effect on the most strong-minded composer. But not Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

[The composer] was commissioned…to write for the instrumentation of Shubert’s Trout Quintet, and if anything, found an even more defined voice.

Zwilich’s fine Quintet came off as if the melodious Schubert piece didn’t exist.

The first (and most Zwilich-like) movement hailed from mid-20th century neo-classicism…her usual sense of lean economy fueled by a strong formal sensibility and little external prettiness."

-David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Only Zwilich, who wrote her piece for the same instrumentation as Schubert’s Quintet, could somehow find the Gershwin in Schubert. In the second movement of her Quintet, which received its world premiere Sunday at SummerFest, Zwilich took a snippet of Schubert’s melody, augmented it until it was nearly unrecognizable, and transformed it into a all-out jazz-inflected romp.

No wonder the Quintet was a crowd pleaser, earning a standing ovation from the audience in Sherwood Auditorium…

…this appealing work has a real chance of having a life beyond its commissioned performances."

-James Chute, San Diego Union Tribute

Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet

"…melancholy…beautiful and touching."

-James Hennerty, Albany Times Union (NY)

CLARINET CONCERTO

"[The] movements played off each other very well… jerky, punchy opening… the Elegy opened with the stirngs softly intoning A-G-sharp-A in a manner somewhere between a prayer and an admonition… the third movement came roaring out as a carousing spree… a fourth movement that was contemplative and plaintive… The three-note motto returned in variants, and its use as the work's final statement was a structural master stroke that left a deep emotional impression."

-Herman Trotter, American Record Guide

"…a fascinating example of sophisticated and audience-friendly contemporary composition which owes to no particular school…one of the nation's finer living composers…This is a forceful work."

-Josef Woodard, Santa Barbara News Press

"Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Clarinet Concerto would surely have turned out to be quite a different piece had not [September 11] arrived just as she was about to start work on the second movement… Astonishingly, … the entire piece shows no sign of sudden gear-shifting…. It's all done with the most skillful application and development of its musical materials - a score truly instpired by a tragic event and one that is likely to transcend it."

-Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine

RITUALS

""…shellshocking… unusual, brash… The collaboration between composer and soloists features sounds favored by the individual members of Nexus… Bill Cahn brought his Chinese cloud gongs and spring drum. Bob Becker played glockenspiel and castanets. Robin Engleman struck Balinese cymbals and tubular bells. Russell Hartenberger shook Japanese finger bells and Garry Kvistad played temple blocks. The instruments invited the world into [the concert hall], and in the five movements of Zwilich's "Rituals," they engaged in all manner of discourse… the rhythms leap out in interjections of tangos, African dances and marching band flourishes…""

-Christopher Blank, The Commercial Appeal

"…vigorously entertaining… Zwilich's language here is complex yet approachable, attractive for its transparent textuers and fundamentally tonal."

-Paul Horsley, Kansas City Star

American Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra

"This is not one of those commissioned works that have a haunting ‘take the money and run’ feeling about them. No, Zwilich knows the trumpet firsthand and has tremendous respect for both Severinsen’s virtuosity and his artistry. She has produced a work that challenges both soloist and orchestra, and rewards the listener."

-Herman Trotter, The Buffalo News

Celebration for Orchestra

"…an effective curtain raiser that transformed the [Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra] into a joyous chorus of bells.

…enthusiastically applauded."

-Stuart Low, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

"It’s a short, high energy work that constantly moves, changes and excites…"

-Peter Dobrin, Philadelphia Inquirer

"…a euphonious 10-minute piece, a surefire audience-pleaser."

-Bill Zakariasen, New York Daily News

"The Ellen Zwilich piece was like a sip of water from a mountain stream, clear and refreshing… It has a kind of minimalist feel about it, without that school's sometimes daunting austerity. The thematic material is passed around the orchestra in an orderly, easy-to-follow way, and the transformations are logical without being predictable. I would truly like to hear it again, and again…"

-Gerald Carpenter, The Independent

"The brightness and clarity of [the hall's] new acoustics were established early in Ms. Zwilich's Celebration, which begins with bells and tympani in a variety of timbres and then utilizes other instrumental voices and choirs in a festival mood. It does this with lively humor and musical feeling, without seeming like deliberate sound effects."

-Corbin Patrick, The Indianapolis Star

"Zwilich has created a stunning work that is destined to be heard far beyond its premiere performances in Indianapolis."

-Betty Dietz Krebs, Dayton Daily News

"The usually conservative audience greeted Zwilich's short, splendidly orchestrated work… with prolonged applause."

-Charles Staff, Musical America

"…a rhythmically energetic and melodically rewarding work that repeatedly returned to pulsing intervals…"

-Sunil Freeman, The Washington Post

Concerto for Bass Trombone, Strings, Timpani and Cymbals

"Trombonists everywhere must offer great fanfares to Ellen Taaffe Zwilich…"

-John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune

"Zwilich explored the instrument’s possible depths and heights with a sharp focus."

-Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times

Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra

"The new 17-minute concerto has an opening movement that might be called Brahmsian in its majesty and emphasis on the low, dark sonorities. Once the solo instrument enters, Zwilich exploits the broadness of its range and lyrical potential. Echoes of Shostakovich come to mind, but the musical personality that emerges is very much Zwilich’s own. It is in its livelier second movement that this concerto really comes to life, with a marvelous cadenza that shows just about every aspect of the instrument."

-Robert Croan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Zwilich has proven she is unafraid to write in idioms a listener can absorb immediately. She doesn't just dust off old formulas. Nor does she find easy answers to her musical questions. In her new concerto, Zwilich avoids the temptation to give us the stereotypical view of the bassoon as jocular figure. There are few playful passages in the concerto, which stresses the solo instrument’s ability to unfold lyrical lines and encompass an expressive spectrum with great agility."

-Donald Rosenberg, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

"Zwilich has written a dazzler… Zwilich’s orchestration cushions and shows off the solo part as the silk in a jewel box shows off its precious gem."

-Andrew L. Pincus, Berkshire Eagle

"The concerto will also certainly enjoy a life beyond this occasion; people who love to play the flute and to listen to it are going to want to return again and again to the slow movement of this piece, a long, sustained, achingly beautiful song. The other two movements are are also remarkable both in idea and in development; Zwilich courteously helps the listener enjoy the unfolding process of the music."

-Richard Dyer, Boston Globe

Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra

"Every turn reveals a new element in the landscape: a change or character in the strings, a new color effect in the horn."

-Sharon McDaniel, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra

"Zwilich has written a fluent, virtuosic and immediately compelling concerto that deserves to enter the repertory."

-Tim Page, New York Newsday

"…the one-movement concerto was suffused with the romantic feeling of a Mahler song symphony in modern-dress orchestration and harmony… Zwilich’s music communicated the freshness of contemporary musical poetry."

-Wilma Salisbury, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra

"Her ideas were fresh and modern-sounding without throwing out the accumulated musical wisdom of the past… This music is worthy of the attention of anyone seeking a fresh experience in contemporary music. Mrs. Zwilich is an original composer whose career is well worth watching."

-Carl Apone, The Pittsburgh Press

"It is one of a music lover's most rewarding experiences to hear a new work that has a chance of surviving into the repertory of future generations… the new concerto is continuing proof that it is possible to compose aurally pleasing music without sacrificing a 20th century identity."

-Robert Croan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"…the piece is pure Zwilich, and for those who really know her work, this is recommendation enough. This concerto is most likely the finest work of its kind since Samuel Barber’s, and it emphatically deserves a firm place in the current repertory."

-Bill Zakariasen, New York Daily News

"Zwilich's Piano Concerto… is a substantial piece that should easily find a permanent place in worthy pianists' repertoires. It has all the earmarks of Zwilich's previous scores: logical organization, intensity of purpose, simple motives turned into complex but readily accessible overlays of sound and ultimate economy of musical statement. It is eloquently orchestrated and consistently thoughtful, with no apparent vapidity soiling its fetching musical ideas."

-John Guinn, Detroit Free Press

"The Zwilich piano concerto could well be a major addition to the repertory. To her credit, Miss Zwilich is carrying on the business of Bartók, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bernstein & Co. Her wonderful, accessible new concerto poses no problems whatsoever to anyone familiar with the work of her illustrious predecessors."

-Robert Kimball, New York Post

Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra

"…a work that should find rapid assimilation into the repertory… it is exceptionally rewarding and enjoyable music."

-Robert C. Marsh, Chicago Sun-Times

"The work goes from driving brilliance, complete with cadenza, to dark brooding in a lento. It concludes with an unsettled — and unsettling — allegro moderato."

-Andrew Pincus, Berkshire Eagle

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

"…a marvelous work that communicates immediately to the heart, yet at the same time stimulates the intellect."

-Victor Carr Jr., Classics Today

"Highly Romantic… a demonstration of the violin's lyrical qualities… brilliantly orchestrated."

-Brian Wise, The Juilliard Journal

"The Zwilich Concerto furnished both the soloist and orchestra with the daunting task of making the audience receptive to a completely unfamiliar work. But once the music started, the creative sounds proved mesmerizing. From the opening sustained tones of the clarinet and flute and the ethereal violins, this work cast a spell over the audience. [Stephanie] Chase's expressive opening solo tones, which rose over shimmering repeated violin tones, led the way to a first movement of strange but compelling beauty. … Despite the audience's unfamiliarity with this often hauntingly beautiful music, the orchestra and soloist were accorded a very enthusiastic ovation at the conclusion of the concerto."

-Laurence E. MacDonald

"Warmly expressive and communicative music."

-Hubert Culot, musicweb.uk

"A magnificent piece of warmly lyrical music that compares most favourably with the concertos by Walton or Prokofiev."

-Hubert Culot, musicweb.uk

"Zwilich has contributed a masterwork to the repertoire that explores the instrument's multiple personalities. The violin's inherent versatility shines in the soaring cantabile lines of the second movement and throughout the finale's virtuosic moto perpetuo"

-Carol Minor, Sequenza21

"…a gift to the violin, so richly does the composer exploit the solo instrument’s essential character."

-Dennis Rooney, The Strad

"…a wonderfully engaging work. Zwilich was herself a violinist and knows the instrument heart and soul; she also knows how to write music of great aural appeal that is solidly and astutely crafted… Woodwinds glisten, strings simmer, the sonic atmosphere generally shines… Zwilich's tour de force is the second movement, taking Bach's great solo violin Chaconne as its point of departure and transforming Bach's opening notes into a motif that grows almost menacing – a theme of fate – towards the end. The movement's emotional tension, building slowly, takes one by surprise and lingers in the mind long afterward."

-Shirley Fleming, New York Post

"It was always rare for a new composition to receive a first performance of the mesmerizing intensity that Pamela Frank lavished on Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Violin Concerto– and for the audience to express its delight at having been present at a major world premiere… Zwilich’s concerto is an intimate portrait of the violin shaped and shaded in sharp, neat lines… The violin line is long-limbed and graceful, the orchestral textures as luxuriant as silk…"

-Justin Davidson, Newsday

"With warmth and lyricism, a love song to the violin."

-Allan Kozinn, New York Times

Concerto for Violin, Violoncello and Orchestra

"…the concerto in two movements covers a gamut of expressive moods, from dark-toned drama to "joyfulness" in the finale."

-www.classicalcdreview.com

Double Quartet for Strings

"If the Double Quartet is any indication of her talents, she deserves all the laurels that she has received… The triumph was that she succeeded in being conservative in stance without being derivative, intensely personal in expression without being flaccid in structure, intellectually uncompromising without alienating her audience. To discover all of these features in a single work is rare indeed."

-K. Robert Schwarz, Musical America

"This was a composer intent on communing with her audience and in full command of the technical means to do so… throughout her piece Ms. Zwilich displayed clear-eyed maturity and a rare sense of balance. She writes music that pleases the ear and yet has spine."

-Donal Henahan, The New York Times

Images for Two Pianos and Orchestra

"…flavorful dashes of dreamy lyricism and explosive violence."

-Mark Stubis, Global Newsbytes (review of Naxos 8.559656)

"…a fresh experience… a charged, tautly dramatic and beautifully crafted set of musical representations based on a series of paintings… Few composers so successfully combine consonance and dissonance."

-Tim Page, Washington Post

"…a sort of late 20th century Pictures at an Exhibition, there are moments, especially in her idiomatic writing for the keyboard, where she sounds almost like a latter-day, and more biting, Rachmaninoff."

-Lon Tuck, Washington Post

Millennium Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra

"Zwilich interleaves the folk theme in the dialog between piano and orchestra like a recurring memory intrudes at various points when, say, one is drifting off to sleep. It testifies to her fertile inventiveness and total mastery of the compositional mode that the folk melody fits right in with other modern sounding motifs."

-Grego Applegate, gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com (review of Naxos 8.559656)

"…a magical performance that stays with the listener long after the recording is over."

-Mark Stubis, Global Newsbytes (review of Naxos 8.559656)

"The work… is typical of Zwilich: rich in harmonic imagination, detailed in orchestral coloration, alive with the sense that the composer has something to say and wants you to hear it."

-Kenneth LaFave, Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

"…the certified jewel of this concert… Zwilich's two-movement score is an odyssey of sound that explores urban, mystical, modern and romantic themes in an expansive sweep through expressive idioms… fresh and sharp, spooky and tender, bold and immense."

-Alicia Anstead, Bangor Daily News

"…a vibrant dialogue between piano and orchestra… a substantial addition to the repertoire that coukd endure to the next century."

-Cincinnati Enquirer

"Millennium Fantasy is a fine addition to the piano concertante canon. The accessible, tightly crafted work is characteristic of Zwilich in its graceful melding of solo virtuosity and colorful orchestral effects."

-Lawrence A. Johnson, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Peanuts® Gallery for Piano and Orchestra

"…lighthearted but musically enriched…"

-Grego Applegate, gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com (review of Naxos 8.559656)

"…a charming group of musical sketches inspired by the well-known Charles Schulz characters."

-Mark Stubis, Global Newsbytes (review of Naxos 8.559656)

"With the blessing of Charles Schultz, who is such a fan he has mentioned her twice in his comic strips, she has written Peanuts® Gallery, a lively, six-part character study for piano and orchestra. (Linus's signature music, for instance, is a gorgeous lullaby; Lucy gets a tantrum in the strings.) After last month's world premiere at Carnegie Hall, the 5-year olds cheered, and so did the adults. Peanuts® Gallery may be intended for children, but it’s rhythmically diverse and emotionally engaging."

-Katrine Ames, Newsweek

"Peanuts® Gallery is eminent entertainment… pulling kids of all ages along for a riotously rhythmic and compellingly original ride… In creating a sophisticated yet accessible work both kids and adults, Zwilich certainly deserves Peppermint Patty's famous kudo – "Good Going, Ellen.""

- Diane Peterson, Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Prologue and Variations for String Orchestra

"Like all of Miss Zwilich's compositions the Prologue and Variations is splendidly crafted and shot through with a distinctly original utterance… Anyone can string good ideas in a row; the mark of a gifted composer is the ability to fashion them into a kinetic energy. And Ms. Zwilich, who won the Pulitzer Prize for composition in 1983, has produced an eloquent creation…"

-Tim Page, The New York Times

"Miss Zwilich's exquisitely shaped piece was rich in contrast and wonderfully lyrical in the way it balanced and blended the string choirs."

-Robert Kimball, New York Post

"It is very accessible at first hearing, which is rather rare for contemporary music. It contains an eloquent simplicity that is attractive and pleasing, and a lyrical section that is simply gorgeous and comes as a surprise in the middle of the piece. The Prologue has a haunting quality to it, which returns with a vengeance at the end of the piece and won't go away… The work got a big hand, and rightly so."

-Marion M. White, Greenwich News

"Prologue and Variations is a taut and succinct work tackling many deep emotions that all come across with confident expressive authority."

-Bill Zakariasen, Daily News

Romance for Violin and Chamber Orchestra

"…[Zwilich] filled her Serenade with flowing, Romantic melody, displays of technique and, above all, expressive warmth. It is a splendid gift for her violin colleagues…"

-Joseph McLellan, Washington Post

Symbolon for Orchestra

"…a true creature of its century… This is a forceful, listenable piece, with rich, transparently orchestrated sonorities."

-Donal Henahan, The New York Times

"…the sound of the piece, which is gleaming and clear and delightfully full of open spaces. It's rare to hear a modern work and be able to detect a beginning, middle, and an end, as well as fast sections and slow sections, and other basic ingredients, and still find the piece engaging."

-Roxane Orgill, The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

"Though Zwilich uses an elaborate orchestral lineup, the instrumentation is at all times transparent and never oppressive. On one hearing, Symbolon made a positive impression."

-Bill Zekariasen, New York Daily News

"The evening’s most interesting segment was Symbolon… It’s mostly vigorous (with lyrical episodes emphasizing soloistic coloration) and quite varied within its 16-minute duration. It left me wanting to hear it again…"

-Robert Croan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"The tension is immediate and visceral – a driving march that soon opens out to wide vistas created by a broad theme in the violins. The work as a whole – 15 minutes long – is full of bold and vivid strokes, rising repeatedly to big timpani climaxes and embracing a feeling of spaciousness in between."

-Shirley Fleming, New York Post

Symposium for Orchestra

"…a piece of interesting orchestral contrasts…"

-Speight Jenkins, New York Post

"Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Symposium for Orchestra is a strong, well-organized study in sonority, and it was good to hear it again…"

-Bill Zakariasen, Daily News

Symphony No. 2 (Cello Symphony)

"…a three-movement, fast-slow-fast essay that daringly transforms the cello section into a collective soloist, a throaty protagonist locked in combat with the rest of the orchestra… Hard-driving and explosive, the piece erupts from a single rhythmic idea that propels the music forward relentlessly. Even the melody slow movement cannot dilute the restless surge, which continues undaunted right to the final bar."

-Michael Walsh, Time

"Listeners who tense up when confronted with a world premiere discovered… that they could simply relax and enjoy it, for the symphony remains solidly tonal and more than sufficiently melodic for even the edgiest auditor to have a sort of handrail to hang on to."

-Paul Moor, Musical America

Symphony No. 3

"Zwilich displays an intuitive understanding of instruments and can convey intense emotional content. Symphony No. 3 resembles a building of glass and steel. The structure has clarity and sheen. It's clear, even transparent in the details but also strong and imposing."

-Joseph Dalton, Albany Times Union (NY)

"…another work that will surely travel well… the tine, textures, and instrumental gestures always sound fresh and personal."

-Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine

"Clearly, we're dealing with a success story… The new symphony rides well. It's the work of a pro. Like other recent Zwilich, too, it speaks – or clamors – of success in energy of its form and the boldness of its close."

-Paul Griffiths, New York Times

"[Zwilich] has written a striking, sumptuous and somber work that reaffirms her high standing among American composers… This is an immediately affecting work that may find wide popularity – succinct, mostly tonal, and 'romantic' in its directness of expression. One is aware, time and again, of Zwilich's great predecessors – Wagner, Vaughan Williams, Shostakovich and, especially, the Alan Berg of the Lyric Suite and Lulu. Yet, if the syntax sometimes sounds familiar, the symphony itself does not. Zwilich uses existing musical language to say something that is distinctly hers."

-Tim Page, New York Newsday

"What Ms. Zwilich does she does with great skill and sincerity. The contrapuntal interplay is sure and effective…"

-Bernard Holland, New York Times

"The music makes the audience sit up and listen…the final moments [of the last movement] built and layered harmonies one on top of the other…each new chord more amazing than the last."

-Judith White, The Saratogian

Tanzspiel Ballet in Four Scenes

"…if Tanzspiel turns out to be the only new work of quality in this festival, the season would have been worth it."

-Bill Zekariasen, New York Daily News

"The new pieces have made a positive impression, especially the dramatic new Zwilich score."

-Robert Kimball, New York Post

"…a musical statement worth pondering and hearing again – a substantial four-movement symphonic work of dramatic power and brooding melodic eloquence that any of our symphony orchestras should be eager to play."

-Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine

"Set to a commissioned score by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich that is hard-charging yet full of foreboding, Tanzspiel (literally 'dance play') would seem to be a ballet for our times."

-Janice Berman, New York Newsday

Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin, Cello and Orchestra

"…passionate, dramatic and substantial."

-Michael Anthony, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Hardly derivative post-modernism, it’s a natural reflection of an age in which old and new, pop and classical collide constantly."

-David Patrick Stearns, USA Today

"Indeed, Zwilich’s Triple Concerto is considerably more intriguing than Beethoven’s, particularly for the way it distributes material among the three instruments. In every significant respect, the music is a rich, often complex collaboration."

-Andrew Adler, The Courier-Journal

"…well-built, bright and elegant – a quality piece of work."

-Justin Davidson, Newsday

"…handsome and effective… There is considerable melodic appeal in the work as a whole, which maintains an assertive, up-front quality; if there is such a thing as an "American" musical spirit, Zwilich seems to embody it."

-Shirley Fleming, American Record Guide

Page last updated February 5, 2013

Your Presser Account

ELLEN TAAFFE ZWILICH

2008: PBS show on "Peanuts Gallery" named "Best Performance Program from a large-market broadcaster" by NETA

2006: Honorary doctorate, Michigan State University

2004: Composer-in-Residence, Saratoga Chamber Music Festival

2004: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

2000: Mayoral proclamation "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Day," Key to the City: Cincinnati

1999: "Composer of the Year," Musical America

1999: Miami Performing Arts Center Award

1998: "Best new chamber piece (“String Quartet No.2”)," USA Today

1998: NPR and WNYC Gotham Award for contribution to musical life of NYC (for "Making Music" Series at Carnegie Hall)

1996: Grammy nomination (for “Symphony No.3”)

1995: Honorary Doctorate: Mannes/New School

1994: Elected to Florida Artists Hall of Fame

1994: Honorary Doctorate: Marymount Manhattan College

1992: Elected to American Academy of Arts and Letters

1992: Grammy nomination (“Flute Concerto”),

1992: Honorary Doctorate: Converse College

1991: Alfred I. Dupont Award

1991: Honorary Doctorate: Manhattanville College

1990: Grammy nomination (“Symphony No.2”)

1990: Resident, American Academy in Rome

1987: Honorary Doctorate: Oberlin

1987: Lancaster Symphony Composer’s Award

1986: Grammy nomination (“Symphony No.1”)

1985: Arturo Toscanini Music Critics Award

1984: Academy Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters

1983: Lifetime Honorary Membership: American Federation of Musicians, Local 802

1983: Pulitzer Prize (for “Symphony No. 1”)

1981: Ernst von Dohnányi Citation

1980: Guggenheim Fellowship

1980: Norlin Foundation Fellowship from MacDowell Colony

1979: Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music Awards

1977: Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music Awards

1976: Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music Awards

1975: International Composition Competition, J.B. Viotti, in Vercelli, Italy awarded the "medaglio d'oro" (for Sonata in Three Movements for Violin and Piano)

3 Marion Freschl prizes from Juilliard

3 student-composer’s prizes from Florida Composers League

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Chamber Music Prize (for “String Quartet 1974”) from Juilliard

Medaglia d’Oro (for “Sonata in Three Movements for Violin and Piano”) from J.B. Viotti

Richard Rogers Award Scholarship from Juilliard

Band | Chamber Ensembles and Instrumental Solos | Choral and Vocal | Orchestra

Ceremonies for Concert Band (1988) -- 18' Published: #145-40024 Commission Information: Florida State University School of Music Premiere Information: Florida State University Symphonic Band, James Croft conducting, March 3, 1989

Available Separately:

Full Score - Large (#145-40024F) Set of parts (#145-40024P)

Fanfare; Reminiscence and Celebration (2010) -- 12'30" 18 off-stage brass players; Symphonic Band Additional Information: original version for orchestra available on rental

Available Separately:

Full Score - Large (#145-40034F) Set of parts (#145-40034M)

Chamber Symphony (1979) -- 17' Fl.(Picc.), Cl.(B.Cl.), Vln., Vla., Vcl., Pno. Published: #144-40089 Commission Information: Boston Musica Viva Premiere Information: Boston Musica Viva, Richard Pittman conducting, November 30, 1979 • Recordings • Reviews

Available Separately:

Full Score - Large (#144-40089S)

Clarino Quartet for Four Trumpets or Four Clarinets (1977) Available From Margun Music, Inc. (Shawnee Press)

Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra (1988) -- 20' Published: #144-40168 Additional Information: Performance Version for Trombone and Two Pianos Also available for Trombone and Orchestra.

Available Separately:

Errata Sheet (#144-40168E)

Concerto for Trumpet and Five Players (1984) -- 14' Solo Tpt.; Fl.(Picc.), B.Cl.(Cl.), Perc., Cb., Pno. Published: #144-40139 Commission Information: National Endowment for the Arts Premiere Information: Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, David Stock conducting, May 6, 1985 • Recordings • Reviews

Available Separately:

Set of parts (#144-40139P)

Divertimento for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, and Violoncello (1983) Available From Mobart Music Publications

Available Separately:

Full Score - Large (#144-40129)

Movements: • Arioso • Vivace • Reviews

Episodes for Soprano Saxophone and Piano (2007) -- 10' Published: #144-40507

Fantasy for Harpsichord (1983) Available From Mobart Music Publications• Reviews

Intrada (1983) Available From Margun Music, Inc. (Shawnee Press)

Lament for Cello and Piano (2000) -- 7' Published: #144-40419 Premiere Information: November 17, 2000, Edward Arron, cello, Avner Arad, piano , Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Lament for Piano (1999) Published: 140-40107

Movements: • Dance • Prelude • Song

Passages Chamber version (1981) Available From Margun Music (G. Schirmer)

Praeludium for Organ (1987) Available From Mobart Music Publications

Quartet for Oboe and Strings (2004) -- 14' Ob., Vln., Vla., Vcl. Published: #144-40489 Commission Information: Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, Chantal Juillet, Music Director Premiere Information: August 22, 2004. Richard Woodhams, oboe; Chantal Juillet, vln; others. • Reviews

Available Separately:

Full Score - Large (#144-40489S)

Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet (1990) Available From Mobart Music Publications• Reviews

Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, and Piano (2010) -- 22' Published: #144-40550 Premiere Information: 7th August, 2011. the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Michael Tree, Viola and Harold Robinson, Double-Bass, La Jolla Music Society, California. • Reviews

Romance for Violin and Piano (1993) -- 7' Published: #144-40234 Commission Information: McKim Fund in the Library of Congress Premiere Information: Ida Kavaflan and Menahem Pressler, March 6, 1998 Additional Information: Version for Violin and Chamber Orchestra also available.

Sonata in Three Movements for Violin and Piano (1973-74) -- 11' Published: #144-40087 Premiere Information: Joseph Zwilich and James Gemmel, May 15, 1974 • Recordings • Reviews

String Quartet (1974) Available From Margun Music, Inc. (Shawnee Press)

String Quartet No. 2 (1998) -- 25' Published: #144-40329 Commission Information: Carnegie Hall Corporation Premiere Information: Emerson Quartet, Carnegie Hall, New York, December 2, 1998 • Reviews

Available Separately:

Ceremonies for Concert Band (1988) -- 18'
Published: #145-40024
Commission Information: Florida State University School of Music
Premiere Information: Florida State University Symphonic Band, James Croft conducting, March 3, 1989

Full Score - Large (#145-40024F)
Set of parts (#145-40024P)

Fanfare; Reminiscence and Celebration (2010) -- 12'30"
18 off-stage brass players; Symphonic Band
Additional Information: original version for orchestra available on rental

Full Score - Large (#145-40034F)
Set of parts (#145-40034M)

Chamber Symphony (1979) -- 17'
Fl.(Picc.), Cl.(B.Cl.), Vln., Vla., Vcl., Pno.
Published: #144-40089
Commission Information: Boston Musica Viva
Premiere Information: Boston Musica Viva, Richard Pittman conducting, November 30, 1979
• Recordings
• Reviews

Clarino Quartet for Four Trumpets or Four Clarinets (1977)
Available From Margun Music, Inc. (Shawnee Press)

Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra (1988) -- 20'
Published: #144-40168
Additional Information: Performance Version for Trombone and Two Pianos Also available for Trombone and Orchestra.

Concerto for Trumpet and Five Players (1984) -- 14'
Solo Tpt.; Fl.(Picc.), B.Cl.(Cl.), Perc., Cb., Pno.
Published: #144-40139
Commission Information: National Endowment for the Arts
Premiere Information: Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, David Stock conducting, May 6, 1985
• Recordings
• Reviews

Divertimento for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, and Violoncello (1983)
Available From Mobart Music Publications

Movements:
• Arioso
• Vivace

• Reviews

Episodes for Soprano Saxophone and Piano (2007) -- 10'
Published: #144-40507

Fantasy for Harpsichord (1983)
Available From Mobart Music Publications• Reviews

Intrada (1983)
Available From Margun Music, Inc. (Shawnee Press)

Lament for Cello and Piano (2000) -- 7'
Published: #144-40419
Premiere Information: November 17, 2000, Edward Arron, cello, Avner Arad, piano , Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Lament for Piano (1999)
Published: 140-40107

Movements:
• Dance
• Prelude
• Song

Passages Chamber version (1981)
Available From Margun Music (G. Schirmer)

Praeludium for Organ (1987)
Available From Mobart Music Publications

Quartet for Oboe and Strings (2004) -- 14'
Ob., Vln., Vla., Vcl.
Published: #144-40489
Commission Information: Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, Chantal Juillet, Music Director
Premiere Information: August 22, 2004. Richard Woodhams, oboe; Chantal Juillet, vln; others.
• Reviews

Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet (1990)
Available From Mobart Music Publications• Reviews

Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, and Piano (2010) -- 22'
Published: #144-40550
Premiere Information: 7th August, 2011. the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Michael Tree, Viola and Harold Robinson, Double-Bass, La Jolla Music Society, California.
• Reviews

Romance for Violin and Piano (1993) -- 7'
Published: #144-40234
Commission Information: McKim Fund in the Library of Congress
Premiere Information: Ida Kavaflan and Menahem Pressler, March 6, 1998
Additional Information: Version for Violin and Chamber Orchestra also available.

Sonata in Three Movements for Violin and Piano (1973-74) -- 11'
Published: #144-40087
Premiere Information: Joseph Zwilich and James Gemmel, May 15, 1974
• Recordings
• Reviews

String Quartet (1974)
Available From Margun Music, Inc. (Shawnee Press)

String Quartet No. 2 (1998) -- 25'
Published: #144-40329
Commission Information: Carnegie Hall Corporation
Premiere Information: Emerson Quartet, Carnegie Hall, New York, December 2, 1998
• Reviews

String Trio for Violin, Viola and Violoncello (1982) -- 16'
Published: #144-40111
Commission Information: Lydian Trio
Premiere Information: Lydian Trio, January 15, 1983
• Recordings
• Reviews

Einsame Nacht Song Cycle for Baritone and Piano (1971) -- 14'
Published: #441-41017
Premiere Information: Edmund LeRoy and Dai Uk Lee, May 15, 1974
Additional Information: Texts are by Herman Hesse, in German.
• Recordings

Emlékezet for Soprano and Piano (1978) -- 7'
Published: #141-40061
Premiere Information: Magyar Radio, 1979, Terézia Csajbók, soprano
Additional Information: Text in Hungarian by Sandor Petöfi

Im Nebel for Contralto and Piano (1972) -- 4'
Published: #141-40060
Premiere Information: May 15, 1974, Lorna Myers and Myron MacPherson
Additional Information: Text by Herman Hesse, in German.

Immigrant Voices for Chorus, Brass, Timpani and Strings
Available From Composer

One Nation - Reflections on the "Pledge of Allegiance" for Mixed Chorus and Piano or Organ with Optional Brass (1991) -- 5'
Published: #342-40191
Additional Information: From "Immigrant Voices," with additional text by Erik LaMont. Version for Mixed Chorus and Orchestra also available.

Thanksgiving Song for SATB and Piano (1986) -- 4'
Published: #342-40156
Commission Information: Ithaca College Choral Series
• Recordings
• Reviews

Trompeten for Soprano and Piano (1974) -- 3'
Published: #141-40066
Premiere Information: May 5, 1977, Clamma Dale and Neil Stannard
Additional Information: Two text versions available: original text by Georg Trakl in German, or English translation by the composer.

Piano Reduction (#144-40259)
Errata Sheet (#144-40259E)
Full Score - Large (#446-41117)

Full Score - Large (#446-41183)
Solo Part (#446-41183P)

Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (1992) -- 17'
Published: #144-40237P
Commission Information: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Premiere Information: May 13, 1993, Nancy Goeres, bassoon, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel, conductor
Additional Information: Percussion part

Piano Reduction (#144-40246)
Full Score - Large (#446-41119)

Piano Reduction (#440-40015)
Full Score - Large (#446-41068)

Piano Reduction (#144-40314)
Full Score - Large (#446-41133)

Full Score - Large (#446-41076)
Solo Part (#446-41076P)

Concerto Grosso (1985)
Available From Mobart Music Publications

Fantasy for Orchestra (1993) -- 17'
3(Picc.)-3-3(B.Cl.)-3(Cbsn.); 4-3-3-1; Timp., Perc., Str.
Available from the Presser Rental Library
Commission Information: Josephine Gumbiner
Premiere Information: Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta conducting, January 14, 1994
• Reviews