Description: Composer, pianist, and author William Bolcom (b. 1938) is one of the cutting-edge figures on the American musical scene. A student of Milhaud and Messiaen, he has been noted for the development of a style of performing ragtime music which propelled him into the forefront of the ragtime revival. Bolcom has been on the faculty at the University of Michigan since 1973.
Description: Bolcom composed these easy piano pieces for his wife to play in her piano lessons. They are accessible to beginner and intermediate level pianists of all ages.
Description: Pianist Guy Livingston commissioned 60 composers to each write a piece that would last 60 seconds. Bolcom's entry is whimsical, and a perfect piece for an encore.
Description: Premiere: Pacific Northwest Ballet with members of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Stewart Kershaw conducting, Seattle, WA, September 23, 1997
Description: Commissioned by the University of Chicago for the rededication of its E.M. Skinner organ in Rockefeller Chapel in 2008, William Bolcom's setting of the same famous text set by Handel in the 18th century explores the many sounds of the organ and responds to the musical esprit found in Dryden's poem. Text by John Dryden. ca. 16 minutes.
Description: With music by William Bolcom and libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Arthur Miller, this opera in two acts was given its World Premiere at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in October of 1999. The gripping story of love and betrayal is set in the rich background of the 1950s Italian immigrant life in Brooklyn. In addition to the libretto, the single sheet music is available for Rodolpho's aria, “The New York Lights.” (00352362, $3.95)
Description: “Based on the motion picture A Wedding by Robert Altman and John Considine, premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Robert Altman. '...there is no reason to resist this rarest of creations: a meaningful American comic opera.' -Mark Swed, LA Times”
Description: “Based on the motion picture A Wedding by Robert Altman and John Considine, premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Robert Altman. '...there is no reason to resist this rarest of creations: a meaningful American comic opera.' -Mark Swed, LA Times”
Description: Based on the motion picture A Wedding by Robert Altman and John Considine, premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Robert Altman.
Description: Based on the motion picture A Wedding by Robert Altman and John Considine, premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Libretto by Arnold Weinstein and Robert Altman.
Description: Premiere: Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, David Robertson conducting, San Francisco, CA, June 24, 1995.Movements: 1. Come Up from the Fields Father, 2. Scented Herbage of My Breast, 3. Years of the Modern
Description: William Bolcom wrote this beautiful piece for Theodor and Evelyn Jacobsen. He describes it as “leisurely, calm, with great smoothness and repose.”
Description: A suite of rags by Scott Joplin, Louis Chauvin, Joseph Lamb, James Scott, and William Bolcom. All arranged by Bolcom. Movements: 1.The Easy Winners, 2. Heliotrope Bouquet, 3. Ethiopia Rag, 4. Frogs Leg Rag, 5. Graceful Ghost Rag, 6. Incineratorag
Description: Written for the New York Concert Singers and their conductor Judith Clurman, this compelling work on the single word “Alleluia” begins in a quiet staggered aleatoric fashion, gradually growing into a dramatic fortissimo and eventually retreating again to nothing. Duration: ca. 4:00.
Description: This collection of 5 art songs comes from Ancient Greek poetry. The music was written by William Bolcom and the poems were translated into English by Arnold Weinstein. Songs: On a Statue of a Runner • Unlucky Eutichus • An Encaustic Painting • Timomarchus's Picture of Medea, in Rome • Praxiteles' Aphrodite.
Description: Commissioned by WQXR for the 40th Anniversary of the Young Artists Showcase, hosted by Robert Sherman. Premiered by the Gaudete Quintet at The Greene Space, New York City, on October 24, 2017.
Description: Commissioned by WQXR for the 40th Anniversary of the Young Artists Showcase, hosted by Robert Sherman. Premiered by the Gaudete Quintet at The Greene Space, New York City, on October 24, 2017.
Description: Commissioned by the Guitar Foundation of America for its 2013 competition, Aria received its premiere at the GFA conference in Louisville, Kentucky on June 30, 2013. Edited by Michael Lorimer.
