Jacob Raphael Druckman (June 26,[Although the "New York Times" obituary says June 25, according to the composer's son Daniel, the correct date is, indeed, June 26.] 1928 – May 24, 1996) was an American composer born in Philadelphia.
Life
A graduate of the
Juilliard School in 1956,
Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti,
Peter Mennin, and
Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with
Aaron Copland at
Tanglewood and later continued his studies at the École Normale de Musique in Paris (1954–55). He worked extensively with
electronic music, in addition to a number of works for orchestra or for small ensembles. In 1972 he won the
Pulitzer Prize for his first large orchestral work,
Windows.
[Keller, James M. "Thomas / Druckman / Harte" . Liner note essay. New World Records.] He was composer-in-residence of the New York Philharmonic from 1982 until 1985. Druckman taught at Juilliard, The Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood,
Brooklyn College,
Bard College, and
Yale University, among other appointments. He was Connecticut's State Composer Laureate.
[ STATE OF CONNECTICUT, Sites º Seals º Symbols ; Connecticut State Register & Manual; retrieved on January 4, 2007]
Druckman died of lung cancer at age 67 in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Aspen Music Festival gives out the Jacob Druckman award in his honor each festival season.
Notable musicians who recorded his works include David Zinman, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Dawn Upshaw, Jan DeGaetani, Dorian Wind Quintet, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the American Brass Quintet.
Notable students
Major works
-
String Quartet No. 1 (1948)
-
The Seven Deadly Sins (1955), for piano
-
Dark Upon the Harp (1961–1962), for mezzo-soprano, brass, and percussion. Setting of texts from the Biblical Psalms.
-
String Quartet No. 2 (1966)
-
Animus I (1966–1967), for trombone and electronic tape
-
Animus II (1967–1968), for mezzo-soprano, percussion and electronic tape
-
Animus III (1968), for clarinet and electronic tape
-
Incenters (1968), for 13 Instruments
-
Valentine (1969), for solo contrabass
-
Synapse (1971), for tape
-
Windows (1972), for orchestra
-
Delizie Contente Che l'Alme Beate After Cavalli (1973), for wind quintet and tape
-
Lamia (1975), for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. "The texts," according to the composer, "range from the most terrifying damnings of ancient witches to the most innocent folkloric dream-conjuration of provincial maidens."
[Druckman, Jacob. Jacob Druckman: Lamia / That Quickening Pulse / Delizie Contente Che L'Alme Beate / Nor Spell Nor Charm / Suite from Médée. Essay from CD album booklet. Boston Modern Orchestra Project.]
-
Other Voices (1976), for brass quintet
-
Aureole (1979), for orchestra
-
Prism (1980), for orchestra; draws on melodies from the operas of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Francesco Cavalli, and
/ref>
-
String Quartet No. 3 (1981)
-
Vox Humana (1983), for chorus and orchestra
-
Reflections on the Nature of Water (1986), for solo marimba
-
Brangle (1988–1989), for orchestra
-
Antiphonies, for two choruses; setting of poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins.
-
Nor Spell Nor Charm (1990), for chamber orchestra
-
Summer Lightning (1991), for orchestra
-
Seraphic Games (1992), for orchestra
-
Counterpoise (1994), for soprano and orchestra
Further reading
-
Clarkson, Austin, and Steven Johnson. 2001. "Druckman, Jacob Raphael". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
-
Griffiths, Paul. 2002. "Druckman, Jacob". The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
External links
