User:Fatcatpaperie/Mark Gustavson

Mark Gustavson (born September 19, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American composer of contemporary classical music.

Biography
He currently lives in Mastic Beach, New York and teaches at various universities in the New York City Metropolitan area, including Adelphi University and Nassau Community College. Gustavson graduated from the University of Illinois in 1981; he received the D.M.A. from Columbia University in 1990. Gustavson also studied at the Sweelinck Conservatory with Ton DeLeeuw on a Fulbright Fellowship. His primary composition teachers were Chinary Ung, Ben Johnson and Fred Lerdahl.

Music
Most notably jazz, the music of Charles Ives, and East Asian music has given Gustavson the ideas to create a strictly notated music more often sound improvised. Form often is based on different approaches to variations. Rhythm plays a significant role in Gustavson's music. It can at times be very complex or deceptively simple, for example the third movement of Quintet for clarinet, two violins, viola and cello (listen to clip). The improvisatory quality is the result of complex layerings of lines or polyphony that purposely avoids coming together very often.

His music has been recognized by various awards and prizes including among others the [Joseph H. Bearns] Prize, BMI, ASCAP, Fulbright Foundation, American Academy of Arts and letters.

In recent years Gustavson's attention has turned towards texts and vocal music. Two works of note are The Fisherman Songs for bass/baritone and piano and Lament a monodrama for bass/baritone, bass clarinet, percussion. piano, female chorus and double-bass using a poem of the same title by Dylan Thomas.

A cd containing Quintet performed by Contempo and Dissolving Images for piano solo performed by Lisa Moore will soon be released. Both works are published by C. F. Peters Corp.

Select List of Compositions

Orchestra


 * Dust Dance (2010)
 * Hymn to the Vanished (2001) for string orchestra
 * Silent Moon (1998)
 * Waves (1988)

Wind Ensemble

The Emperor's Music (2000) for twelve antiphonal solo brass

Chamber


 * Chiftetelli (2010) for clarinet, 2 violins, viola and cello
 * A Fool's Journey (1999) for flute (pic, alto), clarinet (bcl), percussion, violin and cello
 * Two of Cups (1999) for clarinet and viola
 * Albion (1997) for wind quintet
 * Quintet (1993) for clarinet, 2 violins, viola and cello
 * Bag o'Tales (1992) for saxophone quartet
 * Plexus (1991) for flute(pic), harp, viola and cello
 * Jag (1990) for flute, clarinet, trombone, violin and cello
 * Twenty Variations (1982) for flute and piano

Vocal


 * Lament (work in progress) text: Dylan Thomas monodrama for bass/baritone, bass clarinet, percussion. piano, female chorus and double-bass
 * The Fisherman Songs text: collection (2010) for bass/baritone and piano
 * The Four Love Songs (1984) for soprano, 2 clarinets, 2 percussion, viola and cello
 * The Three Mirrors (1979) text: Edwin Muir for soprano, flute(alto), clarinet, trombone, piano(hammond organ), 3 percussion (tuned water glasses)

Solo Instrumental


 * The Lounge Pianist (2010) for pianist/singer
 * Trickster (1997) for clarinet solo
 * Dissolving Images (1986) for piano solo

Interviews

 * Kalvos & Damian Chronicle of the NonPop Revolution: A Fool's Journey Interview with Mark Gustavson, November 29, 2003