Christopher ROUSE Composition Masterclass 2011

One of America’s most prominent composers, Christopher Rouse created a body of work perhaps unequalled in its emotional intensity. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize for his Trombone Concerto and a Grammy Award for Concert de Gaudí, he was also elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters. The New York Times has called Rouse's music "some of the most anguished, most memorable music around." The Baltimore Sun has written: "When the music history of the late 20th century is written, I suspect the explosive and passionate music of Rouse will loom large."
Born in Baltimore in 1949, Rouse developed an early interest in both classical and popular music. He graduated from Oberlin Conservatory and Cornell University, numbering among his principal teachers George Crumb and Karel Husa. Rouse maintained a steady interest in popular music: at the Eastman School of Music, where he was Professor of Composition from 1981-2002, he taught a course in the history of rock for many years. Rouse was also a member of the composition faculty at The Juilliard School from 1997-2019.
While the Rouse catalog includes a number of acclaimed chamber and ensemble works, he was best known for his mastery of orchestral writing. Rouse's music has been played by every major orchestra in the US, and numerous ensembles overseas including the Berlin Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sydney and Melbourne Symphonies, London Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, Toronto Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Moscow Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique du Montreal, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as the radio orchestras of Helsinki, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Tokyo, Austria, and Berlin.
Rouse gained particular notice for his concertos, which include his Violin Concerto (1991), commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival for Cho-Liang Lin; the Violoncello Concerto (1992-93), premiered by Yo-Yo Ma, David Zinman, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Seeing (1998), a piano concerto for Emanuel Ax, the New York Philharmonic, and Leonard Slatkin; a Clarinet Concerto (2000), commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its principal clarinetist, Larry Combs; the Oboe Concerto (2009), which had its world premiere with the Minnesota Orchestra; Heimdall’s Trumpet (2012), commissioned for Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal trumpeter Christopher Martin; and his Bassoon Concerto, premiered in 2018 by bassoonist Andrew Cuneo and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, led by Cristian Macelaru.
Numerous recordings of Rouse’s works have won critical accolades and awards, including the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition for Concert de Gaudí, his guitar concerto written for soloist Sharon Isbin. An all-Rouse disc with Christoph Eschenbach and the Houston Symphony featuring his Symphony No. 2 (1995), Phaethon (1986), and his Celtic-inspired Flute Concerto (1994) performed by Carol Wincenc won a Diapason d’Or. Passion Wheels, Marin Alsop’s 2000 recording of Rouse’s Concerto per Corde, Rotae Passionis, Ku-Ka-Ilimoku, and Ogoun Badagris won "Best of the Year" designations from both Gramophone and Fanfare. RCA has also issued a CD devoted to Rouse's music, featuring Marin Alsop leading the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in Gorgon, Iscariot, and his Pulitzer Prize-winning Trombone Concerto, with soloist Joseph Alessi. The New York Philharmonic's all-Rouse album under Alan Gilbert featuring his Third and Fourth symphonies, Odna Zhizn, and Prospero’s Rooms was listed as one of NPR’s best recordings of 2016.
From 2012-2015, Rouse served as the Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic. He also was in residence at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Symphony, Helsinki Biennalle, Pacific Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival.
The catalog of Christopher Rouse is published by Boosey & Hawkes.
-September 2019
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Reprinted by kind permission of Boosey & Hawkes.
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[@MrInterestingthings]

There will be people who love Boulez and people who love everything Rouse has published.Many people write from both of these opposite ways of generating music. Perhaps the best succeed as music. Boulez 2nd Sonata will always astound?Gorgon ,Seeing,theTrombone concerto of Rouse will always exemplify great musical experience.