Musgrave, Thea

Musgrave, Thea, remarkable Scottish composer; b. Barnton, Midlothian, May 27, 1928. She was a student of Mary Grierson (musical analysis) and Hans Gài (composition and counterpoint) at the Univ. of Glasgow (B.Mus., 1950), where she won the Donald Francis Tovey Prize. A scholarship made it possible for her to go to Paris, where she studied with Nadia Boulanger and at the Cons. (1952–54), during which time she won the Lui Boulanger Memorial Prize. She completed her studies with Copland at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (summer, 1959). From 1958 to 1965 she was a lecturer at the Univ. of London. In 1970 she was a visiting prof, at the Univ. of Calif, at Santa Barbara, and in 1987 she was a Distinguished Prof, of Music at Queens Coll. of the City Univ. of N.Y. In 1974 she received the Koussevitzky Award. She held Guggenheim fellowships in 1974–75 and 1982–83. In 1971 she married Peter Mark. Following an initial period of composition in which she followed the precepts of strict serial techniques, Musgrave pursued an individual course in which dramatic-abstract musical forms were utilized in both her theater and concert scores.

Works

dramatic:opera:The Abbott of Drimock, chamber opera (1955; concert perf., Park Lane Opera Group, June 22, 1958); The Decision (1964–65; London, Nov. 30, 1967); The Voice of Ariadne, chamber opera (1972–73; Aldeburgh, June 11, 1974); Mary, Queen of Scots (1975–77; Edinburgh, Sept. 6, 1977); A Christmas Carol, after Dickens (1978–79; Norfolk, Va., Dec. 7, 1979); An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, radio opera after Ambrose Bierce (1981; BBC, Sept. 14, 1982); Harriet, The Woman Called Moses (1984; Norfolk, Va., March 1, 1985); Simon Bolivar (1989–92; Norfolk, Va., Jan. 20, 1995); The Story of Harriet Tubman, music drama after the opera Harriet, The Woman Called Moses (1990; Mobile, Ala., Jan. 1993). ballet:A Tale for Thieves (1953); Beauty and the Beast (1968–69; London, Nov. 19, 1969); Orfeo (1975; BBC-TV, March 17, 1977). other:Marko the Miser, children’s theater piece (1962; Farnham, May 16, 1963). orch.:Divertimento for Strings (1957); Obliques (1958); Scottish Dance Suite (1959; Glasgow, Aug. 17, 1961; also for Concert Band, 1974); Perspectives (1961); Theme and Interludes (1962); Sinfonia (1963); Festival Overture (1965); Variations for Brass Band (Fife, July 15, 1966); Nocturnes and Arias (1966; Zürich, Nov. 3, 1968); Concerto for Orchestra (1967; London, March 8, 1968); Clarinet Concerto (1968; London, Feb. 5, 1969); Night Music for Chamber Orch. (1968; Cardiff, Oct. 24, 1969); Memento Vitae (Concerto in Homage to Beethoven) (1969–70; Glasgow, March 22, 1970); Horn Concerto (Glasgow, May 1, 1971); Viola Concerto (London, Aug. 13, 1973); Orfeo II for Flute and Strings (1975; Los Angeles, March 28, 1976); From One to Another for Viola and Strings (1980; Minneapolis, March 18, 1982; also for Viola and Tape, 1970); Peripeteia (London, Nov. 2, 1981); Moving Into Aquarius (1984; London, Jan. 23, 1985; in collaboration with R.R. Bennett); The Seasons (London, Dec. 4, 1988); Rainbow (Glasgow, Oct. 8, 1990); Song of the Enchanter (In Homage to Sibelius) (1990; Helsinki, Feb. 14, 1991); Autumn Sonata, bass clarinet concerto (1993; Cheltenham, July 13, 1994); Journey Through a Japanese Landscape, concerto for Marimba and Wind Orch. (1993–94; Cheltenham, July 14, 1994); Helios, oboe concerto (1994; Orkney, June 17, 1995); Phoenix Rising (1997; London, Feb. 18, 1998). chamber: String Quartet (1958); Colloquy for Violin and Piano (Cheltenham, July 12, 1960); Trio for Flute, Oboe, and Piano (1960; London, Jan. 8, 1961); Serenade for Flute, Clarinet, Harp, Viola, and Cello (1961; London, March 14, 1962); Chamber Concerto No. 1 (Glasgow, April 26, 1962), No. 2 (In Homage to Charles Ives) (Dartington, Aug. 5, 1966), and No. 3 (1966; London, Oct. 16, 1967); Sonata for Three for Flute, Violin, and Guitar (Winchester, May 27, 1966); Impromptu No. 1 for Flute and Oboe (London, April 16, 1967) and No. 2 for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet (1970; Cardiff, Nov. 16, 1971); Music for Horn and Piano (Zagreb, May 1967); Soliloquy for Guitar and Tape (1969; London, March 15, 1972); Elegy for Viola and Cello (Santa Barbara, May 19, 1970); From One to Another for Viola and Tape (Los Angeles, Nov. 30, 1970; also for Viola and Strings, 1980); Space Play, concerto for 9 Instruments (London, Oct. 11, 1974); Orfeo I for Flute and Tape (1975; Chichester, July 4, 1976; also as Orfeo III for Flute and 5 Instruments, Moscow, Oct. 11, 1993); Fanfare for Brass Quintet (Norfolk, Va., Dec. 3, 1982); Pierrot for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1985; Istanbul, April 13, 1986); The Golden Echo I for Horn and Tape (1986; also as The Golden Echo II for Solo Horn and 16 Accompanying Horns, 1986); Narcissus for Flute with Digital Delay System (1987; also for Clarinet and Digital Delay System, 1988); Niobe for Oboe and Tape (1987; London, Jan. 1988); Piccolo Play: In Homage to Couperin for Piccolo and Piano (New Orleans, Aug. 18, 1989); Fanfare for a New Hall for 2 Trumpets (1990; N.Y., Feb. 1992); Wind Quintet (1992; Provo, Utah, March 18, 1993); Postcards from Spain for Guitar (1995; Norfolk, Va., May 10, 1996); From Spring to Spring for Marimba and Optional Windchimes (1996); Circe for 3 Flutes (N.Y., Aug. 17, 1996); Threnody for Clarinet and Piano (London, June 20, 1997); In the Still of the Night for Viola (1997; Odessa, April 11, 1998); Voices from the Ancient World for Flute Trio and Percussion (1998; Glasgow, Jan. 23, 1999). piano:Monologue (London, Dec. 12, 1960); Excursions for Piano, 4-Hands (1965; London, April 19, 1967). vocal: 2 Songs for Baritone and Piano (Paris, May 16, 1951); 4 Madrigals for Chorus (Fife, March 20, 1953); A Suite o Bairnsangs for Voice and Piano (Braemar, Aug. 21, 1953); Cantata for a Summer’s Day for Chorus, Narrator, and Orch. (1954; Edinburgh, Sept. 4, 1955); 5 Love Songs for Soprano and Guitar (Utrecht, Oct. 4, 1955); 4 Portraits for Baritone, Clarinet, and Piano (1956; London, Dec. 10, 1962); A Song for Christmas for High Voice and Piano (1958); Triptych for Tenor and Orch. (1959; London, Sept. 14, 1960); Sir Patrick Spens for Tenor and Guitar (Aldeburgh, July 7, 1961); Make Ye Merry for Him That is Come for Women’s Chorus and Children’s Chorus (1961; London, Dec. 8, 1962); The Phoenix and the Turtle for Small Chorus and Orch. (London, Aug. 20, 1962); John Cook for Chorus (1963); The Five Ages of Man for Chorus and Orch. (1963–64; Norwich, June 6, 1964); Memento Creatoris for Chorus and Optional Organ (Aldeburgh, June 6, 1967); Primavera for Soprano and Flute (Zagreb, May 19, 1971); Rorate Coeli for Chorus (1973; Greenwich, Sept. 26, 1976); O Caro M’e II Sonno for Chorus (1978); The Last Twilight for Chorus and Instruments (Santa Fe, July 20, 1980); The Lord’s Prayer for Chorus and Organ (1983; San Francisco, June 25, 1984); Black Tambourine for Women’s Chorus (1985); For the Time Being: Advent for Chorus and Narrator (1986; London, April 27, 1987); Echoes Through Time for Women’s Chorus, Speaking Chorus, 3 Optional Dancers, and Orch. (1988; Decatur, Ga., April 25, 1989); Midnight for Chorus (1992; San Antonio, March 4, 1993); Wild Winter for Voices and Viols (Lichfield, July 16, 1993); On the Underground, Set No. 1: On gratitude, love and madness (Cheltenham, July 16, 1994), No. 2: The Strange and the Exotic (Ithaca, N.Y., Oct. 29, 1994), and No. 3: A Medieval Summer (London, Nov. 19, 1995) for Chorus; Songs for a Winter’s Evening for Soprano and Orch. (1995; Dumfries, June 1, 1996). electronic:Time Remembered (1979).

Bibliography

D. Hixon, T. M.: A Bio-Bibliography (Westport, Conn., 1984).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire