Spratlan, Lewis

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Spratlan, Lewis

Spratlan, Lewis, American composer and teacher; b. Miami, Sept. 5, 1940. He studied composition with Wyner, Schuller, and Powell at Yale Univ. (B.A., 1962; M.M., 1965), and then studied with Rochberg and Sessions at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (1966). He held a Guggenheim fellowship (1980–81). He taught at Bay Path Jr. Coll. (1965–67), Pa. State Univ. (1967–70), and at Amherst Coll. (from 1970), where he was made a prof. in 1980. In 1989 he toured widely in the Soviet Union and Armenia as a guest of the Union of Soviet Composers, during which tour his Apollo and Daphne Variations and Toccapsody were premiered. In 2000 he won the Pulitzer Prize in Music.

Works

DRAMATIC: Life is a Dream, opera (1975–77); Unsleeping City, dance music (1967). ORCH.: 2 Pieces (1971); Penelope’s Knees, double concerto for Alto Saxophone, Double Bass, and Chamber Orch. (1986); Apollo and Daphne Variations (1987; Kislovodsk, Russia, Oct. 4, 1989); Concertino for Violin and Chamber Orch. (1995). CHAMBER: Flange for 14 Instruments (1965); Serenade for 6 Instruments (1970); Trope-Fantasy for Oboe, English Horn, and Harpsichord (1970); Summer Music for Oboe, Horn, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1971); Woodwind Quintet (1971); Dance Suite for Clarinet, Violin, Guitar, and Harpsichord (1973); Fantasy for Piano and Chamber Ensemble (1973); Coils for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Viola, Cello, Percussion, and Piano (1980); Diary Music II for Chamber Ensemble (1981); String Quartet (1982); When Crows Gather for 3 Clarinets, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1986); A Fanfare for the Tenth for String Quartet (1988); Hung Monophonies for Oboe and 11 Instruments (1990); Night Music for Violin, Clarinet, and Percussion (1991); So-journer for 10 Players (2000). Piano: Toccapsody (1989). VOCAL : Missa brevis for Men’s Chorus and Winds (1965); Cantata Domine for Men’s Chorus, Winds, and Tape (1968); Structures after Hart Crane for Tenor, Piano, and Tape (1968); Moonsong for Chorus and Ensemble (1969); 3 Carols on Medieval Texts for Chorus and Ensemble (1971); 3 Ben Jonson Songs for Soprano, Flute, Violin, and Cello (1974); Night Songs for Soprano, Tenor, and Orch. (1976); Celebration for Chorus and Orch. (1984); Wolves for Soprano, Flute, Clarinet, and Piano (1988); In Memoriam for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1993); A Barred Owl for Baritone and 5 Instruments (1994); Psalm 42 for Soprano and 6 Instruments (1994); Psalm 42 Duck for Soprano and 6 Instruments (1996); Vocalise with Duck for Soprano and 5 Instruments (1998). OTHER: Electronic pieces.