Alan Belkin (born July 5, 1951) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

as well as a

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

Early life

Alan Belkin was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He began

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

studies with Philip Cohen, then he studied organ with Dom André Laberge and with Bernard Lagacé. He studied composition with

Marvin Duchow Marvin Duchow (June 10, 1914 – May 24, 1979) was a Canadian composer, teacher and musicologist who lived and worked in Montreal, Quebec. He was an expert on Renaissance music and the music of eighteenth century France. The McGill University Music ...

and in 1983, he got his doctorate from the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

under the tutelage of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

composers David Diamond and

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

Career

Since 1984, Belkin has taught

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

and composition at

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. He is acknowledged by

Canadian Music Centre The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...

as an associate composer. He is now retired, and teaches online. Alan Belkin maintains an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

web site A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikipe ...

which includes free texts on

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, musical form and other musical subjects. Alan Belkin's works have been played in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Europe, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Belkin's YouTube channel has more than 31,000 subscribers and contains both his music and much pedagogical material.

Works

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

No. 1 *Symphony No. 2 *Symphony No. 3 *Symphony No. 4 *Symphony No. 5 *Symphony No. 6 ("Phantoms") *Symphony No. 7 *Symphony No. 8 *Violin Concerto *Violin Concerto #2 *Piano Concerto *Piano Concerto #2 *Cello Concerto *Double Concerto for violin and cello *''Sonata'' for piano solo *Sonata for viola and piano (2006) *''Petite Suite'', commissioned by the

Duo Caron Duo Caron is a classical music group who transcribe and perform great orchestral works for various piano formations. History Born in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, sibling pianists Josee and Martin Caron have lived in Montreal for several years. T ...

(versions for one piano and for two pianos) *''Fantasies and

Fugues In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

'' for piano solo *''Four Etudes'' for piano solo *''Voices'' for

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, commissioned by Peter McCutcheon *''Adagio I'' ( Electroacoustic) *''Adagio II'' (Electroacoustic) *6 Songs for a Young Man *Four Emily Dickinson Songs *Do Not Go Gentle (choir, unaccompanied) *String Quartet No. 1 *String Quartet No. 2 *String Quartet No. 3 *String Quartet No. 4 *Adagio Symphonique pour Cordes *Elegy for String Orchestra *Symphonic Movement No. 2, for Strings *Trio, for violin, cello, and piano *12 Preludes and Fugues for piano *12 Preludes for piano *Nonet #2 (also exists in a version for piano and string quartet) *Symphonic Movement No. 3 *Flute Sonata *Clarinet Sonata (with piano) *Piano Sonata #2 *Clarinet Quartet *Ragtime, for orchestra *Music When Soft Voices Die, for choir *Concertino for Clarinet and Strings (Night Secrets) *Living with Daniel (melodrama for narrator and piano) *Cadenzas and Songs, for violin and piano

Discography

''Halogènes'' – excerpt of Night Labyrinth (1987): Adagio I (UMMUS UMM-101, 1990)

Honours

''Prix d'excellence en enseignement, catégorie professeur agrégé'' University of Montreal (1994)

Publications

* Musical Composition: Craft and Art, Yale University Press, 2018 *

Computer Music Journal ''Computer Music Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers a wide range of topics related to digital audio signal processing and electroacoustic music. It is published on-line and in hard copy by MIT Press. The journal is accompa ...

* Journal of the Canadian University Music Society *

Musicworks ''Musicworks'' is a Canadian avant-garde music magazine, launched in January 1978 by Andrew Timar (editor-in-chief) and John Oswald (design and production). History The first 4 issues came as a supplement to ''Only Paper Today'', a Toronto ar ...

Notes

http://www.musique.umontreal.ca/personnel/belkin_a.html

References

Canadian Music Center
– Alan Belkin
Journal of the Canadian University Music Society

External links

Personal WebsiteVarious - Halogènes (CD) at DiscogsYouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belkin, Alan 1951 births Anglophone Quebec people Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian music educators Juilliard School alumni Living people Musicians from Montreal Academic staff of the Université de Montréal