Donald James Martino (May 16, 1931 – December 8, 2005) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer.

Biography

Born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

, Martino attended Plainfield High School. He began as a clarinetist, playing jazz for fun and profit. He attended Syracuse University, where he studied composition with Ernst Bacon, who encouraged him in that direction. He then attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

as a graduate student, where he worked with composers

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

and Milton Babbitt. He also studied with

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical serialism, twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current ...

in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar. He became a lecturer and teacher himself, working with students at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

(where he became chair of the composition department),

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1974 for his chamber work ''Notturno''. In 1991, the journal '' Perspectives of New Music'' published a 292-page tribute to Martino. Martino died in Antigua in 2005. A memorial concert was held at the New England Conservatory on May 8, 2007. A recording of the concert was released by Navona Records in 2009.

Music

Most of Martino's mature works (including pseudo-tonal works such as ''Paradiso Choruses'' and ''Seven Pious Pieces'') were composed using the

twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...

method; his sound world more closely resembled the lyrical Dallapiccola's than his other teachers'. The pianist Easley Blackwood commissioned Martino's sonata ''Pianississimo'', explicitly requesting that it be one of the most difficult pieces ever written. The resulting work is indeed of epic difficulty, but has been recorded several times. (Blackwood declined to perform it.) Martino presented Milton Babbitt with at least two musical birthday cards: ''B,a,b,b,i,t,t'' on his 50th birthday and ''Triple Concerto'' on his 60th.

Musical compositions

Many of the instrumental pieces have extensive doublings, such as flute/piccolo/alto flute. Principal publishers: Ione, Dantalian, McGinnis & Marx.

Works for orchestra and concertos

*''Sinfonia'', 1953, withdrawn, unpublished *''Contemplations'', 1956 *Piano Concerto, 1965 *''Mosaic for Grand Orchestra'', 1967 *Cello Concerto, 1972 *''Ritorno'', 1976, arr. for band, 1977 *Triple Concerto, clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, 1977 *''Divertisements for Youth Orchestra'', 1981 *Alto Sax Concerto, 1987 *Violin Concerto, 1996 * Concertino (clarinet and orchestra), 2004 * Concerto for Orchestra, 2005

Chamber music

*String Quartet No. 1, withdrawn, unpublished *String Quartet No. 2, 1952, withdrawn, unpublished *String Quartet Mo. 3, 1954, withdrawn, unpublished *''Seven Canoni Enigmatici'', canons with resolutions (2 violas, 2 ‘cellos/2 bassoons, 1955; string quartet, 1962; 2 clarinets, alto clarinet/basset horn, bass clarinet, 1966, may be combined with version of 1955) *String Trio, 1955, withdrawn, unpublished *Quartet (clarinet and string trio), 1957 *Trio (clarinet, violin, piano), 1959 *''Five Frammenti'' (oboe, double bass), 1961 *Concerto (wind quintet), 1964 *''Notturno'' (piccolo/flute/alto flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, viola, ‘cello, piano, percussion), 1973 *String Quartet

o. 4 O is the fifteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. O may also refer to: Letters * Օ օ, (Unicode: U+0555, U+0585) a letter in the Armenian alphabet * Ο ο, Omicron, (Greek), a letter in the Greek alphabet * O (Cyrillic), a letter of the ...

1983 *''Canzone e Tarantella sul Nome Petrassi'' (clarinet, ‘cello), 1984 *''From the Other Side'' (flute, ‘cello, piano, percussion), 1988 *''Three Sad Songs'' (viola, piano), 1991 *Octet (flute, clarinet, flugelhorn, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, ‘cello), 1998 * ''Serenata Concertante'' (flute, clarinet, flugel horn, French horn, percussion, piano, violin, ‘cello), 1999 * String Quartet No. 5, 2004 * Trio (violin, cello, piano), 2004 * Trio (clarinet, cello, piano), 2004

Works for solo instrument

*Clarinet Sonata, 1950–51 *''Suite of Variations on Medieval Melodies'' (‘cello), 1952, rev. 1954 *''A Set'' (clarinet), 1954, rev. 1974 *Violin Sonata, 1954 *Harmonica Piece, 1954 *''Quodlibets'' (flute), 1954 *Fantasy (piano), 1958 *''Fantasy-Variations'' (violin), 1962 *''Parisonatina al’dodecafonia'' (‘cello), 1964 *''B, A, B, B, IT, T'' (clarinet with extensions), 1966 *''Strata'' (bass clarinet), 1966 *''Pianississimo'', piano sonata, 1970 *''Impromptu for Roger'' (piano), 1977 *''Fantasies and Impromptus'' (piano), 1980 *''Quodlibets II'' (flute), 1980 *''Suite in Old Form (Parody Suite)'' (piano), 1982 *Twelve Preludes (piano), 1991 *''15, 5, 92, A.B.'' (clarinet), 1992 *''A Birthday Card for Alea III'' (clarinet), 1997 * ''Romanza'' (violin), 2000 * Sonata (violin), 2003 * Violin Sonata No. 2, 2004

Vocal works

*''Separate Songs'' (high voice and piano), 1951Villamil calls them both “lyrical, melancholy, atmospheric; good songs”, p. 271 #All day I hear the noise of waters (

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

) #The half-moon westers low, my love ( A. E. Housman) *''From "The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts"'' (

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

) (high voice and piano), 1952 #The Lion, the Tiger #The Frog #The Microbe *''Portraits: a Secular Cantata'' ( Edna St. Vincent Millay,

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

, e.e. Cummings) (mezzo-soprano and baritone solos, chorus, orchestra), 1954 *Arrangement of ''Anyone lived in a pretty how town'' (SATB chorus, piano 4 hands, optional percussion, 1955 *''Three Songs'' (

) (soprano/tenor or bass, piano), 1955 #Alone #Tutto e sciolto (in English) #A Memory of the Players in a Mirror at Midnight *''Two Rilke Songs'' (mezzo-soprano and piano), 1961 #Die Laute #Aus einem Sturmnacht VIII; *''Seven Pious Pieces'' ( Robert Herrick) (chorus with optional piano/organ), 1972 *''Paradiso Choruses'' (

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

) (solo voices, chorus, orchestra, tape), 1974 *''The White Island'' (SATB chorus and chamber orchestra), 1985

Film scores

*''The White Rooster'', c1950, unpublished *''The Lonely Crime'', 1958, unpublished

Other works

*''Augenmusik, a Mixed Mediocritique'' (actress/danseuse/uninhibited female percussionist, tape), 1972 *Many popular songs and jazz arrangements, all unpublished

References

*Barkin, Elaine, and Martin Brody (2006). "Martino, Donald (James)". ''Grove Music Online'', edited by Deane L. Root. (updated 18 January). Oxford Music Online (accessed 26 August 2017). * Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich, ed. (2001). "1974 Award: About the Chamber Music Piece ''Notturno'' by Donald J. Martino". In ''The Pulitzer Prize Archives: Part E, Liberal Arts: Volume 15, Musical Composition Awards 1943-1999: From Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to Gian-Carlo Menotti and Melinda Wagner'', edited by Heinz-Dietrich Fischer in cooperation with Erika J. Fischer, 121–24. Munich: K. G. Sauer. . *Griffiths, Paul (2002). "Martino, Donald (James)". ''The Oxford Companion to Music'', edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. *Los Angeles Times Staff (2005)
Los Angeles Times: Obituary of Donald Martino
Retrieved December 25, 2005. *

Bibliography

Articles by Martino

*Martino, Donald. 1961. "The Source Set and Its Aggregate Formations." ''Journal of Music Theory'' 5: 224-273. *Martino, Donald. 1964. "Claudio Spies: 'Tempi'." ''Perspectives of New Music'' 2/2: 112-124. *Martino, Donald. 1966. "Notation in General - Articulation in Particular." ''Perspectives of New Music'' 4/2: 47-58. *Martino, Donald, and Ricci, Robert. 1968. "Wherefore Modern Music?" ''Music Educators Journal'' 55: 94-96. *Martino, Donald. 1971. "In Memoriam Stravinsky." ''Perspectives of New Music'' 9/2-10/1: 64. *Martino, Donald. 1972. "Exotic Winds." ''The Musical Times'' 113/1555: 865. *Martino, Donald. 1974. "In Memoriam Dallapiccola." ''Perspectives of New Music'' 13/1: 240-245.

Interview with Martino

*Martino, Donald, and Boros, James. 1991. "A Conversation with Donald Martino." ''Perspectives of New Music'' 29/2 (Summer): 212-278.

Notes

External links

Publisher's website

January 12, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Martino, Donald American male classical composers American classical composers Pulitzer Prize for Music winners 20th-century classical composers Yale University faculty New England Conservatory faculty Brandeis University faculty Harvard University faculty 1931 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Composers for piano Twelve-tone and serial composers Pupils of Luigi Dallapiccola Pupils of Roger Sessions 20th-century American composers Albany Records artists 20th-century American male musicians Fulbright alumni