Harold Meltzer (born 1966 in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
) is an American
composer. Harold is inspired by a wide variety of stimuli, from architectural spaces to postmodern fairy tales and messages inscribed in fortune cookies. In ''
Fanfare Magazine
''Fanfare'' is an American bimonthly magazine devoted to reviewing recorded music in all playback formats. It mainly covers classical music, but since inception, has also featured a jazz column in every issue.
History and profile
''Fanfare'' wa ...
'', Robert Carl commented that he "seems to write pieces of scrupulous craft and exceptional freshness, which makes each seem like an important contribution." The first recording devoted to his music, released in 2010 by Naxos on its American Classics label, was named one of the CDs of the year in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and in ''Fanfare''; new all-Meltzer recordings will issue from Open G Records (2017),
Bridge Records
Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York.
History
A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his first ...
(2018), and BMOP/Sound (2019). A
Pulitzer Prize Finalist in 2009 for his sextet ''Brion'', Meltzer has been awarded the Rome Prize, the
Barlow Prize;,
a
Guggenheim Fellowship, and both the Arts and Letters Award in Music and the Charles Ives Fellowship from the
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
.
Among his recent works are ''Vision Machine'' (2016), commissioned by
NewMusicUSA for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; ''Bride of the Island'' (2016), a song cycle to poems of
Ted Hughes
Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...
commissioned by the Minnesota Commissioning Club for tenor
Paul Appleby and pianist Natalia Katyukova; ''Piano Quartet'' (2015–16); commissioned by the
Boston Chamber Music Society; ''Variations on a Summer Day'' (2012–16), a song cycle to the
Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...
poem for mezzo-soprano and nine instruments commissioned by the Fromm Foundation for Mary Nessinger and the
Maverick Concerts and its director,
Alexander Platt; ''In Full Sail'' (2015, 2017), commissioned by Piano Spheres for Nadia Shpachenko; and ''Fortunes'' (2015), commissioned by the Roger Shapiro Fund for the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.
History
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an America ...
. Among his more often performed chamber works are ''Sindbad'' (2003–05), a chamber music theater work for narrator and piano trio, commissioned by
Meet The Composer
New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progra ...
for the Peabody Trio and actor Walter Van Dyk; ''Aqua'' (2011), a string quartet commissioned through the award of the
Barlow Prize in 2008 for the Avalon, Lydian, and Pacifica Quartets; and ''Kreisleriana'' (2012, 2014), commissioned by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
for violinist Miranda Cuckson and pianist Blair McMillen. Current projects include a piano concerto commissioned by Brandon Fradd for the
Boston Modern Orchestra Project
The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) is a professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Founded in 1996 by artistic director Gil Rose, its mission is to explore the connections between contemporary music and contemporary s ...
and songs for mezzo-soprano
Abigail Fischer commissioned by the Brooklyn Art Song Society.
Founder and co-director for fifteen years of the new music ensemble Sequitur, he lives with his wife and two children in the
East Village of Manhattan. He has taught at
Amherst and
Vassar Colleges, and teaches currently at the
Setnor School of Music
Setnor School of Music, officially The Rose, Jules R., and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music, is one of seven academic units of the College of Visual and Performing Arts of Syracuse University. It is housed primarily in the historical Crou ...
at
Syracuse University.
Life
Meltzer was born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and grew up in Long Island, where he studied piano and had instruction in music theory from
Morton Estrin
Morton Estrin (December 29, 1923 – December 7, 2017) was an American classical pianist and teacher.
His career began in 1949 with a well-received recital at Town Hall in New York. He studied with the teacher Vera Maurina-Press and others.
Es ...
. Meltzer graduated from
Amherst College, BA (1988), summa cum laude, where he studied composition with
Lewis Spratlan
M. Lewis Spratlan Jr. (born September 5, 1940) is an American music academic and composer of contemporary classical music.
Biography
Lewis Spratlan, recipient of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in music and the Charles Ives Opera Award (2016) from the Am ...
, piano with Robert Miller, and bassoon with Frank Morelli. He graduated from
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
, MPhil (1990), where he worked with
Alexander Goehr, and then completed his musical education at the
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 ...
School of Music, MMA (1997) and DMA (2000), where he studied composition with
Martin Bresnick,
Anthony Davis, and
Jacob Druckman
Jacob Raphael Druckman (June 26, 1928 – May 24, 1996) was an American composer born in Philadelphia.
Life
A graduate of the Juilliard School in 1956, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1 ...
and harpsichord with Richard Rephann. Meltzer also studied composition privately with
Tobias Picker
Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, artistic director, and pianist, noted for his orchestral works ''Old and Lost Rivers'', ''Keys To The City'', and ''The Encantadas'', as well as his operas ''Emmeline'', ''Fantastic Mr. ...
and
Charles Wuorinen. More recently he studied piano (2006–08) with
Ursula Oppens
Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist and educator. She has received five Grammy Award nominations.
Biography
Ursula Oppens was born on February 2, 1944, in New York City into a highly musical family fr ...
.
(Throughout the 1990s, as he studied music, Meltzer also studied law at
Columbia University School of Law
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
, JD (1992), and then practiced law at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler and then at Meltzer Fishman Madigan & Campbell. He no longer practices law.)
Meltzer taught at Vassar College from 2005–12 and then was the James E. and Grace W. Valentine Visiting Associate Professor of Music at Amherst College from 2012-13. He lives with his wife and children, Julia Meltzer and Elijah Meltzer in the East Village of Manhattan.
Awards
* 2015 Arts and Letters Award in Music,
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
* 2015 ASCAP Foundation Leonard Bernstein Award
* 2009 nominated Finalist, Pulitzer Prize in Music
* 2008
Barlow Prize
* 2005
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...
* 2004 Charles Ives Fellowship, American Academy of Arts and Letters
* 2003
Guggenheim Fellowship
Selected works
* Battle Piece for Two Guitars (2017)
* Bride of the Island for tenor and piano (2016)
* Guangzhou Circle for Chinese instruments and percussion quartet (2016)
* Vision Machine for chamber orchestra (2016)
* Piano Quartet (2016)
* Accidental Wilderness for guitar (2016)
*In Full Sail for piano (2015, revised 2017)
* Fortunes for orchestra (2015)
* Variations on a Summer Day for mezzo-soprano and nine instruments (2012–2016)
* Air and Angels for oboe and string trio (2014, 2017)
* Kreisleriana for violin and piano (2012, 2014)
* from a book of beautiful monsters for soprano, mandolin, and guitar (2013)
* Pacific Beach for SSATBB voices (2013)
* Aqua for string quartet (2011)
* Beautiful Ohio for tenor and piano (2010)
* Privacy for piano and twenty-one instruments (2008)
* Brion for flute, oboe, mandolin, guitar, violin, and cello (2008)
* Toccatas for harpsichord (2005, 2008)
* Sindbad for narrator and piano trio (2005)
* Full Faith and Credit for two bassoons and string orchestra (2004)
* Virginal for harpsichord and fifteen instruments (2002)
* Exiles for baritone, flute, clarinet, violin, and cello (2000)
* Two Songs from Silas Marner for soprano and cello (2000)
* Rumors for solo flutes (1998–99)
Recordings
* Brion, Sindbad, Exiles, and Two Songs from Silas Marner, on Naxos American Classics (Naxos 8.559660), 2010
* Toccatas on Sono Luminus (DSL092174), 2014 (Grammy Nomination, 2015)
* Virginal on Albany Records (Troy 607), 2002
* Rumors on Albany Records (Troy 629), 2002
* forthcoming recording on Bridge Records
* forthcoming recording on BMOP/Sound
Critical reception
Meltzer's 2010
Naxos
Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...
disc was named one of the best recordings of the year in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
and named to Fanfare Magazine's annual Want List and
American Record Guide
The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935.
History and profile
The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chang ...
's Critics Choice List in 2011.
In Fanfare, the composer and critic
Robert Carl
Robert Carl (born July 12, 1954 in Bethesda, Maryland) is an American composer who currently resides in Hartford, Connecticut, where he is chair of the composition program at the Hartt School, University of Hartford.
Music
Carl studied with J ...
wrote that Meltzer "seems to write pieces of scrupulous craft and exceptional freshness, which makes each seem like an important contribution. Part of the trick (I think) is that Meltzer needs to find a unique take on any piece, and in particular its sound world, before he can write." Carl described Meltzer's style as tending "to feature brightly contrasted colors that simultaneously aren't flashy. Rather, they provide delight in their well-calibrated contrasts one to another. The little low-register piccolo lick at the start of the 2008 Brion is an example—I still can't get it out of my head a few days later. Another aspect I hear throughout is an ability to take simple, clear ideas and enliven them by putting them in a new context. Sometimes this is the aforementioned mix of colors. At other times it's more complex modernist textures. At still others it's a dreamlike archaism; one feels as though one is hearing music from a distant time through a glass darkly. He's also unafraid of repetition, but also not obsessive, as in some Minimalist musics. And finally, there's a lovely recurrent danciness."
In a 2011 interview, The New York Times chief music
Anthony Tommasini
Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief ...
describes himself as a "weighty supporter" of three artists in particular: composer Stephen Hartke, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, and Meltzer.
[http://www.bu.edu/bostonia/winter-spring11/tommasini/tommasini.pdf ]
References
External links
Artist's websiteSequitur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meltzer, Harold
1966 births
American male classical composers
American classical composers
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Yale University alumni
Living people
Amherst College alumni
Vassar College faculty
American music educators
Musicians from Brooklyn
21st-century classical composers
21st-century American composers
Classical musicians from New York (state)
21st-century American male musicians