Jacob Raphael Druckman (June 26, 1928 – May 24, 1996) was an American

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 ...

born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Life

A graduate of 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 ...

in 1956, Druckman studied with

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own wo ...

Peter Mennin Peter Mennin (born Mennini) (May 17, 1923 in Erie, Pennsylvania – June 17, 1983 in New York City) was a prominent American composer, teacher and administrator. In 1958, he was named Director of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and i ...

, and

Bernard Wagenaar Bernard Wagenaar (July 18, 1894 – May 19, 1971) was a Dutch-American composer, conductor and violinist. Wagenaar was born in Arnhem. He studied at Utrecht University before starting his career as a teacher and conductor in 1914. He moved to ...

. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...

and later continued his studies at the

École Normale de Musique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

in Paris (1954–55). He worked extensively with

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

, in addition to a number of works for orchestra or for small ensembles. In 1972 he won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

for his first large orchestral work, ''

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

''.Keller, James M
"Thomas / Druckman / Harte"
Liner note essay.

New World Records New World Records is a record label that was established in 1975 through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to celebrate America's bicentennial (1976) by producing a 100-LP anthology, with American music from many genres.New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

from 1982 until 1985. Druckman taught at Juilliard, The

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

, Tanglewood,

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...

, and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, among other appointments. He is Connecticut's State Composer Laureate.STATE OF CONNECTICUT, Sites º Seals º Symbols
; ''Connecticut State Register & Manual''; retrieved on January 4, 2007 Druckman died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

at age 67 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes. He is the father of percussionist Daniel Druckman. The

gives out the Jacob Druckman award in his honor each festival season. The reward is given to an up-and-coming composer, who is then commissioned to write a piece to be performed in the next festival season, offering a chance for this new composer to show his or her talents. Notable musicians who have recorded his works include

David Zinman David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist. Education After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. He ...

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

Dawn Upshaw Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempor ...

Jan DeGaetani Jan (Janice) DeGaetani (July 10, 1933 – September 15, 1989) was an American mezzo-soprano known for her performances of contemporary classical vocal compositions. DeGaetani was born in Massillon, Ohio. Educated at The Juilliard School with ...

Dorian Wind Quintet Dorian Wind Quintet is an American wind quintet. Formed at Tanglewood Music Festival, Tennessee, in 1961, their repertoire includes Baroque pieces to contemporary pieces. They have released recordings on Summit, New World, and CRI Records. Members ...

, the

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (founded 1972) is a classical music chamber orchestra based in New York City. They have won several Grammy Awards. The orchestra is known for its collaborative leadership style in which the musicians, not a conducto ...

, and the

American Brass Quintet When the American Brass Quintet gave its first public performance on December 11, 1960, brass chamber music was still relatively young to concert audiences. The New York Brass Quintet is regarded as the first brass quintet in the United States, ha ...

Notable students

Major works

* String Quartet No. 1 (1948) *''The Seven Deadly Sins'' (1955), for piano *''Dark Upon the Harp'' (1961–1962), for mezzo-soprano, brass, and percussion. Setting of texts from the Biblical Psalms. * String Quartet No. 2 (1966) *''Animus I'' (1966–1967), for trombone and electronic tape *''Animus II'' (1967–1968), for mezzo-soprano, percussion and electronic tape *''Animus III'' (1968), for clarinet and electronic tape *''Incenters'' (1968), for 13 Instruments *''Valentine'' (1969), for solo contrabass *''Synapse'' (1971), for tape * ''Windows'' (1972), for orchestra *''Delizie Contente Che l'Alme Beate After Cavalli'' (1973), for wind quintet and tape *''Lamia'' (1975), for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. "The texts," according to the composer, "range from the most terrifying damnings of ancient witches to the most innocent folkloric dream-conjuration of provincial maidens."Druckman, Jacob
''Jacob Druckman: Lamia / That Quickening Pulse / Delizie Contente Che L'Alme Beate / Nor Spell Nor Charm / Suite from Médée''
Essay from CD album booklet.

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 ...

. *''Other Voices'' (1976), for brass quintet *''Aureole'' (1979), for orchestra *''Prism'' (1980), for orchestra * String Quartet No. 3 (1981) *''Vox Humana'' (1983), for chorus and orchestra *''Reflections on the Nature of Water'' (1986), for solo marimba *''Brangle'' (1988–1989), for orchestra *''Antiphonies'', for two choruses; setting of poems by

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...

. *''Nor Spell Nor Charm'' (1990), for chamber orchestra *''Summer Lightning'' (1991), for orchestra *''Seraphic Games'' (1992), for orchestra *''Counterpoise'' (1994), for soprano and orchestra

References

External links

The Jacob Druckman Papers
the composer's personal papers and manuscripts, are housed in th
Music Division
o

Biography at Boosey and Hawkes Publisher
has FLAC files made from high-quality LP transcriptions of out-of-print vocal, instrumental, and electroacoustic works by Druckman available for free download.

March 22, 1989 {{DEFAULTSORT:Druckman, Jacob 1928 births 1996 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American composers American classical composers American male classical composers Jewish classical musicians Jewish American classical composers Jewish American classical musicians Musicians from Philadelphia Nonesuch Records artists Aspen Music Festival and School faculty Bard College faculty École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Pulitzer Prize for Music winners Pupils of Aaron Copland Symbols of Connecticut Deaths from lung cancer 20th-century American male musicians

Life

Notable students

Major works

References

Further reading

External links