Martin Boykan (April 12, 1931 – March 6, 2021) 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 Def ...
known for his
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...
as well as music for larger ensembles.
Biography
Boykan was born in New York City. He studied composition first with
Walter Piston at
Harvard
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 higher le ...
, where he received a BA in 1951. He then went to
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Z ...
to study with
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...
, with whom he continued his studies at
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 w ...
, earning an MM in 1953. Subsequently, he went to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
on a
Fulbright scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
.
He also studied composition 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 ...
at
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 ...
(1949, 1950), and piano with
Eduard Steuermann. Upon his return to the United States in 1955 he founded the Brandeis Chamber Ensemble, whose other members included Robert Koff (
Juilliard String Quartet), Nancy Cirillo (
Wellesley), Eugene Lehner (
Kolisch Quartet The Kolisch Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble founded in Vienna, originally (early 1920s) as the New Vienna String Quartet for the performance of Schoenberg's works, and (by 1927) settling to the form in which it was later known. It ha ...
), and Madeline Foley (
Marlboro Festival). This ensemble performed widely with a repertory divided equally between contemporary music and the tradition. At the same time Boykan appeared regularly as a pianist with soloists such as
Joseph Silverstein and
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 ...
. In 1964–65, he was the pianist with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 18 ...
under
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf (born Erich Landauer; February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a ...
.
He has had residencies at
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March&nbs ...
(1981 and 1992), the
MacDowell Colony
MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowel ...
in
Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) an ...
(1982, 1989, 1992), and at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts,
Amherst, Virginia
Amherst (formerly Dearborn) is a town in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Amherst County.
Amherst is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Amher ...
(1992, 2007, 2010).
Boykan taught at
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, p ...
starting in 1957, and was appointed professor there in 1976.
He has held the title Irving G. Fine Professor of Music. Boykan has been composer-in-residence at the Composer's Conference in Wellesley (1987) and a visiting professor at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(1988–89) and at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
(1993 and 2000). Boykan was Senior Fulbright Lecturer at
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...
, Israel (1994) and composer-in-residence at Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival,
Irasburg, Vermont
Irasburg is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. Irasburg was established in 1781 when the land was granted to Ira Allen, Roger Enos, Jerusha Enos (wife of Roger Enos), Jerusha Enos, Jr. (wife of Ira Allen), Roger Enos, Jr. and others ...
(1998). He has served on many panels, including the Rome Prize, the Fromm Commission, the New York Council for the Arts (CAPS) and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Over the years he has taught many hundreds of students including
Steven Mackey
Steven ("Steve") Mackey (born February 14, 1956) is an American composer, guitarist, and music educator.
Life
As a musician growing up listening to and performing vernacular American musics as well as classical music, Mackey's compositions are i ...
,
Peter Lieberson
Peter Goddard Lieberson (25 October 1946 – 23 April 2011) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. His song cycles include two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music: '' Rilke Songs'' and '' Neruda Songs''; the latter won t ...
,
Ross Bauer Ross Bauer (born December 19, 1951, Ithaca, New York) is an American composer, conductor, and music educator. A professor emeritus of the University of California, Davis, he was awarded the Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts ...
,
Paul Beaudoin,
Craig Walsh, and
Marjorie Merryman.
Boykan's mature compositional style, beginning with the partly
serial String Quartet No. 1 (1967), is marked by the influence of
Anton Webern
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
and the late works of
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
. After the First Quartet, he began consistently to use
twelve-tone technique
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 ...
.
Boykan has written for a wide variety of instrumental combinations including four string quartets, a concerto for large ensemble, many trios, duos and solo works, song cycles for voice and piano as well as voice and other instruments, and choral music. His symphony for orchestra and baritone solo was premiered by the Utah Symphony in 1993 and in 2009 his Concerto for Violin was premiered by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. His work is widely performed and has been presented by ensembles including the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, the New York New Music Ensemble, Speculum Musicae, the League-ISCM, Earplay, Musica Viva and Collage New Music.
He received the Jeunesse musicales award for his String Quartet No. 1 in 1967, and the League-ISCM award for Elegy in 1982. Other awards include a Rockefeller grant (1974), NEA award (1983), Guggenheim Fellowship (1984), two Fulbrights (1953–55), as well as a recording award and the Walter Hinrichsen Publication Award from the American Academy (1988) and National Institute of Arts and Letters (1986). In 1994 he was awarded a Senior Fulbright to Israel. He has received numerous commissions from chamber ensembles as well as commissions from the Koussevitsky Foundation in the Library of Congress (1985), and the Fromm Foundation (1976).
Personal life
Boykan was the son of New York dentist Joseph Boykan and his wife Matilda, and the brother of mathematical logician
Marian Pour-El. He married the
silverpoint artist Susan Schwalb in 1983. Boykan died at his home on March 6, 2021, aged 89.
Selected works and publications
* String Trio (1948)
* String Quartet (1949)
* Flute Sonata (1950)
* Duo for Violin and Piano (1951)
* Flute Quintet (1953)
* ''By the Waters of Babylon'', prelude for organ (1964)
* ''Psalm 128'' for a cappella chorus (1965)
* String Quartet No. 1 (1967), recorded by CRI
* Concerto for 13 players (1971), APNM
* String Quartet No. 2 (1974), recorded by CRI
* Trio for violin, cello and piano (1975), commissioned by the Fromm Foundation
* ''Elegy'' for soprano and six Instruments, on texts by Goethe, Leopari, Wngaretti, Emily Dickinson, and Li Ho (1982), recorded by CRI
* String Quartet No. 3 (1984)
* ''Shalom Rav for baritone, chorus and organ (1985)
* Piano Sonata No. 1 (1986)
* ''Epithalamion'' for baritone, violin and harp (1987), recorded by CRI
* Symphony for orchestra with baritone solo (1989), commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation
* Piano Sonata No. 2 (1990)
* Nocturne for Cello, Piano and Percussion (1991)
* ''Eclogue'', for flute, horn, viola, cello and piano (1991)
* ''Echoes of Petrarch'' for flute, clarinet and piano (1992), recorded by CRI
* Sonata for cello and piano (1992)
* ''Voyages'' for soprano and piano, on texts by Hart Crane (1992)
* ''Sea Gardens'', four songs for soprano and piano, on texts by Hart Crane, Whitman, and Shakespeare (1993)
* ''Impromptu'' for violin solo (1993)
* ''Three Psalms'' for soprano and piano (1993)
* ''Pastorale'' for piano (1993)
* Sonata for Violin and Piano (1994) C.F. Peters
* ''Ma'ariv Settings'' for chorus and organ (1995)
* String Quartet No. 4 (1995–96), recorded by CRI
* ''Three Shakespeare Songs'' for chorus (1996)
* ''City of Gold'' (1996), recorded by CRI
* Trio No. 2 for violin, cello and piano (1997) recorded for CRI
* ''Psalm 121'' for Soprano and String Quartet (1997)
* ''Usurpations'', five bagatelles for piano (1997)
* Sonata for solo violin (1998)
* ''Flume'' for clarinet and piano (1998)
* ''Romanza'' for flute and piano (1999)
* ''A Packet for Susan'', five songs for mezzo-soprano and piano on texts by Keats, Donne, Landor and Lear (2000)
* Motet for mezzo-soprano and consort of viols (2001)
* ''Songlines'' for flute, clarinet, violin and ‘cello (2001)
* Concerto for violin and piano (2004)
* ''Second Chances'' (2005), song cycle on texts by Mary Oliver for mezzo-soprano and piano, premiere performances in New York (Jan. 2006) and Boston (Feb. 2006).
* Piano Trio No. 3, “Rites of Passage” (2006)
* Piano Sonata No. 3 (2007)
* ''Toward the Horizon, Novella'', for piano solo (2008)
* ''Soliloquies of an Insomniac'', four songs for soprano and piano (2008)
* Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano (2009)
* "As Once on a Deserted Street..." (2010) for quintet (piano, violin, clarinet, horn, cello)
Recordings
His String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 are both recorded on CRI. A disc of vocal music (''Elegy and Epithalamion'') was released by CRI in 1998, along with the String Quartet No. 4. A second CD including the Piano Trio No. 2, ''Echoes of Petrarch'' (trio for flute, clarinet and piano), ''City of Gold'' (flute) and the Second Quartet was released in January 2000. A new CD of chamber works issued by CRI (assigned to New World Records now and can be ordered on line) includes a violin sonata, ''Flume'' for clarinet and piano, a song cycle (''A Packet for Susan''), and the First String Quartet. Sonata for Solo Violin(commissioned by Dan Stepner) is included on a CD by the violinist Curt Macomber (also CRI/New World).
In 2010 Albany Records released the CD ''Second Chances'' which includes String Quartet No. 3, ''Motet'', ''Songlines'' and ''Second Chances'' featuring
Pamela Dellal
Pamela Dellal (born 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano in opera and concert, a musicologist and academic teacher. She has performed classical music from the medieval Hildegard von Bingen to contemporary. She is on the faculty of the Boston Conserva ...
, mezzo-soprano and Donald Berman, Pianist. Scores are published by Mobart Music Press and C.F. Peters, New York.
In 2004 Scarecrow Press, Maryland, published a collection of essays entitled ''Silence and Slow-Time: Studies in Musical Narrative''. His second book, ''The Power of the Moment: Essays on the Western Musical Canon'', was published by Pendragon Press in 2011.
Three artist books produced in collaboration with his wife, the artist
Susan Schwalb, were recently purchased by the Music Division of the Library of Congress: ''City of Gold'' (flute solo), ''Flume'' (clarinet), and ''Nocturne'' (viola da gamba).
References
Further reading
* Anderson, Paul E. 2000. "''Echoes of Petrarch'': Martin Boykan and Musical Narrative". ''
Perspectives of New Music
''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief).
''Perspectives'' was firs ...
'' 38, no. 2 (Summer): 168–181.
*
Cory, Eleanor. 1976. "Martin Boykan: String Quartet No. 1 (1967)". ''
The Musical Quarterly
''The Musical Quarterly'' is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928. Sonneck was succeeded by a number of editors, including Ca ...
'' 62:616–620.
*
Harbison, John, and Eleanor Cory. 1973. "Martin Boykan: String Quartet (1967), Two Views". ''
Perspectives of New Music
''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief).
''Perspectives'' was firs ...
'' 11, no. 2 (Spring–Summer): 204–248.
*
Pollack, Howard. 1992. ''Harvard Composers: Walter Piston and His Students from Elliott Carter to Frederic Rzewski''. Lanham, Maryland: Greenwood Press.
*
Rakowski, David. 2000. "For Martin Boykan's Birthday
Festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
". ''
Perspectives of New Music
''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief).
''Perspectives'' was firs ...
'' 38, no. 2 (Summer): 199–207.
* Roens, Steven. 2000. "Encomium". ''Perspectives of New Music'' 38, no. 2 (Summer): 208–212.
External links
*
Profileat
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 ...
Profileat DRAM
Profileat
Sigma Alpha Iota
Sigma Alpha Iota () is a women's music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its m ...
Project Muse – John Lowell Brackett's review of Boykan's ''Silence and Slow Time''by R.L., ''
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 ...
'', P. 53, January 12, 1947
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boykan, Martin
1931 births
2021 deaths
Harvard University alumni
Musicians from New York City
Twelve-tone and serial composers
American classical composers
American male classical composers
20th-century classical composers
21st-century classical composers
20th-century American composers
21st-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters