Noah Creshevsky (January 31, 1945 – December 3, 2020) was a composer and electronic musician born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. He used the term

hyperrealism Jean Baudrillard ( , , ; 27 July 1929 – 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher and poet with interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as w ...

to describe his work.

Biography

Trained in composition by

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

in Paris and

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

at 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 ...

, Creshevsky lived and worked in New York beginning in 1966. He taught at

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 ...

of the City University of New York for thirty-one years, serving as Director of the

Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music (BC-CCM) The Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music (BC-CCM) located at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY) was one of the first computer music centers at a public university in the United States. The BC-CCM is a community of a ...

from 1994 to 1999. He also served on the faculties of Juilliard and

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

, and has been a visiting professor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. Creshevsky began composing electronic music in 1971. His musical vocabulary used bits of words, songs, and instrumental sounds. By fusing opposites—such as

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

and

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

, comprehensible and incomprehensible vocal sources–Creshevsky attempted to make music that sounded both Western and non-Western, ancient and modern, familiar and unfamiliar. This alliance of opposites is heard both in his text-sound compositions (1973-1986)— Pop Art works in which extreme and unpredictable juxtapositions of iconographic sonic materials establish links between music and society —and in later pieces, in which the integration of electronic and acoustic sources and processes “creates virtual ‘superperformers’ by using the sounds of traditional instruments pushed past the capacities of human performance.” Creshevsky’s most recent compositions are examples of "

Hyperrealism Jean Baudrillard ( , , ; 27 July 1929 – 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher and poet with interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as w ...

", a term he uses to describe an electroacoustic language constructed from sounds found in our shared environment that he handles in ways that are exaggerated or intense. Collections of Creshevsky's scores and sound recordings are held at the music libraries of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. and th
New York Public Library
Creshevsky was interred on Hart Island at his own request. Usually burials on Hart Island are for the homeless or poor and unclaimed bodies. According to his husband David Sachs, Creshevsky intended to protest the trappings and cost of traditional funerals.

Discography

CDs

Man & Superman ''(1992)''

Centaur Records Centaur Records is one of the oldest and largest independent classical labels in America. The company is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was founded by Victor Sachse in 1976. Centaur's catalog includes classical, historical, pops, contemp ...

CRC 2126 * Variations (1987) * Electric String Quartet (1988) * Memento Mori (1989) * Electric Partita (1990) * Talea (1991) Who ''(1993)''

CRC 2476 * Fanfare (1998) * Sha (1996) * Twice (1993) * Who (1995) * et puis (1998) * Gone Now (1995) * Breathless (1997) * Nude Ascending (1999) Auxesis Electronic Music by

Charles Amirkhanian Charles Benjamin Amirkhanian (born January 19, 1945; Fresno, California) is an American composer. He is a percussionist, sound poet, and radio producer of Armenian origin. He is mostly known for his electroacoustic and text-sound music. Perfor ...

and Noah Creshevsky ''(1995)''

CRC 2194 * Politics as Usual (Amirkhanian) * Borrowed Time (Creshevsky—1992) * Private Lives (Creshevsky—1993) * Coup d'état (Creshevsky—1994) Hyperrealism ''(2003)'
Mutable Music
Mutable 17516-2 * Canto di Malavita (2002) * Jacob’s Ladder (1999) * Vol-au-vent (2002) * Hoodlum Priest (2002) * Novella (2000) * Ossi di morte (1997) * Jubilate (2001) * Born Again (2003) The Tape Music of Noah Creshevsky, 1971-1992 ''(2004)'
EM Records
(Japan) EM 1042CD * Strategic Defense Initiative (1986) * Highway (1979) * Circuit (1971) * Drummer (1985) * Great Performances (1978) * Sonata (1980) * In Other Words (Portrait of

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

) (1976) * Cantiga (1992) To Know and Not to Know ''(2007)''

Tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The ...

Tzadik-8036 * Red Carpet (2007) * Psalmus XXIII (2003) * To Know and Not to Know (2005) * Once (2004) * Chamber Concerto (1998) * Jubilate (2001) * Sequenza (for trombone) (2004) * Independence Day (1997) * Free Speech (2006) Favorite Encores, Music of Noah Creshevsky and

If, Bwana If, Bwana is the pseudonym of the influential noise music artist Al Margolis. History Al Margolis has been working under the musical pseudonym If, Bwana since New Year's Day 1984. The moniker is an acronym for "It's Funny, But We Are Not Amused." ...

, ''(2008)'
Pogus
Pogus 21049-2 * Mari Kimura Redux (Creshevsky) * Xyloxings (If, Bwana) * Shadow of a Doubt (Creshevsky) * Scraping Scrafide (If, Bwana) * Intrada (Creshevsky) * Cicada #4: Version Barnard (If, Bwana) * Favorite Encores (Creshevsky) The Twilight of the Gods ''(2010)''

Tzadik-8069 * Götterdämmerung * Omaggio * Three Minute Waltzes * Brother Tom * Estancia * I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now * La Belle Dame Sans Merci * Happy Ending Rounded With A Sleep ''(2011)'
Pogus
Pogus 21063-2 * Rounded With A Sleep * La Sonnambula * Lisa Barnard Redux * What If * Tomomi Adachi Redux II * The Kindness of Strangers * In Memoriam The Four Seasons ''(2013)''

Tzadik-8097 * i. summer * ii. interlude 1 * iii. autumn * iv. interlude 2 * v. winter * vi. interlude 3 * vii. spring Hyperrealist Music, 2011-2015 ''(2015)'
EM Records
(Japan) EM 1140CD * 1. Pulp Fiction (2014) * 2. Tomomi Adachi Redux I (2011) * 3. Quaestio (2014) * 4. Orchestral Variations (2013) * 5. Full Fathom Five (2011) * 6. La Valse (2013) * 7. You Are Here (2015) Sleeping Awake ''(2019)'
Open Space
Open Space CD 37 * Electric String Quartet (1988) * Passacaglia (2018) * Sequenza (for trombone) (2004) * Sleeping Awake (2017)

Compilation albums

60x60 60x60 is a collection of 60 electroacoustic or acousmatic works from 60 different composers/artists, each work 60 seconds or less in duration. 60x60 project showcases sixty new works, each sixty seconds or less, by sixty composers in a continuous ...

(2004-2005)

Vox Novus Vox Novus is a New York City-based organization consisting of composers, musicians, and music enthusiasts which presents and supports new music. Vox Novus was founded by Robert Voisey to promote contemporary composers in 2000. This organization ...

VN-001 *

(2003)

Capstone Records Capstone Records is an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Richard Brooks in 1986 and was based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has hundreds of releases featuring a w ...

CPS-8744

LPs

* Circuit (1971) In Other Words (1976) - Opus One No. 45 * Broadcast (1973) Great Performances (1978) - Opus One No. 47 * Chaconne (1974) Portrait of Rudy Perez (1978) Highway (1979) - Opus One No. 50 * Sonata (1980) - Opus One No. 58 * Celebration (1983) - Opus One No. 101 * Drummer (1985) Strategic Defense Initiative (1986) - Opus One No. 111 * Reanimator (2018) - Orange Milk Records No. 99

Dedications

snapshots (for noah creshevsky) (2003)
-

Marco Oppedisano Marco Oppedisano (born November 20, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist and composer whose compositions focus on the innovative use of electric guitar in the genre of electroacoustic music. His musique concrète/acousmatic music ...

Articles and reviews

"STUFF MUZAK #1: A (VERY) SOFT FOCUS ON HYPERREALIST MUSIC"
b
Dwight Pavlovic
Decoder Magazine, June 7, 2016
''"A Language We Already Understand: Noah Creshevsky's Hyperrealism"''
By

Dennis Báthory-Kitsz Dennis Báthory-Kitsz (born March 14, 1949 in Plainfield, New Jersey) (pseudonyms: Dennis Bathory, Dennis Kitsz, Dennis J. Kitsz, Dennis Bathory Kitsz, Kalvos Gesamte, Grey Shadé, D.B. Cowell, Brady Kynans, Kalvos Zondrios, Báthory Dénes, Orra ...

NewMusicBox ''NewMusicBox'' is an e-zine launched by the American Music Center on May 1, 1999. The magazine includes interviews and articles concerning American contemporary music, composers, improvisers, and musicians. A few interviews include renowned A ...

, June 13, 2007
''"When drawing from preexisting works, how do you balance legal and moral obligations with the potential to create new art?"''
by Noah Creshevsky,

November 1, 2004

References

External links

CD Review: ‘Twilight of the Gods' by Allan Kozinn
New York Times, June 15, 2010
Brooklyn College Center for Computer Music
*http://www.voxnovus.com/composer/creshevsky/Reviews.htm Listing of Creshevsky reviews
“On Borrowed Time” reprint. Originally published in Contemporary Music Review, Volume 20, Number 4, 2001, pp. 91-98(8).
*http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2004/09/creshevsky1.htm Malcolm Tattersall, Music & Vision September 22, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Creshevsky, Noah 1945 births 2020 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers American electronic musicians 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Tzadik Records artists Brooklyn College faculty Princeton University faculty Hunter College faculty Juilliard School alumni Pupils of Luciano Berio 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Centaur Records artists People from Rochester, New York