Poul Ruders (born 27 March 1949) is a Danish composer.

Life

Born in Ringsted, Ruders trained as an

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

, and studied orchestration with Karl Aage Rasmussen. Ruders's first compositions date from the mid-1960s. Ruders regards his own compositional development as a gradual one, with his true voice emerging with the chamber concerto, ''Four Compositions'', of 1980. His notable students include Marc Mellits. Writing about Ruders, the English critic Stephen Johnson states: "He can be gloriously, explosively extrovert one minute – withdrawn, haunted, intently inward-looking the next. Super-abundant high spirits alternate with pained, almost expressionistic lyricism; simplicity and directness with astringent irony." Minor planet 5888 Ruders discovered by

Eleanor Helin Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...

and Schelte J. Bus is named after him.

Music

Ruders has created a large body of music ranging from opera and orchestral works through chamber, vocal and solo music in a variety of styles, from the

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

pastiche of his first

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

(1981) to the explosive modernism of ''Manhattan Abstraction'' (1982). Other works include the operas ''Tycho'' (1986), ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ha ...

'' (1990, with libretto by Paul Bentley), ''Proces Kafka/ Kafka's Trial'' (2005, again with libretto by Bentley), '' Selma Ježková'' (2007, after Trier's ‘ Dancer in the Dark’), and the fairytale opera'' The Thirteenth Child'' (2016), five symphonies, four

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

s, Violin Concerto No. 1 (1981), ''Etude and Ricercare'' (1994) for guitar, for David Starobin, ''The Bells'' (songs) with

Lucy Shelton Lucy Shelton is an American soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) ...

, soprano, and the ''Christmas Gospel'' (1994) and two

piano sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement ( Scarlatti, Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others wit ...

s; ''Abysm'' (2000) for

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) is a British chamber ensemble based in Birmingham, England specialising in the performance of new and contemporary music. BCMG performs regularly at the CBSO Centre and Symphony Hall in Birmingham, tou ...

. Ruders has written several works for the American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and promoter of new music David Starobin: ''Psalmodies'' (1989) and ''Paganini Variations'' for guitar and orchestra (1999–2000), and ''Psalmodies Suite'' (1990), ''Etude and Ricercare'' (1994) and ''Chaconne'' (1996) for solo

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

. Ruders has composed a ''Concerto in Pieces'' (1995), which is a set of variations on the "Witches' Chorus" from Purcell's opera ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

''. His fourth symphony, ''An organ symphony'', (with a significant part for organ) was a joint international commission by the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

, Odense Symphony Orchestra and the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

. The world premiere took place in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas, 20 January 2011.

References

External links

Ruders' websitePer Erland Rasmussen, Acoustical Canvases – The Music of Poul Ruders' (2007), DMT Publishing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruders, Poul 1949 births Living people People from Ringsted 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Danish classical composers Danish male classical composers Composers for the classical guitar Danish opera composers Male opera composers 20th-century Danish male musicians 21st-century male musicians