Robert Muczynski (March 19, 1929 – May 25, 2010) was a Polish-American composer. Muczynski studied piano with Walter Knupfer and composition with

Alexander Tcherepnin Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Черепни́н, link=no; 21 January 1899 – 29 September 1977) was a Russian-born composer and pianist. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin (pupil of Nikol ...

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

in Chicago, where he received both his

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

degree (1950) and his Master of Music degree (1952) in Piano Performance. Muczynski later taught at DePaul University,

Loras College Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree pr ...

, and

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

, before settling in Tucson in the 1960s where he joined the faculty of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

as a

composer-in-residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the composition department. He held both positions until his retirement in 1988. Among the more than fifty published compositions in his catalog, Sonata for flute and piano, Op. 14 (1961), Sonata for alto saxophone and piano (1970), and ''Time Pieces'' for clarinet and piano (1984) have entered the repertoire and remain frequently performed in recitals, as has much of his solo piano music. Works by Muczynski have also appeared with increasing frequency on programs in the U.S., Europe, the Far East, Australia and Mexico. Orchestral works have been performed by the

Chicago Symphony The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

, the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cincin ...

, the National Symphony Orchestra, D.C., the

Tucson Symphony Orchestra The Tucson Symphony Orchestra, or TSO, is the primary professional orchestra of Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1928, when the season consisted of just two concerts, the TSO is the oldest continuously running performing arts organization in the South ...

, the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

and others abroad.

Personal life

Muczynski was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he attended

Steinmetz High School Steinmetz College Prep (also known as Steinmetz High School or Steinmetz Academic Centre) is a public 4–year high school located in the Belmont Cragin community area on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. Steinmetz is a part of the Chicag ...

, and graduated in 1949. He then matriculated to

in the late 1940s, where he studied composition with

. At age 29 he made his

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

debut, performing a program of his own compositions for piano. He died in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, on May 25, 2010.

Notable works

Chamber music

*Op. 4 Allegro Deciso for brass sextet and timpani (1952) SP *Fragments for flute, clarinet, and bassoon (1958) GS *Op. 11/1 Trumpet Trio (1959) GS *Op. 11/2 Three Designs for Three Timpani (1960) GS *Fanfare for Brass and Percussion (1961) *Op. 16 Movements for wind quintet (1962) SP *Op. 26 Fantasy Trio for Clarinet, Violoncello and Piano (1969) TP *Op. 27 Voyage for trumpet, horn, and trombone (1969) GS *Op. 31 String Trio for violin, viola, and cello (1971–72) TP *Op. 34a Duos for two flutes (1973) GS *Op. 34b Duos for clarinet and flute (1973) GS *Op. 45 Quintet for Winds (1985) TP

Works for unaccompanied instruments

*Dedication Recessional for organ (1957) *Statements for percussion (1961) GS *Op. 18 Three Preludes for unaccompanied flute (1963) GS *Gallery, Suite for Unaccompanied Cello (1966) GS *Op. 32 Impromptus for Solo Tuba (1972) GS *Op. 42 Profiles for harpsichord (1982) HM

Publishers

*1 GS G. Schirmer, Inc. *TP Theodore Presser Co. *SP Shawnee Press, Inc. *HM Hinshaw Music, Inc. *AMP Associated Music Publishers

Concertos

*Op. 2 Divertimento (1951) *Op. 7 Piano Concerto No. 1 (1954) SP *Op. 41 Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra (1981) TP

Solo piano

*Op. 1 Sonatina (1949) AMP *Op. 3 Five Sketches (1952) *Op. 6 Six Preludes (1954) GS *Op. 8 Variations on a Theme of Tcherepnin (1955) *Op. 9 First Piano Sonata (1957) SP *Op. 13 Suite (1960) GS *Op. 15 Toccata (1961) GS *Op. 19 A Summer Journal (1964) GS *Op. 21 Fables: Nine Pieces for the Young (1965) GS *Op. 22 Second Piano Sonata (1966) TP *Op. 23 Diversions: Nine Pieces for Students (1967) GS *Op. 30 Seven (1971) GS *Op. 35 Third Piano Sonata (1973–74) TP *Op. 37 Maverick Pieces (1976) GS *Op. 40 Masks (1980) TP *Op. 44 Dream Cycle (1983) TP *Op. 48 Desperate Measures (Paganini Variations) (1994) TP

Orchestral music

*Op. 5 Symphony No. 1 (1953) *Op. 10 Galena: A Town (Suite for orchestra) (1958) *Op. 12 Dovetail Overture for orchestra (1960) GS *Op. 17 Dance Movements for orchestra (1962) GS *Op. 20 Symphonic Dialogues (1965) GS *Op. 28 Charade for orchestra (1971) GS *Second Symphony (1974) *Op. 38 Serenade for Summer for orchestra (1976) TP *Op. 39 Symphonic Memoir for orchestra (1979) TP

Film scores

*''The Great Unfenced'' (1963) *''Yankee Painter: The Work of Winslow Homer'' (1963) *''American Realists'' (1964) *''Cajititlan'' (1965) *''Charles Burchfield: This Art'' (1966) *''The Clowns Never Laugh'' (1967) *''Terra Sancta'' (1967) *''Bellota: Story of Roundup'' (1969) *''Journey Thru Eden'' (1975)

Choral music

*Alleluia for chorus (1961), withdrawn *I Never Saw A Moor for chorus (1967), withdrawn *Op. 33 Synonyms for Life for chorus and piano (1973), GS

Works list by date of composition

Opus title, date of composition, and publisher: *Op. 1 Sonatina for piano (1949) AMP *Op. 2 Divertimento for piano and orchestra (1951) *Op. 3 Five Sketches for piano (1952) *Op. 4 Allegro Deciso for brass sextet and timpani (1952) SP *American Songs for piano, 4 hands (1952) withdrawn *Op. 5 Symphony No. 1 (1953) *Op. 6 Six Preludes for piano (1954) GS *Op. 7 Piano Concerto No. 1 (1954) SP *Op. 8 Variations on a Theme of Tcherepnin for piano (1955) *Op. 9 First Piano Sonata (1957) SP *Dedication Recessional for organ (1957) *Op. 10 Galena: A Town (Suite for orchestra) (1958) *Fragments for flute, clarinet, and bassoon (1958) GS *Op. 11/1 Trumpet Trio (1959) GS *Op. 11/2 Three Designs for Three Timpani (1960) GS *Op. 12 Dovetail Overture for orchestra (1960) GS *Op. 13 Suite for piano (1960) GS *Op. 14 Sonata for Flute and Piano (1960) GS *Alleluia for chorus (1961) withdrawn *Statements for percussion (1961) GS *Fanfare for Brass and Percussion (1961) *Op. 15 Toccata for piano (1961) GS *Op. 16 Movements for wind quintet (1962) SP *Op. 17 Dance Movements for orchestra (1962) GS *''Fuzzette, the Tarantula'', for narrator, flute, alto saxophone, and piano (1962) TP *Op. 18 Three Preludes for unaccompanied flute (1963) GS *Score for the film The Great Unfenced (1963) *Score for the film Yankee Painter: The Work of Winslow Homer (1963) *Op. 19 A Summer Journal for piano (1964) GS *Score for the film American Realists (1964) *Op. 20 Symphonic Dialogues (1965) GS *Score for the film Cajititlan (1965) *Op. 21 Fables: Nine Pieces for the Young for piano (1966) GS *Gallery, Suite for Unaccompanied Cello (1966) GS *Score for the film Charles Burchfield: This Art (1966) *Op. 22 Second Piano Sonata (1967) TP *Op. 23 Diversions: Nine Pieces for Students for piano (1967) GS *Op. 24 First Piano Trio (1967) TP *I Never Saw A Moor for chorus (1967) withdrawn *Score for the film The Clowns Never Laugh (1967) *Score for the film Terra Sancta (1967) *Op. 25 Sonata for Cello and Piano (1968) GS *Op. 26 Fantasy Trio for clarinet, cello, and piano (1969) TP *Op. 27 Voyage for trumpet, horn, and trombone (1969) GS *Score for the film Bellota: Story of Roundup (1969) *Op. 28 Charade for orchestra (1971) GS *Op. 29 Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1971) GS *Op. 30 Seven for piano (1971) GS *Op. 31 String Trio for violin, viola, and cello (1971–72) TP *Op. 32 Impromptus for Solo Tuba (1972) GS *Op. 33 Synonyms for Life for chorus and piano (1973) GS *Op. 34a Duos for two flutes (1973) GS *Op. 34b Duos for clarinet and flute (1973) GS *Op. 35 Third Piano Sonata (1973–74) TP *Second Symphony (1974) *Op. 36 Second Piano Trio (1975) TP *Score for the film Journey Thru Eden (1975) *Op. 37 Maverick Pieces for piano (1976) GS *Op. 38 Serenade for Summer for orchestra (1976) TP *Op. 39 Symphonic Memoir for orchestra (1979) TP *Op. 40 Masks for piano (1980) TP *Op. 41 Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra (1981) TP *Op. 42 Profiles for harpsichord (1982) HM *Op. 43 Time Pieces for clarinet and piano (1983) TP *Op. 44 Dream Cycle for piano (1983) TP *Op. 45 Quintet for Winds (1985) TP *Op. 46 Third Piano Trio (1986–87) TP *Op. 47 Moments for flute and piano (1993) TP *Op. 48 Desperate Measures (Paganini Variations) for piano (1994) TP

References

External links

Robert Muczynski's page at Theodore Presser CompanyClassical Composers Database Entry
December, 1987

by Walter Simmons, Fanfare, July/Aug 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Muczynski, Robert 1929 births 2010 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers 21st-century classical composers DePaul University alumni DePaul University faculty 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians