Alfred Whitford (Fred) Lerdahl (born March 10, 1943, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

) is the Fritz Reiner Professor Emeritus of Musical Composition 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 ...

, and a

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 ...

and

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

best known for his work on musical

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

and

cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

, rhythmic theory, pitch space, and

cognitive constraints on compositional systems "Cognitive Constraints on Compositional Systems" is an essay by Fred Lerdahl that cites Pierre Boulez's ''Le Marteau sans maître'' (1955) as an example of "a huge gap between compositional system and cognized result," though he "could have illustra ...

. He has written many orchestral and chamber works, three of which were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Music: ''Time after Time'' in 2001, String Quartet No. 3 in 2010, and '' Arches'' in 2011.

Life

Lerdahl studied with James Ming at

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

, where he earned his BMus in 1965, and with

Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his Serialism, serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia t ...

Edward T. Cone Edward Toner Cone (May 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American composer, music theory, music theorist, pianist, and philanthropist. Life and career Cone was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He studied composition under Roger Sess ...

, and

Earl Kim Earl Kim (1920–1998; née Eul Kim) was an American composer, and music pedagogue. He was of Korean–descent. Early life, education, and training Kim was born on January 6, 1920 in Dinuba, California, to immigrant Korean parents. He began p ...

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 ...

, where he earned his MFA in 1967. 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 T ...

he studied with Arthur Berger in 1964 and Roger Sessions in 1966. He then studied with Wolfgang Fortner at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg/Breisgau in 1968–69, 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 of ...

. From 1991 to 2018 Lerdahl was Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University; previously he taught at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Harvard University 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 ...

, and the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

. Lerdahl was awarded an honorary doctorate from

in 1999. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Lerdahl's maternal uncle was the astronomer

Albert Whitford Albert Whitford may refer to: * Albert Whitford (astronomer) (Albert Edward Whitford, 1905–2002), American physicist and astronomer * Albert Whitford (politician) Albert Edward Victor Whitford (1877 – 29 January 1924) was a tailor and memb ...

. Lerdahl has written three books: '' A Generative Theory of Tonal Music'' (1983, second edition 1996, with linguist

Ray Jackendoff Ray Jackendoff (born January 23, 1945) is an American linguist. He is professor of philosophy, Seth Merrin Chair in the Humanities and, with Daniel Dennett, co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. He has always str ...

MIT Press The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962. History The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...

), ''Tonal Pitch Space'' (2001,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

), and ''Composition and Cognition'' (2019,

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

). He has also written numerous articles on music theory, music cognition, computer-assisted composition, and other topics. Lerdahl's music is published by Schott, and Bridge Records is producing an ongoing series of recordings of it. Lerdahl's students include composers Christopher Buchenholz, Zosha Di Castri,

R. Luke DuBois Roger Luke DuBois (born 10 September 1975) is an American composer, performer, conceptual art, conceptual new media artist, programmer, record producer and Pedagogy, pedagogue based in New York City. Early life DuBois was born in Morristown, Ne ...

, John Halle,

Huck Hodge Huck Hodge (born July 14, 1977) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. Hodge's first musical training took place in Oregon. In 1999, he began a course of study in Germany at the ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstell ...

, Arthur Kampela, Alex Mincek, Paul Moravec,

Matthew Ricketts Matthew Oliver Ricketts (April 3, 1858 – January 3, 1917) was an American politician and physician. He was the first African-American member of the Nebraska Legislature, where he served two terms in the Nebraska House of Representatives (th ...

, Allen Shearer,

Kate Soper Kate Soper (born 1943) is a British philosopher. She is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton.http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/staff/kate-soper Background Soper was educated at the University of Oxford (BA) and worked as a trans ...

, Tyshawn Sorey,

Christopher Trapani Christopher Trapani is an American/Italian composer of contemporary classical music. In 2007 he won the Gaudeamus Award of the Dutch Gaudeamus Foundation. A CD of his music, ''Waterlines'', was released in 2018. A second release of Waterlines ...

, Carl Voss, Wang Lu, Eric Wubbels, and

Nina Young Nina Young (born 1966) is a British-Australian actress. Early life Nina Young was born in 1966. She is the daughter of Perth businessman Peter Young and Tania Verstak, a woman of Russian origin who was Miss Australia 1961 and Miss Internati ...

; and music theorists Elizabeth Margulis and David Temperley.

Music

Lerdahl's influences include the German classics, Sibelius,

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

, Bartók,

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 ...

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century. His m ...

, and Ligeti. He has said he “always sought musical forms of isown invention,” and to discover the appropriate form for the intended expression.Schweitzer, Vivien (November 21, 2010).
Spiral Form and Other Compositional Modes of Fred Lerdahl
, ''NYTimes.com''. In ''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...

'', Robert Carl wrote: "Lerdahl is a profoundly musical composer, engaged in all his work in a rigorous and respectful dialogue with tradition, eager to imbue his pieces with the maximum of both information and clarity." Of Lerdahl's composition ''Waves'', Phillip Scott wrote, "''Waves'' is an orchestral scherzo. It conjures up (rather than depicts) the motion and the sense of waves, not merely of the oceanic variety but also those found on graphs: sound waves, heartbeats, and so on. It begins with a surge of activity and never lets up in its cascading scales and rapid figuration. Unlike Debussy's '' La mer'', whose deep-sea swells it recalls only fleetingly, it has no moments of repose."

List of compositions

Orchestral

* ''Chords'', large orchestra (12 winds, 11 brass, harp, piano, percussion, violas, cellos, double basses), 1974–83 * ''Cross-Currents'', large orchestra (12 winds, 10 brass, harp, piano, percussion, strings), 1987 * ''Waves'', small orchestra (8 winds, 2 French horns, strings), 1988 * ''Without Fanfare'', small orchestra (12 winds, 11 brass, 3 percussion), 1994 * ''Quiet Music'', large orchestra (12 winds, 11 brass, harp, piano, percussion, strings), 1994 (also version for 2 pianos) * ''Spirals'', orchestra (8 winds, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, piano, percussion, strings), 2006 * ''Arches'', cello, small orchestra (22 players), 2011 * ''Time and Again'', small orchestra, 2014

Chamber music

* String Trio, violin, viola, cello, 1966 * ''Imitations'', flute, harp, viola, 1977, revised 2001 * String Quartet No. 1, 1978, revised 2008 * ''Waltzes'', violin, viola, cello, double bass, 1981 * ''Episodes and Refrains'', flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, 1982 * ''Fantasy Etudes'', flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1985 * ''Marches'', clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 1992 * ''Time after Time'', flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2000 * ''Imbrications'', flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 2001 * Oboe Quartet, oboe, violin, viola, cello, 2002 * Duo, violin, piano, 2005 * String Quartet No. 2, 1982–2010 * String Quartet No. 3, 2008 * ''Arches'', cello, ensemble (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, 2 violins, viola, double bass, piano, 2 percussion), 2010 (also version for cello, small orchestra 2 players * ''There and Back Again'', cello, 2010 * ''Times 3'', violin, cello, piano, 2012 * ''Give and Take'', violin, cello, 2014 * ''String Quartet no. 4 "Chaconne"'', 2016 * ''Three Bagatelles'', violin, guitar, 2016 * ''Duo'', cello, piano, 2017 * ''Chords'', version for 13 instruments, 2018 * ''Cyclic Descent'', piano and large ensemble, 2018 * ''Solitude'', flute, clarinet, piano, 2020

Choral

* ''Cornstalks'' (text by Richard Wilbur), 16 mixed voices, 2012

Vocal

* ''Wake'' (text by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

), soprano, harp, violin, viola, cello, 3 percussion, 1967–68 * ''Aftermath'' (dramatic cantata, text by the composer), soprano, alto, baritone, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass), 1973 * ''Eros'' (text by

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

), mezzo-soprano, alto flute, harp, electric guitar, viola, bass guitar, piano, 2 percussion, 1975 * ''Beyond the Realm of Bird'' (text by Emily Dickinson), soprano, orchestra (8 winds, French horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, percussion, strings), 1984 * ''The First Voices'' (text by

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

, translated by John H. Moran and Alexander Gode), soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, 8 percussion, 2007 * ''Fire and Ice'' (text by

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...

), high soprano, double bass, 2015

Piano

* ''Piano Fantasy'', 1964 * ''Quiet Music'', 2 pianos, 2001 (version of orchestral work) * ''Three Diatonic Studies'', 2004–09 * ''Embedded Loops'', 2 pianos, 2020

Discography

* String Quartet No. 1 (original version).

Juilliard String Quartet The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York by William Schuman. Since its inception, it has been the quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School. It has received numerous ...

(Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 551, 1987 eissued as New World Records: NWCR551, 2007">New_World_Records.html" ;"title="eissued as New World Records">eissued as New World Records: NWCR551, 2007 * Waltzes; Fantasy Etudes; Eros; Wake. Bethany Beardslee, soprano; Beverly Morgan, mezzo-soprano; Rolf Schulte, violin; Scott Nickrenz, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Donald Palma, double bass; Robert Beaser/Musical Elements; David Epstein (conductor), David Epstein/ Boston Symphony Chamber Players; Fred Lerdahl/

Collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

(

Composers Recordings, Inc. Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City. ...

: CRI 580, 1991 eissued as New World Records: NWCR580, 2007; Bridge Records: 9269; Bridge Records: 9391; and New World Records: NWCRL378 * Waves.

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 ...

( Deutsche Grammophon: 435 389–2, 1992, reissued as Bridge Records: 9191) * Fantasy Etudes. eighth blackbird (eighth blackbird, 1999) * Time after Time; Marches; Oboe Quartet; Waves. Antares; La Fenice;

Jeffrey Milarsky Jeffrey Milarsky is a conductor of contemporary music in New York City. In the United States and abroad, he has premiered and recorded works of composers including Charles Wuorinen, Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, Lasse Thoresen, Gerard Grisey, ...

/Columbia Sinfonietta;

(Bridge Records: 9191, 2006, reissue of Deutsche Grammophon: 435 389-2) * Cross-Currents; Waltzes; Duo; Quiet Music (original version). Rolf Schulte, violin; Scott Nickrenz, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Donald Palma, double bass; James Winn, piano; Paul Mann/ Odense Symphony (Bridge Records: 9269, 2008 artial reissue of Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 580, New World Records: NWCR580 * String Trio; Piano Fantasy. Robert Miller, piano; members of

The Composers Quartet The Composers String Quartet was a string quartet best known for performances of new works by contemporary composers, including quartets by Elliott Carter and Ruth Crawford Seeger. Carter's Fourth Quartet was dedicated to the Composers Quartet, who ...

(New World Records: NWCRL319, c. 2009) * String Quartets Nos. 1–3.

Daedalus Quartet In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, and ...

(Bridge Records: 9352, 2011) * The First Voices. Frank Epstein/New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble (

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

: 8.559684, 2011) * Eros. Beverly Morgan, mezzo-soprano; Fred Lerdahl/Collage (New World Records: NWCRL378, 2011, reissue of Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 580) * Spirals; Three Diatonic Studies; Imbrications; Wake; Fantasy Etudes. Bethany Beardslee, soprano; Mirka Viitala, piano; eighth blackbird; Michel Galante/Argento Ensemble; David Epstein/Boston Symphony Chamber Players;

Scott Yoo Scott Yoo (born April 25, 1971) is an American conducting, conductor and violinist. He was appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016. He hosts the PBS TV series ''Now Hear This''. Early li ...

/Odense Symphony (Bridge Records: 9391, 2013, reissue of Composers Recordings, Inc.: CRI 580, New World Records: NWCR580) * There and Back Again.

Anssi Karttunen Anssi Karttunen (born 1960) is a Finnish cellist. Karttunen's repertoire ranges from the early baroque to living composers and improvisation. He has performed with many orchestras in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including the Philharmonia, BBC ...

, cello ( Toccata Classics: TOCC0171, 2013) * There and Back Again, String Quartet no. 4 "Chaconne", Fire and Ice, Three Bagatelles, Arches (orchestral version). (Bridge Records: 9522, 2020)

Awards

*1966, Koussevitzky Composition Prize *1967, MacDowell Colony Fellowship *1971, 1988 Composer Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters *1974,

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

*1977, Naumburg Recording Award *1982, Martha Baird Rockefeller Recording Award *1991,

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Fellowship *1999, Doctor of Fine Arts (honorary degree),

*2001, Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Music (for ''Time after Time'') *2002, ASCAP-Deems Taylor Special Recognition Award (for ''Tonal Pitch Space)'' *2003, Wallace Berry Distinguished Book Award (for ''Tonal Pitch Space)'' *2010, Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Music (for ''String Quartet No. 3'') *2010, Member, American Academy for Arts and Letters *2011, Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Music (for '' Arches'')

Bibliography

*Lerdahl, Fred (1992).

Cognitive Constraints on Compositional Systems "Cognitive Constraints on Compositional Systems" is an essay by Fred Lerdahl that cites Pierre Boulez's ''Le Marteau sans maître'' (1955) as an example of "a huge gap between compositional system and cognized result," though he "could have illustra ...

, Contemporary Music Review 6 (2), pp. 97–121. *Lerdahl, Fred and Jackendoff, Ray (1983)
''A Generative Theory of Tonal Music''

. . *Lerdahl, Fred (2001)
''Tonal Pitch Space''

. *Lerdahl, Fred (2019). ''Composition and Cognition: Reflections on Contemporary Music and the Musical Mind''.

References

External links

Fred Lerdahl at Schott MusicFred Lerdahl at Project Schott New YorkFaculty Page at Columbia UniversityFred Lerdahl's Homepage"Fred Lerdahl"
''bussigel''
New Music Box asks Fred Lerdahl: What role has theory played in your compositions and how important is it for people to know the theory behind the music in order to appreciate it?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lerdahl, Fred American male classical composers American classical composers 21st-century classical composers 1943 births Living people American music theorists Lawrence University alumni Princeton University alumni Pupils of Roger Sessions Pupils of Wolfgang Fortner 21st-century American composers University of Michigan faculty 21st-century American male musicians Columbia University faculty Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters