Steven Richman is a GRAMMY Award-nominated American conductor and writer. He is music director of Harmonie Ensemble/New York, which he founded in 1979, and the Dvořák Festival Orchestra of New York.

Career

Conductor Steven Richman's highly varied repertoire spans classical, jazz, and more for orchestra, chamber orchestra, symphonic jazz, big band, chamber- and wind ensemble. Richman and Harmonie Ensemble/New York are recipients of a GRAMMY Award nomination, as well as winners of the Lincoln Center Community Arts Award, WQXR Action for the Arts Award, and Classical Recording Foundation Award at Carnegie Hall. He has conducted 14 CDs, including a Toscanini 150th Anniversary Tribute comprising works by

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

/Toscanini, Tchaikovsky, Waldteufel/Toscanini, and Verdi, released in October 2017 on the Bridge Records label, with notes by Toscanini scholar

Harvey Sachs Harvey Sachs, (born Cleveland, Ohio, June 8, 1946) is an American-Canadian-Swiss writer who has written books on musical subjects. Writing His books include biographies of and a book of essays on the Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, plus an e ...

. Richman's versatility is reflected in his conducting a wide variety of classical and jazz performances and recordings ranging from composers including Gershwin,

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

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 ...

, Copland, and Dvořák to Henry Mancini,

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take ...

, and Gil Evans/

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

. Richman has conducted at all of New York's major halls, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall, and St. Peter's ("The Jazz Church"), and toured the United States under

Columbia Artists Management Columbia Artists Management (CAMI) was an international talent management agency. On August 29, 2020, the agency announced plans to shut down amid a disturbance in business caused by the " prolonged pandemic environment". History Based in New Yor ...

. He has conducted Dvořák with members of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

in Washington, D.C., as well as the

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (''Janáčkova filharmonie Ostrava'') is a Czech orchestra based in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Named after composer Leoš Janáček, the orchestra performs its concerts at the City of Ostrava Cultural Centre. Hi ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and given master classes on Dvořák at

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. Richman is featured guest commentator at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Library programs on subjects including Toscanini, Gershwin, and Dvořák. Originally a French horn player, the New York-born Richman studied at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

with Arthur Berv, principal horn of the

NBC Symphony Orchestra The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...

under

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

. He also studied with Richard Moore, principal of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and

Philip Farkas Philip Farkas (March 5, 1914 – December 21, 1992) was the principal French horn player in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for many years, and he left in 1960 to join the music faculty at Indiana University Bloomington. His books include ''T ...

, principal of the Chicago Symphony. Richman was assistant principal horn in the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra's m ...

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 ...

and

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

under Leopold Stokowski, as well as

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

and James Levine. He was a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Solo Recital Award. He participated in the

Aspen Music Festival The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music students. Founded in 1949, the ...

and studied conducting at the

Pierre Monteux School The Monteux School and Music Festival for conductors and orchestra musicians, founded by conductor Pierre Monteux, is a 6-week summer orchestra program located in Hancock, Maine, United States. History Pierre Monteux's (1875-1964) first forays i ...

. Steven Richman appeared on the HBO TV Series, VINYL, as conductor with Broadway star Matt Bogart, appearing as Robert Goulet.

Recordings

For three decades, Richman researched, performed, and recorded Gershwin's rare original symphonic orchestrations. In 2016 on the Harmonia Mundi label, he led a Gershwin orchestral CD including Concerto in F (with pianist Lincoln Mayorga), '' An American in Paris,'' and two premieres. In addition, in 2010 the multi-award-winning ''Gershwin by Grofé'' was also released on the Harmonia Mundi label featuring legendary clarinetist-bass clarinetist-alto saxophonist Al Gallodoro, soloist with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, which premiered ''Rhapsody in Blue'' in 1924. Additional recordings include the 2002 GRAMMY Award-nominated ''Stravinsky: Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier's Tale) and Four Premieres,'' on Koch International Classics. He also recorded ''The Two Nutcrackers, Classical and Jazz,'' including the Tchaikovsky '' Nutcracker Suite'', and the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn jazz band version of the ''Nutcracker Suite'', released in 2013. The 50th anniversary recording of the Miles Davis/Gil Evans ''Sketches of Spain'' with trumpeter Lew Soloff was released on Sheffield Lab and ''Copland: Rarities and Masterpieces'' on Bridge Records. The latter was also featured in the

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

WNET-TV documentary '' The National Parks: America's Best Idea'' and on video. New York Times music critic

James R. Oestreich James Ruben Oestreich (born 1943) is a classical music critic for ''The New York Times'', where he has written about music since 1989. He grew up in Wisconsin. Career Oestreich has held earlier posts as music critic at ''American Record Guide'' ...

chose Richman's ''Dvořák Discoveries'' CD as one of the Five Best Dvořák Recordings for the 2004 Dvořák Centennial. The disc included the premieres of the Octet-Serenade, as well as Dvořák's arrangement of Stephen Foster’s "

Old Folks at Home "Old Folks at Home" (also known as " Swanee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935, it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were revised. It is Roud Folk Song Inde ...

" for baritone, chorus, and orchestra. The original ''Music for Peter Gunn'' by Henry Mancini was released in 2014, about which Richman was featured on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

’s

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

. In addition, he has appeared on numerous radio stations worldwide, including WQXR, WNCN, WNYC, WFUV, and WBAI (New York), WFMT and WNIB (Chicago), BBC (London), and Czech Radio Prague .

Dvořák Day Concerts

Beginning in 1994, Richman led a series of benefit concerts to place a statue of Czech composer

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

in New York City's Stuyvesant Square Park (across the street from where Dvořák lived at 327 E. 17th St. from 1892-95 and composed the "New World" Symphony). He conducted the Dvořák Day Concert on Sept. 13, 1997 (attended by the Lord Mayor of Prague, the Dvořák family, and film director

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

), which became an annual event, including both American and Czech artists. The New York City Council officially declared that date "Dvořák Day" at Richman's suggestion. The historic Dvořák Day Concert in St. George's Episcopal Church in Manhattan included the "New World" Symphony conducted by him, as well as Dvořák's great-grandson, violinist

Josef Suk Josef Suk may refer to: * Josef Suk (composer) (1874–1935), Czech composer and violinist * Josef Suk (violinist) (1929–2011), his grandson, Czech violinist and conductor {{Hndis, Suk, Josef ...

, playing the Sonatina for Violin and Piano (both composed at 327 E. 17th St.), and was released internationally on the Music & Arts label.

Aaron Copland 80th Birthday Concert

Both Richman and Dean of American composers Aaron Copland conducted Harmonie Ensemble/New York at the Copland 80th Birthday Concert at New York's

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (also called Pe ...

. The program was broadcast live on National Public Radio. Copland led the original 13-instrument version of ''Appalachian Spring'' and Richman conducted Copland's ''Music for the Theatre''. A film, ''Copland at 80: A Self-Portrait,'' including the composer conducting Harmonie Ensemble/New York, has been broadcast internationally and released on video worldwide. Maestro Leonard Bernstein spoke, and was among the many prominent musical figures in attendance.

Lincoln Center Concerts

At New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Richman conducted a Handel 300th Birthday Concert at

Damrosch Park Damrosch Park is a park at Amsterdam Avenue and West 62nd Street in Lincoln Square, Manhattan, New York City. The park, which includes the Guggenheim Bandshell, is on the south side of the Metropolitan Opera House and west of the David H. Koc ...

featuring the first fireworks show in the history of Lincoln Center, a Gershwin Memorial Concert that drew the largest audience (10,000 people) in the history of the center, and a Leonard Bernstein 70th Birthday Concert, which received a special letter of commendation from New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

United Nations Day Concerts

He served as music associate for United Nations Day Concerts international TV broadcasts, assisting director Humphrey Burton and collaborating with conductors including

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

, and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.

Writing

He contributed to the book ''Dvořák in America'' and has written articles on Dvořák in New York. He wrote ''Copland and Me'' (about his collaboration with composer Aaron Copland), articles on Gershwin, Toscanini, cellist Martin Ormandy, and Gershwin's associate, composer Kay Swift. Richman also reviewed recordings on WQXR-FM's ''First Hearing'', as well as reviewing concert videos for High Performance Review magazine.

Personal life

Richman is married to violinist Katsuko Esaki. She has performed with New York orchestras including the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,

, and The Little Orchestra Society. Ms. Esaki also served as concertmaster for numerous Broadway shows including ''Guys and Dolls'', ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'', ''The Producers'', and ''Dreamgirls'', as well as appearing on WNBC-TVs "Saturday Night Live" and recording with the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), ...

. Katsuko has toured Europe, Japan, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and performed for President Gerald Ford at the White House.

Discography (Harmonie Ensemble/New York and Dvořák Festival Orchestra)

*Toscanini 150th Anniversary Tribute: Verdi: '' Aida'' Overture, Bizet/Toscanini: ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' Suite, Waldteufel/Toscanini: '' Skaters Waltz'', Tchaikovsky: ''

Nutcracker Suite ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into ...

'', Rossini: ''William Tell'' Overture (Bridge Records) *Gershwin: Concerto in F, '' An American in Paris''; 2 recording premieres: Three Preludes (arr. Bargy), Overture to '' Of Thee I Sing'' (radio version), with Lincoln Mayorga (piano) (Harmonia Mundi

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

*Mancini: ''Music for Peter Gunn'' (Harmonia Mundi

*Tchaikovsky and Ellington/Strayhorn: ''Nutcracker Suites: Classical and Jazz'' (Harmonia Mundi

*''Gershwin by Grofé'': " I Got Rhythm" Variations (original Gershwin orchestration), '' Rhapsody in Blue'' (original Paul Whiteman Orchestra Jazz Band version), Grofé arr. of "Yankee Doodle Blues" (2 versions: one recorded digitally; the second newly recorded on a wax cylinder on a 1909 Edison Fireside Phonograph), "

That Certain Feeling "That Certain Feeling" is a 1925 song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Allen Kearns and Queenie Smith in the 1925 musical ''Tip-Toes''. It was later used as the title of a 1956 Bob Hope film when ...

," "

Somebody Loves Me "Somebody Loves Me" is a popular song, with music written by George Gershwin, and lyrics by Ballard MacDonald and Buddy DeSylva. The song was published in 1924 and featured in ''George White's Scandals'' of 1924. This is not to be confused with ...

," "Sweet and Low-down," "

I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise "Stairway to Paradise", also known as "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise", is a song composed in 1922 by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin (under the name Arthur Francis) and Buddy DeSylva (under the name of B. G. De Sylva) for the Broad ...

," " The Man I Love," " Fascinating Rhythm," " Summertime," Lincoln Mayorga (piano), Al Gallodoro (clarinet, alto sax, bass clarinet) (Harmonia Mundi

*Gil Evans/Miles Davis: ''Sketches of Spain,'' with Lew Soloff (trumpet) (Sheffield Lab) *Symphonic Jazz: ''Grofé and Gershwin'': Grofe: (original Whiteman Orchestra versions): ''Grand Canyon'' Suite, ''

Mississippi Suite ''Mississippi; Tone Journey'' is a 1926 orchestral suite in four movements by Ferdie Grofe, depicting scenes along a journey down the Mississippi River from its headwaters of Minnesota down to New Orleans. History The work was composed by Gro ...

''; Grofé: Gallodoro's Serenade, Gershwin (arr. Grofe): Second Rhapsody, with Lincoln Mayorga (piano), Al Gallodoro, (alto sax) (Bridge Records) *Copland: ''

Appalachian Spring ''Appalachian Spring'' is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. The music, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon c ...

'' Suite (original version), ''Music for the Theatre,'' 2 Ballads for Violin and Piano, Elegies for Violin and Viola, ''

El Salón México ''El Salón México'' is a symphonic composition in one movement by Aaron Copland, which uses Mexican folk music extensively. Copland began the work in 1932 and completed it in 1936, following several visits to Mexico. The four melodies of the ...

'', arranged for solo piano by Arturo Toscanini, with Eugene Drucker (violin), Lawrence Dutton (viola), Diane Walsh (piano) (Bridge Records) *Stravinsky: GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATION '' Histoire du Soldat'' Suite, Octet for Winds, ''Pribaoutki'', ''Pastorale'', ''Lied ohne Name''; 4 premieres: '' La Marseillaise'', ''Hommage à Ramuz'', ''Tango'', ''The Mushrooms Go to War,'' with Mark Peskanov (violin), Lucy Shelton (soprano), Martin Bruns (baritone), Mikhail Svetlov (bass), Doris Stevenson (piano) (Koch International Classics) *''Dvořák Day Concert'': "New World" Symphony, Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Fanfare, Humoresque (arr. Kreisler); Harry Burleigh (Dvořák's assistant): arr. "Deep River," with Josef Suk (violin), Lincoln Mayorga (piano) (Music & Arts) *''Dvořák: Discoveries'': Octet-Serenade, Terzetto, Foster/Dvořák: "Old Folks at Home"; "Go Down, Moses" ec. 1919 Harry Burleigh, Dvořák's assistant with Arthur Woodley (bass-baritone),

Collegiate Chorale MasterVoices (formerly the Collegiate Chorale) is a symphonic choir based in New York City, USA. It was founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw, who was later to found the professional Robert Shaw Chorale. MasterVoices continues to give several performance ...

(Music & Arts) *''Overtures for Classical Wind Ensemble'': Rossini, Beethoven, Mozart, Weber (Music & Arts) *''Dvořák and Friends/Czech Wind Music'':Dvorak & Friends - Czech Wind Music
''Gramophone,'' September 1, 2013. Dvořák: Wind Serenade, Slavonic Dance; Krommer Concerto for 2 Horns and Winds, Myslivecek: Octet No.2, with Charles Kavalovski, Scott Brubaker (horns) (Music & Arts) *''Salute to France'': Poulenc: ''Aubade''; Ibert: "Paris" Suite, Concerto for Cello and Winds; Milhaud: Little Symphony No. 5 for Winds; Hahn: ''Le Bal de Beatrice d’Este,'' with

Ralph Votapek Ralph Votapek (born 1939 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American pianist notable for winning the First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1962; thinaugural competition's First Place prizewas $10,000. He is the Jury Chairman of th2022 (E ...

(piano), James Kreger (cello) (Music & Arts)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richman, Steven 1946 births Living people American horn players Manhattan School of Music alumni American male conductors (music) 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians