Daron Hagen
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Daron Aric Hagen ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American
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 Def ...
,
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...
, and
filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
.


Biography


Early life

Daron Hagen was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
, and grew up in
New Berlin New Berlin is the name of several locations in the United States: * New Berlin, Illinois * New Berlin (town), New York * New Berlin (village), New York * New Berlin, Pennsylvania * New Berlin, Texas * New Berlin, Wisconsin New Berlin () is a ...
, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Hagen was the youngest of the three sons of Gwen Hagen, a visual artist, writer and advertising executive who studied creative writing with Mari Sandoz and enjoyed a successful advertising career as creative director of ''Exclusively Yours'' Magazine and Earl Hagen (an attorney). Hagen began composing prolifically in 1974, when his older brother Kevin gave him a recording and score of
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
's ''
Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quickl ...
''. Two years later, at the age of fifteen, he conducted the premiere of his first orchestral work, a recording and score of which came to the attention of
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 ...
, who enthusiastically urged Hagen to attend Juilliard to study with David Diamond. He studied piano with Adam Klescewski, and studied composition, piano, and conducting at the
Wisconsin Conservatory of Music The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music is an independent music school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It teaches classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues and hosts musical concerts throughout the year. It is housed in a Neoclassical-style mansion built i ...
(where his teachers included Duane Dishaw and Judy Kramer) while attending
Brookfield Central High School Brookfield Central High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located in the city of Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States. It is a sister school to Brookfield East High School, also in Brookfield. The high school is administered by t ...
.


Early career

After two years at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, where his teachers included
Catherine Comet Catherine Comet (born 1944) is a French-born, American conductor who from 1986 to 1997 was the music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony in Grand Rapids, Michigan, becoming the first woman to hold a post as music director of a professional orch ...
(conducting), Jeanette Ross (piano), and Leslie Thimmig and Homer Lambrecht (composition), he was invited to attend the
Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
by
Ned Rorem Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althou ...
(with whom he developed a lifelong friendship). While a student of Rorem's at Curtis, he studied piano with Marion Zarzeczna and also studied privately with
Lukas Foss Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. Career Born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922, Foss was soon recognized as a child prodigy. He began piano and theory lessons with J ...
. Hagen moved to New York City in 1984 to complete his formal education as a student at
Juilliard 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 elit ...
, studying first for two years with Diamond, then for a semester each with
Joseph Schwantner Joseph Clyde Schwantner (born March 22, 1943, Chicago, Illinois) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer, educator and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 2002. He was awarded the 1970 Charles Ives Prize. Schwantner ...
and
Bernard Rands Bernard Rands (born 2 March 1934 in Sheffield, England) is a British-American contemporary classical music composer. He studied music and English literature at the University of Wales, Bangor, and composition with Pierre Boulez and Bruno Maderna ...
. After graduating, Hagen was a
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 ...
composition fellow before briefly living abroad, first at the Camargo Foundation in
Cassis Cassis (; Occitan: ''Cassís'') is a commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, whose coastline is known in English as the French Riviera, in Southern France. In 201 ...
, France, and then at the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
's Villa Serbelloni in
Bellagio Bellagio may refer to: * Bellagio, Lombardy, an Italian town * Bellagio (resort), a luxury resort and casino in Las Vegas * Bellagio (Hong Kong), a private housing building * Bellagio declaration, an intellectual copyright resolution * 79271 Bellag ...
, Italy, where he has twice been a guest. Between 1985 and 1998 Hagen was also a frequent guest at the
MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...
. When he returned to the United States, Hagen studied privately with Bernstein, whose guidance during the composition of Hagen's ''
Shining Brow ''Shining Brow'' is an English language opera by the American composer Daron Hagen, first performed by the Madison Opera in Madison, Wisconsin, April 21, 1993. The libretto is by Paul Muldoon, and is based on a treatment co-written with the compo ...
'' (1992) — the opera that launched Hagen's career internationallyOestereich, James.
"Review/Music: Shining Brow; Frank Lloyd Wright Joins Opera's Pantheon"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Retrieved August 2, 2008.
— prompted him to dedicate the score to Bernstein's memory.


Educator and arts advocate

A stint as composer in residence at the Music Conservatory of the
Chicago College of Performing Arts Chicago College of Performing Arts is a performing arts college that is housed at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. While the school is officially a part of Roosevelt University, it has its own distinct personality. The rel ...
led to an invitation to join the artist faculty there in 2017 "in a multi-disciplinary position created for him that enables him to share his skills as a stage director, dramaturge, composer, and social activist with students from throughout the
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 ...
community as they shadow him and collaborate in the development of a new Hagen opera each year." He has served as the
Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...
Composer in Residence at the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
(2007), twice as composer in residence for the
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 ...
Atelier (1998, 2004-5); as artist in residence at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...
(2000–2002);
Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...
-William P. Huffman Composer in Residence at
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
, Oxford, Ohio (1999–2000); artist in residence at
Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
, Waco, Texas (1998–1999); on the musical studies faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music (1996–1998); as an associate professor at
Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic ...
(1988–1997); as a visiting professor at the
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
(1997, 1993–1994); and as a lecturer in music at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
(1988–1990).Press Kit a
DaronHagen.com
/ref> As artistic director of the Perpetuum Mobile Concerts (1982–87) he premiered compositions by over a hundred American composers on concerts produced in Philadelphia and New York. Hagen served as president of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation (2004–07) in New York City, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging the performance and creation of opera and
art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...
; from 2000 to 2018 he served as a trustee of the Douglas Moore Fund for American Opera and was elected a lifetime member of the Corporation of
Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March  ...
in 2006. He is the founding artistic director of the New Mercury Collective, "a laboratory for artistic exploration, creative risk-taking, and performance in which its members can collaborate on the creation and performance of post-genre works combining theater, music, and emerging technology for audiences of all types." Hagen has been a featured composer at the
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 ...
, Mostly Modern, Ravinia, Wintergreen, and
Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
music festivals, and has served as artistic director and head of faculty for the Seasons Fall Music Festival in Yakima, Washington (2008–2012). He has served as Co-Chair of Composition for the Wintergreen Summer Music Academy in Virginia since 2015.


Writer, director, and filmmaker

Hagen's memoir, "Duet with the Past," was published by
McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic and reference works, as well as general-interest adult nonfiction. Its president is Rhonda Herman. Its former ...
on March 1, 2019. Hagen made his professional debut as a stage director for the Skylight Music Theatre with his musical ''I Hear America Singing'' (2014), for which he contributed book, lyrics, and score. In spring 2015 he directed his opera ''A Woman in Morocco'' for
Kentucky Opera The Kentucky Opera is an American opera company based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is resident at the Brown Theatre, as part of Kentucky Performing Arts. The Louisville Orchestra is the accompanying orchestra for the company. Moritz von ...
. In 2020–21, Hagen debuted as a
filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
, releasing his first "filmopera," entitled '' Orson Rehearsed'', in which he explored
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
' dying thoughts through words, images, and music. Hagen crafted the music (which combined live players with an extensive Electroacoustic
soundscape A soundscape is the acoustic environment as perceived by humans, in context. The term was originally coined by Michael Southworth, and popularised by R. Murray Schafer. There is a varied history of the use of soundscape depending on discipline, r ...
) and libretto, shot over 30 hours of film, directed the staged iteration at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois (in a joint production of his own "New Mercury Collective" and the
Chicago College of Performing Arts Chicago College of Performing Arts is a performing arts college that is housed at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. While the school is officially a part of Roosevelt University, it has its own distinct personality. The rel ...
), and served as both film and soundtrack editor. In advance of its 2021 streaming platform, DVD, and theatrical release, the soundtrack was released on 12 March 2021 on
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 ...
). The work garnered numerous
awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...
on the international film festival circuit. His second "filmopera," '9/10: After the Fall' was filmed on location in a Chicago restaurant and is currently in post production.


Compositional style and methods

Hagen's music is essentially tonal, though serial,
pitch class In music, a pitch class (p.c. or pc) is a set of all pitches that are a whole number of octaves apart; for example, the pitch class C consists of the Cs in all octaves. "The pitch class C stands for all possible Cs, in whatever octave positio ...
, and
octatonic An octatonic scale is any eight-Musical note, note musical scale. However, the term most often refers to the symmetric scale composed of alternating major second, whole and semitone, half steps, as shown at right. In classical theory (in contras ...
procedures are customarily used for psychologically and emotionally fraught passages. It is "notable for its warm lyricism, but his style defies easy categorization. While his works demonstrate fluency with a range of twentieth-century compositional techniques, those procedures are secondary to his exploitation and expansion of the possibilities of tonal harmony, giving his music an immediacy that makes it appealing to a wide spectrum of audiences. His music is broadly eclectic, drawing on a variety of styles as diverse as jazz, Broadway, Latin music, Italian verismo, and soft rock." According to Hagen, "
Polytonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key ...
figures prominently in the major operas as a mechanism for manifesting the interaction between characters." Hagen, asked at one point by Bernstein to complete
Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Wo ...
's opera ''Sacco and Vanzetti'', acknowledges a debt to Blitzstein's music: "I find the musical DNA of which it is composed indispensable. Strands of that DNA — strict adherence to economy of means, a passion for combining words and music, the belief that music can promote social justice, an abhorrence of pretension — are woven contrapuntally, inextricably, into the music that I compose, and have been, nearly from the start." Hagen's vocal music is described in ''The New Grove'' as "the cornerstone of his compositional output." He has remarked, "I love voices and I like singers, and along with the intersection of loving music and words and singers, I adore the process of composing and going through the production of musical theater. There is the communion of people coming together to commit to undertaking a work of art that is larger than any of us." "Using his gift for composing vocal lines,
agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...
produces songs that flow lyrically and illuminate texts with unerring musical and dramatic aim. His scores are full of extensive markings, requiring singers to use variety of tone color to achieve the emotions inherent in the texts." His operas embrace a particularly broad stylistic spectrum, and often "straddle the divide between the opera and musical theater worlds." In ''Shining Brow'' "Hagen's baseline idiom," writes Tom Strini, "seems to be modernist-expressionist, tonal but freely dissonant. He sets all sorts of influences, from barbershop to ticky-tick dance music against that idiom, to underscore character and crystallize the period (1903–'14)." In ''
Vera of Las Vegas ''Vera of Las Vegas'' is an opera by Daron Hagen with a libretto by Paul Muldoon based on a treatment co-written with the composer. It is Hagen's second opera, after Shining Brow. The Center for Contemporary Opera gave the staged premiere on 25 J ...
'', Hagen, writes Robert Thicknesse, "blends idioms – neo- Gershwin,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, soft rock, Broadway – with soaring melodies that send the characters looping off in arias of self-revelation." "''
Bandanna A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative pur ...
'' is neither fish nor fowl – as fierce as
verismo In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an ...
but wrought with infinite care; a melding of church and cantina and Oxonian declamation," writes Tim Page. Catherine Parsonage expands upon this assessment: " tis wholly convincing as a modern opera, ranging stylistically from the music theatre of Gershwin, Bernstein and
Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
, to traditional
mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
music and contemporary opera of Benjamin Britten. Hagen, who served his apprenticeship on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, acknowledges that holistically the piece falls between opera and musical theatre. Hagen's style encourages audiences to be actively involved in constructing their own meanings from the richness of the textual and musical cross-references in his work." Hagen's effective fusing of many styles into a coherent personal vision is recognized by a 2014
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
Academy Award that acknowledges the "outstanding artistic achievement fa composer who has arrived at his or her own voice." In 2007 self-publishing enabled Hagen to become one of the first American opera composers to make evolving performance materials for the opera ''Amelia'' (and all his successive works) available exclusively in an online environment: "The opera's principals were given access to a password-protected website on which Hagen placed pdf files of ''Amelia's'' vocal score. When he modified a scene, he simply uploaded an edited file, and an automatically generated message informed the cast of the change."


Critical reception

According to ''Opera News'', "to say that
agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...
is a remarkable musician is to underrate him. Daron is music." The NATS Journal of Singing has described Hagen as "the finest American composer of vocal music in his generation." Hagen's debut opera ''Shining Brow'' premiered in 1993 to universally glowing reviews in the international press. When the
Buffalo Philharmonic The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Faletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it ...
released the first recording on Naxos in 2009, David Patrick Sterns noted in ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', "the ceaselessly inventive score hooks you early on, easily embracing a wide range of predominantly tonal modes of expression, from barbershop quartet to ''Der Rosenkavalier'' quotations. The music's theatrical timing and naturalistic sense of language – so problematic in other contemporary operas – feels effortlessly right. Dramatically speaking, the portrayal of the great architect is so unflinching that Wright (played with many layers of irony by the excellent Robert Orth) borders on being too unsympathetic to carry this sizable, two-act opera. Particularly effective is the musical creepiness that sets in as Wright's high-ego world grows refracted from reality.". Hagen's 2010 opera '' Amelia'' premiered to positive reviews in ''The New York Times'', ''Financial Times'', ''Times of London'', ''Seattle Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Opera Magazine'', among others. Heidi Waleson in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' described the work as "both highly original and gripping. ... ''Amelia'' is a modern opera with traditional values ... Mr. Hagen's restless, questioning music never loses its heart." Ivan Katz, in ''The Huffington Post'', wrote "Hagen's score is well-composed and, in many respects, a work of genius. He tends to write in a more facile manner for the women, but his writing for the men (especially tenor William Burden) is complex and highly effective." Anthony Tommasini in ''The New York Times'' noted that "the opera is earnest and original, if heavy-handed and melodramatic.
t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...
a serious, heartfelt and unusual work. However, there is too much lyricism and no break in the orchestral richness." His 2013 opera, '' A Woman in Morocco'', deals with the issue of
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
. A "
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
,
verismo In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an ...
,
cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or high ...
". While in its college workshop production at the University of Texas, the characters were felt by one graduate student to "come across as flat and largely unsympathetic and so frustratingly spineless that it's hard to care about them," when the work was given its professional premiere in spring 2015 under Hagen's direction by Kentucky Opera, professional critics noted that " tscomplex score works to underline issues with
leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
s, musical cues assigned to different characters, and music that never settles or rests. When singers get soaring arias, they emerge naturally from this intricate texture. Hagen has a gift for writing sensually rich tunes and uses this skill to release the music at important moments." Most of the universally positive reviews touched approvingly on the opera's subject matter:
Will new operafind a connection with tradition while creating something fresh and timely? I believe that composer Daron Hagen and his co-librettist Barbara Grecki have
one this 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
with their new two-act opera. ... Hagen's score feelingly captures the deep contradictions of its story and its characters in music that evokes the beauty and mystery of an exotic landscape, the dangerous and deceptive sensuality of its inhabitants, and the intense violence that is always just beneath the surface of a culture that threatens and terrorizes women.


Awards

* 1979 – ASCAP Raymond Hubbell Scholarship * 1982, 1983, 1984 –
Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...
Young Composer Prizes * 1982, 1983, 1984 – ASCAP Morton Gould Prizes * 1983 –
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
Samuel Barber Scholarship * 1983 –
Charles Ives Prize The Charles Ives Awards are scholarships for young composers, awarded annually by the American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excel ...
, American Academy of Arts and Letters * 1985 – Joseph H. Bearns Prize,
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 ...
* 1987 – Barlow Endowment International Prize for Chamber Music Composition * 1988 – ASCAP Rudolf Nissim Prize for Best Orchestral Work * 1990 –
Kennedy Center Friedheim Award The Kennedy Center Friedheim Award was an annual award given for instrumental music composition by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1978 and ended in 1995. The award was given only to Am ...
, for the orchestral work, ''Common Ground'' * 1997 –
Opera America __NOTOC__ Opera America, styled OPERA America, is a New York-based service organization promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera in the United States. Almost all professional opera companies and some semi-professional companies i ...
's ''Next Stage'' Award * 1997 –
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
, production grant for
Shining Brow ''Shining Brow'' is an English language opera by the American composer Daron Hagen, first performed by the Madison Opera in Madison, Wisconsin, April 21, 1993. The libretto is by Paul Muldoon, and is based on a treatment co-written with the compo ...
revival * 2012 –
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 ...
* 2014 – Arts and Letters Award in Music,
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...


List of works

His first composition to attract wide attention was ''Prayer for Peace'', premiered by the
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
(1981), garnering him the distinction of being the youngest composer since Samuel Barber to be premiered by that orchestra; the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
commissioned ''Philharmonia'' for its 150th anniversary (1990); the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Music commissioned ''Concerto for Brass Quintet'' for its 100th anniversary (1995); the Curtis Institute commissioned ''Much Ado'' for its 75th anniversary (2000). Hagen's commissions from major orchestras and performers between 1981 and 2008 included orchestral works, five symphonies (for the orchestras of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, Albany, and
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
), seven
concertos A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...
(for
Gary Graffman Gary Graffman (born October 14, 1928) is an American classical pianist, teacher and administrator. Early life Graffman was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish parents. Having started piano at age 3, Graffman entered the Curtis Institute of M ...
,
Jaime Laredo Jaime Laredo (born June 7, 1941) is a violinist and Conducting, conductor. He was the conductor and Music Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and he began his musical career when he was five years old. Laredo was born in Cochabamba, Boliv ...
, Sharon Robinson,
Jeffrey Khaner Jeffrey Khaner (born December 22, 1958) is the principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has also served as principal flutist with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony. Khaner teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music, ...
, and
Sara Sant'Ambrogio Sara Sant'Ambrogio (born 1962) is an American cellist best known as a member of the Eroica Trio. She was born in Boston and began her studies with her father, John Sant'Ambrogio, principal cellist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. She was ...
, among others), several massive works for chorus and orchestra, two dozen choral works (including one for the
Kings Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 1 ...
), ballet scores, concert overtures, showpieces, two brass quintets, six piano trios, three string quartets, an oboe quintet, a duo for violin and cello, solo works for piano (His Suite for Piano was a featured new work for the
Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas from May 22 to June 7, 2009. The competitors were selected by a screening jury during screening auditions that took place in January and February 2009. The Ta ...
), organ, violin, viola, and cello, and seventeen published cycles of
art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...
s. (Hagen has over 300 art songs in print.) Material from ''Shining Brow'' was used in Hagen's piano piece "Built Up Dark", written for
Bruce Brubaker Bruce Brubaker is a musician, artist, concert pianist, and writer from the United States. Concepts Brubaker's work uses and combines Western classical music with postmodern artistic, literary, theatrical, and philosophical ideas. He is associat ...
in 1994. A frequent collaborator with living writers, he has set poetry by Nuar Alsadir, Mark Campbell, Ze'ev Dunei,
Stephen Dunn Stephen Elliot Dunn (June 24, 1939June 24, 2021) was an American poet and educator who authored twenty-one collections of poetry. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 2001 collection, ''Different Hours,'' and received an Academy Award i ...
,
Sarah Gorham Sarah Gorham (born March 30, 1954) is an American poet, essayist, and publisher residing in Prospect, Kentucky. Background Gorham was educated at the Ecole D'Humanité, an international boarding school in Switzerland and received her MFA from t ...
,
Susan Griffin Susan Griffin (born January 26, 1943) is a radical feminist philosopher, essayist and playwright particularly known for her innovative, hybrid-form ecofeminist works. Life Griffin was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1943 and has resided in ...
,
Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...
, Reine Hauser,
Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
, Robert Kelley, Richard McCann, Kim Roberts, Stephen Sandy, Mark Skinner, and
Mark Strand Mark Strand (April 11, 1934 – November 29, 2014) was a Canadian-born American poet, essayist and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990 and received the Wallace Stevens Award in 2004 ...
, among others. In 1990 Hagen began a creative collaboration with the Irish poet
Paul Muldoon Paul Muldoon (born 20 June 1951) is an Irish poet. He has published more than thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. At Princeton University he is currently both the Howard G. B. Clark '21 University P ...
that resulted in four major operas: ''
Shining Brow ''Shining Brow'' is an English language opera by the American composer Daron Hagen, first performed by the Madison Opera in Madison, Wisconsin, April 21, 1993. The libretto is by Paul Muldoon, and is based on a treatment co-written with the compo ...
'' (1992), ''
Vera of Las Vegas ''Vera of Las Vegas'' is an opera by Daron Hagen with a libretto by Paul Muldoon based on a treatment co-written with the composer. It is Hagen's second opera, after Shining Brow. The Center for Contemporary Opera gave the staged premiere on 25 J ...
'' (1996), ''
Bandanna A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative pur ...
'' (1998), and '' The Antient Concert'' (2005). " riting libretti for Hagen's operas gave Muldoon a writer who has had to weather accusations of cerebral detachment and heartlessness the opportunity to indulge in frank emotionalism," writes David Wheatley. Libretti for Hagen operas have also been written by Barbara Grecki (''New York Stories'', 2008),
J.D. McClatchy J. D. "Sandy" McClatchy (August 12, 1945 – April 10, 2018) was an American poet, opera librettist and literary critic. He was editor of the ''Yale Review'' and president of The American Academy of Arts and Letters. Life McClatchy was born J ...
(''Little Nemo in Slumberland'', 2010), and Gardner McFall (''Amelia'', 2010). He has written his own libretti (''A Woman in Morocco'', 2013,''New York Stories'', 2008,''Orson Rehearsed'', 2019, and ''9/10: Before the Fall'', 2021).


Recordings and publishing

Recordings of Hagen works may be found on the
Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record la ...
, Arsis, Sierra, TNC, Mark,
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 ...
,
Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...
and
CRI CRI or CRi may refer to: Organizations * Canadian Rivers Institute, for river sciences, University of New Brunswick * Cancer Research Institute, New York, US * Centro de Relaciones Internacionales (International Relations Center), Universidad N ...
labels, among others. His music was published exclusively by EC Schirmer in Boston (1982–90); and then by
Carl Fischer Music Carl Fischer Music (founded in 1872) is a sheet music publisher based in New York City's East Village. The company has since moved to the Wall Street area in 2013. After 140 years, the company remains a family-owned business, publishing both perf ...
in New York (1990–2006); in 2007 he began self-publishing under the imprint ''Burning Sled''. In 2017, Burning Sled struck a licensing agreement with
Peermusic Peermusic is a United States-based independent music publisher. History Ralph Peer, a field recording engineer and A&R representative for Victor Records, went on a scouting trip to Bristol, Tennessee. For two weeks, he recorded artists such as ...
Classical for Hagen's operas.


References


Dissertations

* Jens Staubrand: Kierkegaard International Bibliography Music Works and Plays, Copenhagen 2009. In English and Danish. , Including Daron Hagen's ''LORD, GOD IN HEAVEN'' from LITTLE PRAYERS, 1994 * Paul Kreider 1999. ''Art songs of Daron Hagen: lyrical dramaticism and simplicity with an interpretive guide to rittenhouse songs and resuming green''. DMA diss., University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. * Edwin Powell 2002. ''Bandanna, an opera by Daron Aric Hagen with libretto by Paul Muldoon commissioned by the College Band Directors National Association: the origins of an artwork with a glimpse at its musical character development''. DMA diss., University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. * Jane McCalla Redding 2002. ''An introduction to American song composer Daron Aric Hagen (b. 1961) and his miniature folk opera: dear youth''. DMA diss., Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. * Sarah Elizabeth Snydacker 2011.''The new American song: A catalog of published songs by 25 living American composers.'' Ph.D. diss., University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. * Wallace, Jacob 2015. ''Bandanna Overture.'' In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 10, Compiled and edited by Richard Miles, 705–714. Chicago: GIA Publications. * Jay B. Aiken 2016. ''The Choral Music of Daron Aric Hagen and a Conductor's Analysis of Flight Music.'' DMA, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC. * Nicole Kenley-Miller 2012-2018. ''Voicing Virginia: Adaptation of Woolf’s Words to Music''. DMA diss., University of Houston, Houston, Texas. * Noh, Shin-Yeong 2019. Emily Dickinson's Poetic Imagery in 21st-century Songs by Lori Laitman, Jake Heggie, and Daron Hagen. DMA diss., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. * Kosin, Kelci Dalayne, 2019 ''A performance guide to selected arias from Daron Hagen's opera Amelia through the study of selected Hagen art songs''. DA, Ball State University, Muncie, IN.,


External links


Biography


Official Biography at Daron Hagen Website

Allmusic Biography
*
Guggenheim Foundation Fellow Profile


Interviews


2019 WILDSound Film Festival Podcast interview about "Orson Rehearsed"

2019 New England Public Radio Presto: Episode #8 with John Nowacki – Daron Hagen discusses, and reads from, his memoir

2018 Classical Classroom, Episode 181: The Magicians – Daron Hagen on Orson Welles

2016 Houston Public Media interview about Ned Rorem

2015 Houston Public Media interview about Benjamin Britten and the opera "Billy Budd"

2010 Composing Thoughts Interview with John Clare for Texas Public Radio discussing Amelia, Piano Trios, and Violin Concerto

2009 Yale Oral History of American Music "Major Figures in American Music" interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, Daron 1961 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers Bard College faculty Living people American opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Milwaukee Juilliard School alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Miami University faculty Curtis Institute of Music alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Wisconsin Conservatory of Music alumni Pupils of Lukas Foss 21st-century American composers 20th-century American composers People from New Berlin, Wisconsin Classical musicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Pupils of Joseph Schwantner