Robert M. Greenberg (born April 18, 1954) 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 Defi ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, and

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

who was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He has composed more than 50 works for a variety of instruments and voices, and has recorded a number of lecture series on

music history Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...

and

music appreciation Music appreciation is a division of musicology that is designed to teach students how to understand and describe the contexts and creative processes involved in music composition. The concept of music appreciation is often taught as a subset of ...

for

The Great Courses The Teaching Company, doing business as Wondrium, is a media production company that produces educational, video and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, series under two content brands - Wondrium and The Great Courses. The compa ...

Biography

Greenberg earned a B.A. in music (

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

) from

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 ...

and received a Ph.D. in

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

from the

University of California, 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 u ...

, where he studied with

Olly Wilson Olly Woodrow Wilson, Jr. (September 7, 1937 – March 12, 2018) was an American composer of contemporary classical music, pianist, double bassist, and a musicologist. He was one of the most preeminent composers of African American descent in the ...

. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley,

California State University, East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...

, and the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature and Director of the Adult Extension Division. Greenberg is the music historian in residence with

San Francisco Performances San Francisco Performances is an organization which showcases chamber music, vocal and instrumental recitals, jazz and contemporary dance in the San Francisco Bay area. It was founded by Ruth Felt in 1979. The organization presents "internationally ...

, and he hosts their Saturday morning series of lecture–performances with the

Alexander String Quartet The Alexander String Quartet is a string quartet based in San Francisco. Formed in New York in 1981, the Alexander String Quartet has since 1989 been Ensemble in Residence of San Francisco Performances and directors of the Morrison Chamber Music ...

. Greenberg has received numerous awards, including three Nicola De Lorenzo Prizes in composition, and three

Meet the Composer New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progra ...

grants. Additionally, he has received commissions from the

Koussevitzky Foundation Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...

of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, the

, XTET, and the

San Francisco Contemporary Music Players The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) is a performing arts organization and unionized chamber orchestra that commissions, performs, and records innovative new music from across cultures and stylistic traditions. SFCMP incorporated in ...

. A number of his works have been performed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. His music was published by the now defunct Fallen Leaf Press and CPP/Belwin (now part of Alfred Publishing Company) and is recorded on the

Innova Recordings Innova Recordings is the independent record label of the non-profit American Composers Forum based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1982 to document the winners of the McKnight Fellowship offered by its parent organization, the Minneso ...

label. Greenberg has lectured for some of the most prestigious musical and arts organizations in the United States. He is the resident composer and music historian for

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 ''Weekend

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 ...

''. Greenberg has recorded a number of lecture series for

on music history and the appreciation of music. He often relates musical topics to other subjects, such as history and politics, as well as to music from other periods. Referring to Greenberg's lively style and sense of humor, the ''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig and ...

'' has described him as "the Elvis of music history and appreciation." He is an artistic adviser at Composers, Inc.

Selected compositions

A complete list of compositions is given on the composer's official web site. Selected compositions and notes are given below: * ''Breaths, Voices and Cadenze'' (1981) String quartet #1 * ''By various means'' (1983) for clarinet quartet ** Passacaglia ** Theme and variations ** Chaconne * ''Quasi un madrigale'' (1985) four Italian songs for soprano and piano ** ''Il palatino'' / Aldo Palazzeschi ** ''Poesia d'amore'' / Salvatore Quasímodo ** ''La trombettina'' /

Corrado Govoni Corrado Govoni (Tàmara, Copparo, 29 October 1884 – Lido dei Pini, 20 October 1965). was an Italian poet. His work dealt with modern urban representations, the states of memory, nostalgia, and longing, using an expressive and evocative style of w ...

** ''Quasi un madrigale'' / Salvatore Quasímodo * ''Child's Play'' (1988) String quartet #2 "...which captures the imaginative and playful energy of his daughter Rachel (then two years old)." ** I. ''Games'' (fast) 8:06 ** II. ''Intermezzo: Dreams of Gold (Sogni d'oro)'' (slow) 5:35 ** III. ''Dances'' (very fast) 6:51 * ''The Passing Years'' (1989) five songs for baritone and piano ** God gave me ** East Broadway ** The passing years ** Rabbi Elimelech ** At my wedding * ''It Don't Mean a Thing'' (1990) for percussion sextet "...combines the sounds and style of Japanese Taiko drumming with the rhythmic swing of Duke Ellington." * ''In Shape'' (1990) concerto in three movements for two pianos and marimba ** Wedge ** Labyrinth ** Spike * ''Dude ‘Tudes'' (1991) for solo piano "...attempts to transfer into sound some of the many moods and activities of his 22-month-old son Samuel." ** I. Orneriness/Contrary motion ** II. Building blocks/Chords 'n' stuff ** III. Dreams of play/Trills and tremolos ** IV. Dancin' fool/Quarter-minute waltz ** V. Angel's hair/Legato ** VI. Cruisin' with the dude/Octaves-R-Us. * ''Iron balconies and lilies'' (1992) for flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, viola, violoncello, soprano, and piano ** Prelude: ''A city by the sea'' / Anna Margolin ** Youth: ''Hay mowing'' / Moyshe Kulbak; ''When Grandma, may she rest in peace, died'' / Moyshe Kulbak ** Love songs: ''Longing'' / Rachel Korn; ''Ancient murdress night'' / Anna Margolin ** Children: ''If I had the Emperor's might'', Lullaby / Traditional Folk song; ''Toys'' / Abraham Sutskever ** Age: ''Old age'' / Jacob Gladstein; ''Rest'' / Jacob Isaac segal * ''On Trial'' (1994) concerto for solo vibraphone, flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, violin, viola, and violoncello * ''Among Friends'' (1995) String quartet #3. Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation * ''Funny Like a Monkey'' (2001) for piano quartet (string trio PLUS piano) "...coined by my 15-year-old daughter in order to address ... attempts at humor by both her younger brother and her hopelessly antiquated father." ** I. Knock Yourself Out ** II. Flutterby ** III. Morph (with apologies to J. B.)

References

External links

*
Robert Greenberg bio at The Great Courses
Includes list of Greenberg's courses.
Robert Greenberg bio at Keynote Speakers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenberg, Robert 1954 births Living people 20th-century American Jews Musicians from Brooklyn American male composers 20th-century American composers American musicologists California State University, East Bay faculty Pupils of Edward T. Cone 20th-century American pianists American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews