''The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark'' is an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l composition in one movement by the American composer

Wayne Peterson Wayne Peterson (September 3, 1927April 7, 2021) was an American composer, pianist, and educator. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for '' The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark'' in 1992, when its board overturned the jury's unanimous s ...

. The piece was first performed by the San Francisco Symphony under the conductor

David Zinman David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist. Education After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. H ...

in October 1991. It won the 1992

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted ...

. The title is a quote from the works of

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist of the early 20th century. Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. He is known for mixing highly origin ...

Pulitzer dispute

The awarding of the Pulitzer Prize to ''The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark'' gained considerable notoriety in the classical music community. The music jury, comprising

George Perle George Perle (6 May 1915 – 23 January 2009) was an American composer and music theorist. As a composer, his music was largely atonal, using methods similar to the twelve-tone technique of the Second Viennese School. This serialist style, and ...

, Roger Reynolds, and Harvey Sollberger, originally submitted only one work for consideration— Ralph Shapey's '' Concerto Fantastique''—despite Pulitzer rules requiring the jury to submit three works for board consideration. However, George Perle, who had served on previous Pulitzer Prize for Music juries, claimed that he was not aware of such provision. When the Pulitzer board demanded an alternative, threatening to forego a music prize for the year, the jury submitted Peterson's ''The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark''. In an upset to the jury, the board selected ''The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark'' over ''Concerto Fantastique''. Perle commented on the incident, remarking, "I don't want to belittle the Peterson work, which is marvelous. It is absolutely worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. But the Pulitzer Prize is supposed to be for the single best work of the year, and on this occasion we felt that there was a work that was more impressive. We were entirely unanimous on that point, and we did not expect to be overruled." Reynolds and Sollberger released a similar statement, saying, "The Pulitzer Prize board's action in modifying the music jury's decision this year is especially alarming because it occurred without consultation and without knowledge of either our standards or rationale. Such alterations by a committee without professional musical expertise guarantees, if continued, a lamentable devaluation of this uniquely important award." Walter Rugaber, then a member of the Pulitzer board, responded, "What all the juries are asked to do is to select three nominees and submit them to us without expressing a preference." He added: Peterson himself responded to the controversy, remarking:

Recording

Following its premiere by the San Francisco Symphony, the work was not performed again until 2010, when the

Boston Modern Orchestra Project The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) is a professional orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1996 by artistic director Gil Rose, its mission is to explore the connections between contemporary music and contemporary s ...

performed it, releasing it on a CD in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark, The Compositions by Wayne Peterson 1991 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra Pulitzer Prize for Music-winning works