Mario Davidovsky (March 4, 1934 – August 23, 2019) was an Argentine-American composer. Born in Argentina, he emigrated in 1960 to the United States, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He is best known for his series of compositions called '' Synchronisms'', which in live performance incorporate both acoustic instruments and electroacoustic sounds played from a tape.

Biography

Davidovsky was born in Médanos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, a town nearly 600 km southwest of the city of Buenos Aires and close to the seaport of

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 301,572 inhabitants according to the . It is the ...

. Aged seven, he began his musical studies on the violin. At thirteen he began composing. He studied composition and theory under at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

, from which he graduated. In 1958, he studied with

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

and

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 serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia to Albert E ...

at the Berkshire Music Center (now the

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglewo ...

) in Lenox, Massachusetts. Through Babbitt, who worked at the

Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center The Computer Music Center (CMC) at Columbia University is the oldest center for electronic music, electronic and computer music research in the United States. It was founded in the 1950s as the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. Locatio ...

, and others, Davidovsky developed an interest in electroacoustic music. Copland encouraged Davidovsky to emigrate to the United States, and in 1960, Davidovsky settled in New York City, where he was appointed associate director of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. It was at that time he began to compose electo-acoustic works called '' Synchronisms''. Most of his published compositions since the 1970s have been nonelectronic. His only published electroacoustic compositions since that time are ''Synchronisms No. 9'' (1988) and ''Synchronisms No. 10'' (1992). However, Davidovsky received a commission by a group led by the

Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) is a nonprofit US-based organization founded in 1984 that aims to promote the performance and creation of electro-acoustic music in the United States. In particular, the organizat ...

(SEAMUS) to compose two more electroacoustic works in the ''Synchronisms'' series. No. 11 and No. 12 premiered in 2007 at the SEAMUS National Conference in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary med ...

. Davidovsky's association with the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center continued, and from 1981 to 1993 he was the lab's director as well as professor of music at Columbia. In 1994 he became professor of music at Harvard. During his career, Davidovsky has also taught at many other institutions:

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 ...

(1964), the Di Tella Institute of Buenos Aires (1965), 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 ...

(1968–69),

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

(1969–70), and 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 ...

(1968–80). He served on the composition faculty of

Mannes College The New School for Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School ...

. In 1982, Davidovsky was elected a member of 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 excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headq ...

Personal life

Davidovsky married Elaine Blaustein in 1962; she died in 2017. They had two children, and three grandchildren. He died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on August 23, 2019 at the age of 85.

Awards

*The American Academy of Arts and Letters' Academy Award (1965) * Pulitzer Prize (1971) *Brandeis University Creative Arts Award *Aaron Copland-Tanglewood Award *

SEAMUS Lifetime Achievement Award The SEAMUS Award (renamed from the SEAMUS Lifetime Achievement Award) acknowledges the important contributions of its recipients to the field of electroacoustic music. The recipient is selected by the Board of Directors of SEAMUS. The prize was fi ...

(1989) *

Naumburg Award The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation sponsors competitions and provides awards for young classical musicians in North America. Founded in 1925, it operates the prestigious Naumburg Competition. Foundation and concerts It was founded in 1925 by Wal ...

*Peggy Guggenheim Award (1982) *Barlow Endowment for Music Composition – Commission (2003)

Fellowships

*Koussevitzky fellowship (1958) * Rockefeller fellowships (1963,1964) *Guggenheim fellowships (1960,1971) *Williams Foundation Fellowship *Walter Channing Cabot Fellowship

Works

*String Quartet No. 1 (1951) *Concertino for Percussion and String Orchestra (1954) *Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (1955) *Suite Sinfonica Para "El Payaso" (1955), orchestra *Three Pieces for Woodwind Quartet (1956) *Noneti for Nine Instruments (1956) *String Quartet No. 2 (1958) *Serie Sinfonica 1959 (1959), orchestra *Contrastes No. 1 (1960), string orchestra and electronic sounds *Electronic Study No. 1 (1961) ''

'' *Piano 1961 (1961), orchestra *Electronic Study No. 2 (1962) *Synchronisms No. 1 (1962), flute and electronic sound *Trio for Clarinet, Trumpet, and Viola (1962) *Synchronisms No. 2 (1964), flute, clarinet, violin, cello and tape *Synchronisms No. 3 (1964), cello and electronic sound *Electronic Study No. 3 (1965) *Inflexions (1965), chamber ensemble *Junctures (1966), flute, clarinet, and violin *Synchronisms No. 4 (1966), chorus and tape *Music for Solo Violin (1968) *Synchronisms No. 5 (1969), percussion players and tape * Synchronisms No. 6 (1970), piano and electronic sound (won 1971 Pulitzer Prize) *Chacona (1971), violin, cello, and piano *Transientes (1972), orchestra *Ludus 2 (1973), flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano *Synchronisms No. 7 (1974), orchestra and tape *Synchronisms No. 8 (1974), woodwind quintet and tape *Scenes from Shir ha-Shirim (1975), soprano, two tenors, bass soli and chamber ensemble *String Quartet No. 3 (1976) *Pennplay (1979), sixteen players *Consorts (1980), symphonic band *String Quartet No. 4 (1980) *String Trio (1982), violin, viola, violoncello *Romancero (1983), soprano, flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin and violoncello *Divertimento (1984), cello and orchestra *Capriccio (1985), two pianos *Salvos (1986), flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet, harp, percussion, violin and cello *Quartetto (1987), flute, violin, viola and violoncello *Synchronisms No. 9 (1988), violin and tape *Biblical Songs (1990), soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano *Concertante (1990), string quartet and orchestra *Simple Dances (1991–2001), flute (piccolo, alto flute), two percussion, piano, and cello *Synchronisms No. 10 (1992), guitar and electronic sounds *Shulamit's Dream (1993), soprano and orchestra *Festino (1994), guitar, viola, violoncello, contrabass *Concertino (1995), violin and chamber orchestra *Flashbacks (1995), flute (piccolo and alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin violoncello, piano and percussion *Quartetto No. 2 (1996), oboe, violin, viola, violoncello *String Quartet No. 5 (1998) *Quartetto No. 3 (2000), piano, violin, viola, and violoncello *Cantione Sine Textu (2001), soprano and chamber ensemble *RecitAndy (2001), cello *Duo Capriccioso (2003), piano and violin *Sefarad: Four Spanish- Ladino Folkscenes (2004), baritone voice, flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), percussion, violin and cello *Quartetto No. 4 (2005), clarinet, violin, viola and cello *Synchronisms No. 11 (2005), contrabass and tape *Synchronisms No. 12 (2006), clarinet and tape *Piano Septet (2007) *Divertimento for 8 ‘Ambiguous Symmetries’ (2015), flute, clarinet, percussion, violin, viola, cello, bass, piano *String Quartet No. 6 ("Fragments")(2016)

Discography

*''Works by Martin Brody, Mario Davidovsky, Miriam Gideon, Rand Steiger, Chinary Ung'', New World Records, New World 80412–2. Release date: December 8, 1992. **''Synchronisms No. 6''; Fred Bronstein, Piano. *''Korf: Symphony No.2/Davidovsky: Divertimento/Wright: Night Scenes'', New World Records, New World 80383–2. Release date: December 8, 1992. **''Divertimento'';

Fred Sherry Fred Sherry (born 1948) is an American cellist who is particularly admired for his work as a chamber musician and concert soloist. He studied with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School before winning the Young Concert Artists International Audition ...

, cello;

Riverside Symphony Riverside Symphony is a New York-based professional orchestra founded in 1981 by conductor George Rothman and composer Anthony Korf. The orchestra performs an annual three-concert series at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center and is recognized for ...

, George Rothman conducting. *''Flashbacks: Music by Mario Davidovsky'',

Bridge Records Bridge Records is an independent record label that specializes in classical music located in New Rochelle, New York. History A classical guitarist, David Starobin recorded the Boccherini Guitar Quintet in E minor in the 1970s. This was his firs ...

, Bridge 9097. Release date: June 27, 2000. **''Flashbacks''; The New York New Music Ensemble. **''Festino''; Speculum Musicae. **''Romancero''; Susan Narucki, soprano; Speculum Musicae. **''Quartetto No. 2''; Peggy Pearson, oboe; Bayla Keyes, violin;

Mary Ruth Ray Mary Ruth Ray (1956–2013) was an internationally known classical musician who received critical acclaim throughout the United States, Europe and Russia. Career Ray was a faculty member at Brandeis University where she taught viola and chamber ...

, viola; Rhonda Rider, violoncello. **''Synchronisms No. 10'';

David Starobin David Starobin (born September 27, 1951) is a highly honored figure in the world of classical guitar. Called "arguably the most influential American classical guitarist of the 20th century" ('' Soundboard''), Starobin was born in New York City. ...

, guitar. **''String Trio''; Speculum Musicae. *''Mario Davidovsky: 3 Cycles on Biblical Texts''; Susan Narucki, soprano; Riverside Symphony, George Rothman conducting; Bridge Records, Bridge 1112. Release Date: July 30, 2002. **''Shulamit's Dream''. **''Scenes from Shir ha-Shirim''. **''Biblical Songs''. *''Harvard Composers'', Mendelssohn String Quartet, BIS Records, BIS-SACD-1264. Release date: September 9, 2003. **''String Quartet No. 5''. *''Salvos: Chamber Music of Mario Davidovsky'', Empyrean Ensemble; Susan Narucki, soprano. Arabesque Records, Arabesque Z6777. Release date: January 6, 2004. **''Simple Dances''. **''Cantione Sine Textu''. **''Quartetto''. **''Salvos''. **''String Trio''. *''The Music of Mario Davidovsky, Vol. 3'', Bridge Records, Bridge 9171. Release date: September 1, 2005. **''Synchronisms No. 5''; The Manhattan School of Music Percussion Ensemble,

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, ...

, conductor. **''Synchronisms No. 6'' Aleck Karis, piano. **''Synchronisms No. 9''; Curtis Macomber, violin. **''Chacona''; Curtis Macomber, violin; Eric Bartlett, cello; Aleck Karis, piano. **''Quartetto''; Susan Palma Nidel, flute; Curtis Macomber, violin; Maureen Gallagher, viola; Eric Bartlett, violoncello. **''Duo Capriccioso''; Curtis Macomber, violin; Aleck Karis, piano.

Notable students

References

External links

"Electronic Study No. 3, In Memoriam Edgar Varèse"

, recording, from ''Aspen'', no. 4, The McLuhan issue; via

UbuWeb UbuWeb is a web-based educational resource for avant-garde material available on the internet, founded in 1996 by poet Kenneth Goldsmith. It offers visual, concrete and sound poetry, expanding to include film and sound art mp3 archives. Phil ...

Art of the States: Mario Davidovsky
–

RealAudio RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fi ...

streams of three works by the composer *Performance on 2006-10-22 by Lynn Kuo of Synchronisms No. 9: , . * (includes video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidovsky, Mario 1934 births 2019 deaths American contemporary classical composers American classical composers Argentine classical composers American male classical composers Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Pulitzer Prize for Music winners Argentine Jews Jewish Argentine musicians Jewish classical musicians Argentine people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Argentine emigrants to the United States Harvard University faculty Manhattan School of Music faculty University of Michigan faculty Pupils of Aaron Copland Pupils of Milton Babbitt People from Buenos Aires Province 20th-century Argentine artists 21st-century American composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Mannes College The New School for Music faculty 20th-century American composers