Gunther Schuller

Gunther Alexander Schuller November 22 1925 – June 21 2015 Was An American Composer Conductor Horn Player Author Historian And Jazz Musician. Schuller Was Born In New York City The Son Of German Parents Elsie Bernartz And Arthur E. Schuller A Violinist With The New York Philharmonic. He Studied At The Saint Thomas Choir School And Became An Accomplished French Horn Player And Flute Player. At Age 15 He Was Already Playing Horn Professionally With The American Ballet Theatre 1943 Followed By An Appointment As Principal Hornist With The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra 1943–45 And Then The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra In New York Where He Stayed Until 1959. During His Youth He Attended The Precollege Division At The Manhattan School Of Music Later Going On To Teach At The School. But Already A High School Dropout Because He Wanted To Play Professionally Schuller Never Obtained A Degree From Any Institution. He Began His Career In Jazz By Recording As A Horn Player With Miles Davis 1949–50 . In 1955 Schuller And Jazz Pianist John Lewis Founded The Modern Jazz Society Which Gave Its First Concert At Town Hall New York The Same Year And Later Became Known As The Jazz And Classical Music Society. While Lecturing At Brandeis University In 1957 He Coined The Term "Third Stream" To Describe Music That Combines Classical And Jazz Techniques. He Became An Enthusiastic Advocate Of This Style And Wrote Many Works According To Its Principles Among Them Transformation 1957 For Jazz Ensemble Concertino 1959 For Jazz Quartet And Orchestra Abstraction 1959 For Nine Instruments And Variants On A Theme Of Thelonious Monk 1960 For 13 Instruments Utilizing Eric Dolphy And Ornette Coleman. In 1966 He Composed The Opera The Visitation. He Also Orchestrated Scott Joplin's Only Known Surviving Opera Treemonisha For The Houston Grand Opera's Premiere Production Of This Work In 1975. In 1959 Schuller Gave Up Performance To Devote Himself To Composition Teaching And Writing. He Conducted Internationally And Studied And Recorded Jazz With Such Greats As Dizzy Gillespie And John Lewis Among Many Others. Schuller Wrote Over 190 Original Compositions In Many Musical Genres. In The 1960s And 1970s Schuller Was President Of New England Conservatory Where He Founded The New England Ragtime Ensemble. During This Period He Also Held A Variety Of Positions At The Boston Symphony Orchestra's Summer Home In Tanglewood Serving As Director Of New Music Activities From 1965 To 1969 And As Artistic Director Of The Tanglewood Music Center From 1970 To 1984 And Creating The Tanglewood Festival Of Contemporary Music. Schuller Was Editor-In-Chief Of Jazz Masterworks Editions And Co-Director Of The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra In Washington D.C. Another Effort Of Preservation Was His Editing And Posthumous Premiering At Lincoln Center In 1989 Of Charles Mingus's Immense Final Work Epitaph Subsequently Released On Columbia/Sony Records. He Was The Author Of Two Major Books On The History Of Jazz Early Jazz 1968 And The Swing Era 1991 . His Students Included Irwin Swack Ralph Patt John Ferritto Eric Alexander Hewitt Mohammed Fairouz Oliver Knussen Nancy Zeltzman Riccardo Dalli Cardillo And Hundreds Of Others. From 1993 Until His Death Schuller Served As Artistic Director For The Northwest Bach Festival In Spokane Washington State. Each Year The Festival Showcased Works By J.S. Bach And Other Composers In Venues Around Spokane. At The 2010 Festival Schuller Conducted The Mass In B Minor At St. John's Cathedral Sung By The Chamber Choir From Eastern Washington University Accompanied By The Spokane Symphony. Other Notable Performances Conducted At The Festival Include The St Matthew Passion In 2008 And Handel's Messiah In 2005. Schuller's Association With Spokane Began With Guest Conducting The Spokane Symphony For One Week In 1982. He Then Served As Music Director From 1984–1985 And Later Regularly Appeared As A Guest Conductor. Schuller Also Served As Artistic Director To The Nearby Festival At Sandpoint. His Modernist Orchestral Work Where The Word Ends Organized In Four Movements Corresponding To Those Of A Symphony Premiered At The Boston Symphony Orchestra In 2009. In 2011 Schuller Published The First Volume Of A Two-Volume Autobiography Gunther Schuller A Life In Pursuit Of Music And Beauty. In 2012 Schuller Premiered A New Arrangement The Treemonisha Suite From Joplin's Opera. It Was Performed As Part Of The Rest Is Noise Season At London's South Bank In 2013. Schuller Died On June 21 2015 In Boston From Complications From Leukemia Reportedly With Beethoven's Ode To Joy Playing At His Bedside. He Was The Father Of Jazz Percussionist George Schuller And Bassist Ed Schuller. He Was 89 Years Old. Schuller Was The Recipient Of Many Awards Including The 1994 Pulitzer Prize For His Composition Written For The Louisville Orchestra Of Reminiscences And Reflections The MacArthur Foundation "genius" Award 1991 1st Place In The Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards 1987 The William Schuman Award 1988 Given By Columbia University For "lifetime Achievement In American Music Composition" And Ten Honorary Degrees. He Received The Ditson Conductor's Award In 1970. In 1993 Down Beat Magazine Honored Him With A Lifetime Achievement Award For His Contribution To Jazz The BMI Foundation Bestowed Another Lifetime Achievement Award On Him The Following Year. In 2005 A Festival Of Schuller's Music Directed By Bruce Brubaker Involved The Boston Symphony Harvard University And New England Conservatory. Mr. Schuller Was Awarded A Lifetime Achievement Medal From The MacDowell Colony In 2015. “As A Composer And Teacher ” The Composer Augusta Read Thomas The Chairwoman Of The Selection Committee For The MacDowell Award Said At The Time “he Has Inspired Generations Of Students Setting An Example Of Discovery And Experimentation.” Grammy Award For Best Album Notes Gunther Schuller Notes Writer For Footlifters Performed By Gunther Schuller 1976 Grammy Award For Best Chamber Music Performance Gunther Schuller Conductor & The New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble For Joplin The Red Back Book 1974 Partial Discography As Arranger With John Lewis The Queen's Fancy Verve 1955 Django Verve 1955 As Conductor On Birth Of The Third Stream
Three Little Feelings Columbia 1957 Poem For Brass Columbia 1957 Pharaoh Columbia 1957 Suspensions Columbia 1957 Jazz Abstractions Atlantic 1961 With The Modern Jazz Quartet Exposure Atlantic 1960 With Gerard Schwarz Cornet And The Columbia Chamber Ensemble Turn Of The Century Cornet Favorites CBS/Columbia Records 1977 M 34553 With Dizzy Gillespie Perceptions Verve 1961 With Charles Mingus Mingus Revisited Limelight 1960 As Sideman With Frank Sinatra Come Back To Sorrento Columbia 1950 April In Paris Columbia 1950 I Guess I'll Have To Dream The Rest Columbia 1950 Nevertheless Columbia 1950 With Mitch Miller Conversation Piece Columbia 1951 Horns O' Plenty Columbia 1951 Horn Belt Boogie Columbia 1951 Serenade For Horns Columbia 1951 With Gigi Gryce Smoke Signal Signal 1955 In A Meditating Mood Signal 1955 Speculation Signal 1955 Kerry Dance Signal 1955 With Johnny Mathis Prelude To A Kiss Columbia 1956 Fly Me To The Moon In Other Words Columbia 1956 With Miles Davis Birth Of The Cool Capitol 1949/50 Released 1957 With Dizzy Gillespie Gillespiana Verve 1960 Carnegie Hall Concert Verve 1961 read less