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Composer |
Conductor Gerard Schwarz
Internationally recognized as one of the leading conductors of his generation, Gerard Schwarz is also a prolific and dynamic composer having studied with such eminent composers as Paul Creston, Roger Sessions, Jacob Druckman, Milton Babbitt, Vincent Persichetti and Pierre Boulez.
Active as an arranger of orchestral suites as well as a composer of new work, Schwarz’s arrangements of Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel and Webern’s Langsamer Satz are performed by orchestras worldwide. Five Naxos recordings feature works by Gerard Schwarz: Holiday Classics, Echoes, Rudolf and Jeanette, Above and Beyond, and In Memoriam. In the recently released 30 CD box set on Naxos (November 2017), one CD is dedicated to his compositions including his Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano and the new band version of Rudolf and Jeanette. Schwarz’s work A Journey, a large scale orchestral tone poem was premiered at the Eastern Music Festival in July 2012, and Above and Beyond, premiered in March of 2012 in performance with United States Marine Band and released by Naxos in 2014. Two duos for violin and cello, performed by Maria Larionoff and Julian Schwarz, were premiered in 2009 at the awards ceremony honoring Schwarz as First Citizen of Seattle. MusicWeb International described Schwarz’s Trio for horn, violin and piano, commissioned by the Seattle Chamber Music Festival and premiered in 2010, as "ingeniously constructed within its thoroughly accessible romantic idiom.” Human Spirit, based on words by Aaron Copland and composed for children's choir and chamber ensemble in 2008, was subsequently performed in its orchestral version by the Seattle Symphony in September of 2011. He subsequently expanded this work for full chorus and orchestra. Schwarz has added a third duo for violin and cello that will have its premiere in May of 2018 at Bargemusic by Mark Peskinov and Julian Schwarz. In December 2017 his work for cello and orchestra, Rhapsody was premiered by The Sinfonia with Julian Schwarz as the soloist. A new version based on In Memoriam was premiered for euphonium and wind ensemble in South Korea in August 2018 performed by Demondrae Thurman. Schwarz received two commissions from the Seattle-based organization, Music of Remembrance: In Memoriam (2005), named the Best New Work of 2005 by Seattle Weekly, and Rudolf and Jeanette (2007). A performance of In Memoriam with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and cellist Jonathan Aasgard, was recorded and released by Avie Records in 2005 and a performance with the Music of Remembrance ensemble and his son, cellist Julian Schwarz, was released by Naxos in 2008. Described by Fanfare magazine as "poignant and deeply moving," and Gramophone magazine as "an affecting blend of tender and disquieting utterances," Rudolf and Jeanette was written in memory of Schwarz’s maternal grandparents who died in a concentration camp. The work premiered in its original form as a chamber ensemble piece by Music of Remembrance in 2007 and was also released by Naxos in 2009. The full orchestral version premiered in Zagreb in 2008. Schwarz is a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and The Juilliard School. He is a recipient of the Ditson Conductor’s Award from Columbia University and has honorary doctorates from The Juilliard School, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Seattle University, Cornish College of the Arts and the University of Puget Sound. In 2001, he was named Honorary Fellow of John Moores University, Liverpool. During his distinguished career he has received 14 Grammy nominations, six ASCAP awards, and numerous Stereo Review and Ovation awards. Schwarz has been married to his wife Jody for 37 years, has four children and lives in Florida. |