Easley Blackwood Jr.
Easley Blackwood Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | April 21, 1933 |
Died | January 22, 2023 |
Occupations |
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Instrument(s) | piano |
Formerly of | Chicago Pro Musica |
Easley Rutland Blackwood Jr. (April 21, 1933 – January 22, 2023) was an American professor of music, concert pianist, composer (sometimes using unusual
Biography
Blackwood was born in
Blackwood's initial compositions were not particularly unconventional although in them he employed
Although Blackwood recorded most of these pieces with a synthesizer, his "Suite in 15-Note Equal Tuning, Op. 33" was performed live on a specially constructed guitar.[2] His compositional style moved toward a late-19th-century tonality; he has likened its harmonic syntax to Verdi, Ravel, and Franck. As a performer at the piano, Blackwood played diverse compositions and promoted the music of Charles Ives, Pierre Boulez, and the Second Viennese School. In addition to his solo piano performances, Blackwood was pianist in the chamber group Chicago Pro Musica, largely comprising members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.[citation needed]
Blackwood was known for his book, The Structure of Recognizable Diatonic Tunings (Princeton: Princeton University Press;
Personal life
His father, Easley Blackwood Sr., was a noted contract bridge player and writer.
Blackwood died in Chicago on January 22, 2023, at the age of 89.[4]
Works with Opus Numbers
- Sonata No. 1 for Viola and Piano, Op. 1 (1953)
- Chamber Symphony for 14 Wind Instruments, Op. 2 (1955)
- Symphony No. 1, Op. 3 (1955)
- String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4 (1957)
- Concertino for 5 Instruments, Op. 5 (1959)
- String Quartet No. 2, Op. 6 (1959)
- Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Op. 7 (1960)
- Fantasy for Cello and Piano, Op. 8 (1960)
- Symphony No. 2, Op. 9 (1960)
- Chaconne for Carillon, Op. 10 (1961)[5]
- Pastorale and Variations for Wind Quintet, Op. 11 (1961)
- Sonata for Flute and Harpsichord, Op. 12 (1962)
- Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 13 (1964)
- Symphony No. 3, Op. 14 (1964)
- Fantasy for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, and Piano, Op. 15 (1965)
- Three Short Fantasies for Piano, Op. 16 (1965)
- Symphonic Fantasy, Op. 17 (1965)
- Symphonic Movement for Organ, Op. 18 (1966)
- Concerto for Oboe and String Orchestra, Op. 19 (1966)
- Un voyage à Cythère for Soprano and 10 Instruments, Op. 20 (1966)
- Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 21 (1967)
- Piano Trio, Op. 22 (1968)
- Concerto for Flute and String Orchestra, Op. 23 (1968)
- Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 24 (1970)
- Four Letter Scenes from Gulliver for Voices and Electronics, Op. 25 (1972)
- Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, Op. 26 (1975)
- Symphony No. 4, Op. 27 (1977)
- Twelve Microtonal Etudes for Electronic Music Media, Op. 28 (1980)
- Fanfare for WFMT (electronic), Op. 28a (1981)
- Sonata for Guitar, Op. 29 (1983)
- Five Concert Etudes for Piano, Op. 30 (1984)
- Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 31 (1985)
- Festival Overture for Steel Band, Op. 31a (1986)
- Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 32 (1986)
- Suite for Guitar in 15-Note Equal Tuning, Op. 33 (1987)
- Symphony No. 5, Op. 34 (1990)
- Rondo Caprice for Flute and Guitar, Op. 35 (1992)
- Seven Bagatelles for Piano, Op. 36 (1993)
- Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 37 (1994)
- Sonatina for Piccolo Clarinet and Piano, Op. 38 (1994)
- Sonatina for Carillon, Op. 39 (1996)
- Sonata for Piano, Op. 40 (1996)
- Two Nocturnes for Piano, Op. 41 (1996)
- String Quartet No. 3, Op. 42 (1998)
- Sonata No. 2 for Viola and Piano, Op. 43 (2001)
- A King James Magnificat (for choir), Op. 44 (2004)
- Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, Op. 45 (2008)
- Concerto for 10 Brass, Op. 46 (2011?)
- Partita for Harpsichord, Op. 47 (incomplete)
See also
References
- ^ Blackwood, Easley and Kust, Jeffrey (1996/2005). Easley Blackwood: Microtonal Compositions. Cedille. ASIN: B0000018Z8/ASIN: B000009KIL.
- ^ Blackwood, Easley. "Blackwood: Microtonal Compositions". Liner notes. Cedille Records CDR018.
- ^ Blackwood, Easley (2000). Introducing Easley Blackwood. Cedille; ASIN B00004YLF3.
- ^ In Memoriam: Easley Blackwood, Jr. University of Chicago. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ Chaconne for carillon in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
External links
- Art of the States: Easley Blackwood (archive from July 28, 2012, accessed September 23, 2014)
- Interview with Easley Blackwood, February, 1993
- Easley Blackwood at Library of Congress, with 49 library catalog records
- Easley Blackwood Jr. discography at Discogs