Marga Richter
Florence Marga Richter (October 21, 1926 – June 25, 2020) was an American composer of classical music, and pianist.
Biography
Marga Richter was born in
Richter composed several works for the
Richter co-founded the
Compositional style and influence
Richter's musical style emphasizes chromaticism, a free use of dissonance, ostinatos, layering, rhythmic excitement, and dramatic pacing. She favored much use of seconds and sevenths. Her music often draws upon American, Irish, and Asian sources for inspiration. While she taught only a handful of students, she inspired many later women composers, including composer Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee. Richter is noted for being one of the few women composers from her time who composed music for large-scale forces: orchestra, ballet, and ensembles. She composed one opera, Riders to the Sea.
Honors and awards
- Annual awards from ASCAPsince 1966
- Two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (1977, 1979)
- Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund grant
- Meet the Composer grant
- National Federation of Music Clubs grant
Selected works
Richter composed for orchestra, ballet, opera, chorus, orchestra, chamber ensemble and solo instrument and her compositions have been performed internationally. Selected works include:
- Abyss (1-act ballet, choreography by Stuart Hodes), orchestra, 1964
- Bird of Yearning (1-act ballet, choreography by Stuart Hodes), orchestra, 1967
- Riders to the Sea (1-act chamber opera, libretto by John Millington Synge) 1996
- Concerto for Piano and Violas, Cellos and Basses, 1955
- Lament, string orchestra, 1956
- Aria and Toccata, viola, string orchestra, 1957
- Variations on a Sarabande, 1959
- Eight Pieces for Orchestra, large orchestra, 1961 (version of piano work)
- Darkening of the Light for viola solo (1961)
- Suite for solo viola (1962)
- Bird of Yearning, small orchestra (28 players), 1967 (version of ballet)
- Concerto No. 2 Landscapes of the Mind I, piano, large orchestra, 1968–74
- Fragments, 1978
- Country Auction, symphonic band, 1976
- Blackberry Vines and Winter Fruit, 1976
- Spectral Chimes/Enshrouded Hills, 3 quintets, orchestra, 1978–80
- Düsseldorf Concerto, flute, harp, viola, small orchestra (timpani, percussion, strings), 1981–82
- Out of Shadows and Solitude, large orchestra, 1985
- Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark, 1991
- Variations and interludes on themes from Monteverdi and Bach (concerto), violin, cello, piano, large orchestra, 1992
- Three Songs of Madness and Death (text by John Webster), mixed chorus, 1955;
- Psalm 91, mixed chorus, 1963
- Variations on a theme by Neidhart von Reuental, piano, 1974
- Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark No. 2, piano, 1992
- Soundings, harpsichord or piano, 1965
- Short Prelude in Baroque Style, harpsichord or piano 1974
Discography
Richter's works have been recorded and issued on CD including:
- William George, Andrea Lodge, Dew-drops on a Lotus Leaf & Other Songs, Redshift
- London Philharmonic Orchestra, Blackberry Vines and Winter Fruit, Leonarda
- Seattle Symphony, Out of Shadows and Solitude, MMC-Master Musicians Collective
- Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Spectral Chimes/Enshrouded Hills and Quantum Quirks of a Quick Quaint Quark, MMC[6]
- Seattle Symphony, Out of Shadows and Solitude, MMC-Master Musicians Collective
- Journeys: Orchestral Works by American Women, Leonarda Productions, LE327, 1985. Features Richter's Lament for String Orchestra 1956, and also includes music of Nancy Van de Vate, Kay Gardner, Libby Larsen, Katherine Hoover, Ursula Mamlok, Jane Brockman. Performed by Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Arioso Chamber Orchestra, Carolann Martin conducting
References
- ^ "Biography". margarichter.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ISBN 9789057021459. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
- ^ "Marga Richter". composers21.com. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
- ^ Mirchandani, Sharon. Marga Richter. University of Illinois Press, 2012.
- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (July 10, 2020). "Marga Richter, Composer in a Male-Dominated Era, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ "Classical Composers". leonarda.com. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
External links
- Official website
- Marga Richter biography, University of Illinois Press
- Women of Influence in Contemporary Music – Nine American Women, Michael K. Slayton (ed.), Scarecrow Press 2010 ISBN 978-0-8108-7742-9
- "Marga Richter", Carl Fischer Music
- "Interview with Marga Richter", July 18, 1996