Corcoran, Frank

Corcoran, Frank , Irish composer and teacher; b. Tipperary, May 1, 1944. He began his training in Dublin, and then studied in Rome (1964–67). After further studies in Dublin (1967–69), he completed his training with Boris Blacher in Berlin (1969–71). From 1971 to 1979 he was a music inspector for the Irish Dept. of Education. He was made a member of Aosdana, Ireland’s state-sponsored academy of creative artists. After receiving a composition fellowship in Berlin, he settled in Germany and taught in Berlin (1981) and Stuttgart (1982). In 1983 he became a prof. of composition and theory at the Hamburg Hochschule für Musik. In 1989–90 he was a guest lecturer in the U.S.

Works

DRAMATIC Opera : Gilgamesh (1990).ORCH.: Sonata for Strings (1971); 3 Pieces: Pictures from My Exhibition (1974; rev. 1976); Chamber Sym. No. 1 (1976); Caoine (1978); 4 numbered syms. (Symphonies of Wind Instruments, 1980–81; 1982–87; 1994; 1996); Concerto for Strings (1982); Farewell Symphonies for Speaker, Tape, and Orch. (1982); Shadows of Gilgamesh (1988); Cantus de Calamitate Hiberniorum in Patria Antiqua (1991); Mikrokosmoi: Scenes from My Receding Past for Chamber String Orch. (1994). CHAMBER: Chamber Sonata for Oboe, String Trio, and Percussion (1975); 2 string quartets(1976, 1978); Piano Trio (1978); 3 wind quintets (1978, 1978,1999); Music from the Book ofKells for Piano and 5 Percussionists(1990); Four Concertini of Ice for Octet (1993); Rhapsodic Thinking for 4 Violins (1994); Trauerfelder for 4 Percussionists (1995); Ice Etchings No. 1 for 9 Instruments (1996) and No. 2 for Cello (1996); Mad Sweeney for Speaker and Chamber Ensemble (1996). TAPE: Balthazar’s Dream (1980); Sweeney’s Vision (1997); Sweeney’s Last Poem (1998); Quasi una Missa (1999). OTHER: Piano pieces; Organ Sonata (1973); several choral pieces.

—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire