Druckman, Jacob (Raphael)

Druckman, Jacob (Raphael), outstanding American composer and teacher; b. Philadelphia, June 26, 1928; d. New Haven, Conn., May 24, 1996. He received lessons in theory, composition, and violin from Gessensway (1938–40) and in solfege and score reading from Longy (1945). During the summers of 1949 and 1950, Druckman attended the composition course of Aaron Copland at the Berkshire Music Center at Tangle-wood. He pursued his studies with Persichetti, Mennin, and Wagenaar at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (B.S., 1954; M.S., 1956), and with Aubin at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris on a Fulbright fellowship (1954–55). Later he did research in electronic music at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center (1965–66) and at the ORTF in Paris (1968). From 1957 to 1972 he taught at the Juilliard School of Music. He also taught at Bard Coll. (1961–67) and was an assoc. director of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center (1967). In 1971–72 he was director of the electronic music studio at the Yale Univ. School of Music. After serving as assoc. prof. of composition at Brooklyn Coll. of the City Univ. of N.Y. (1972–76), he was chairman of the music dept. of the Yale Univ. School of Music (from 1976), where he again was director of the electronic music studio (from 1976). He was president of the Koussevitzky Music Foundation from 1981. In 1982 he was in residence at the American Academy in Rome. From 1982 to 1986 he was composer-in-residence of the N.Y. Phil. He was president of the Aaron Copland Music Fund for Music from 1991. He was appointed the Charles Ives Memorial Composer Laureate of the State of Conn, in 1993. In 1957 and 1968 he held Guggenheim fellowships. In 1972 he won the Pulitzer Prize hi Music for his Windows for Orch. He received the Brandeis Univ. Creative Arts Award in 1975. In 1978 he was elected to membership in the Inst. of the American Academy and Inst. of Arts and Letters. In his distinguished body of works, Druckman demonstrated an assured handling of various contemporary means of expression, ranging from 12-tone procedures and electronics to traditional and new Romantic elements. His mastery of orchestration was particularly notable.

Works

DRAMATIC Spell, ballet (1951); Interlude, ballet (1953); Suite, ballet (1953); Performance, ballet (1960); Measure for Measure, incidental music to Shakespeare’s play (1964); Look Park, film score (1970); Traite du rossignol, film score (1970). ORCH.: Music for the Dance (1949); Concerto for Strings (1951); Volpone Overture (1953); Concerto for Violin and Small Orch. (1956); Odds and Evens: A Game for Children’s Orch. (1966); Windows (Chicago, March 16, 1972); Incenters for Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, and Orch. (Minneapolis, Nov. 23, 1973; also for Chamber Ensemble, 1968); Mirage (St. Louis, March 4, 1976); Chiaroscuro (1976; Cleveland, March 14, 1977); Viola Concerto (N.Y, Nov. 2,1978); Aureole (N.Y, June 6, 1979); Prism (Baltimore, May 21, 1980); A Birthday Bouquet (N.Y, April 26, 1986); Athanor (N.Y, May 8, 1986); Paean (1986; Houston, Jan. 3, 1987); In Memoriam Vincent Persichetti (N.Y., Dec. 6, 1987); Variation on Bernstein’s “New York, New York” (Tanglewood, Aug. 28,1988); Brangle (Chicago, March 28, 1989); Nor Spell Nor Charm for Chamber Orch. (Los Angeles, March 2, 1990); Shog (Paris, Feb. 21, 1991); Summer Lightning (Tanglewood, July 19, 1991); Seraphic Games (Costa Mesa, Calif., April 25, 1992); Demos (Brussels, Dec. 31, 1992); With Bells On, fanfare for Symphonic Winds and Percussion (Los Angeles, March 31, 1994); Piano Concerto (New Haven, Oct. 17, 1996). CHAMBER : 3 string quartets: No. 1 (1948), No. 2 (N.Y, Dec. 13, 1966), and No. 3 (Milwaukee, Nov. 17, 1981); Duo for Violin and Piano (1949; Tanglewood, Aug. 1950); Divertimento for Clarinet, Horn, Harp, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1950; N.Y, March 1953); Animus I for Trombone and Tape (Annandale-on- Hudson, N.Y, May 23, 1966) and III for Clarinet and Tape (Paris, Oct. 23, 1969); Incenters for Chamber Ensemble (New Brunswick, N.J., May 7, 1968; also for Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, and Orch., 1973); Valentine for Double Bass (N.Y, Nov. 19,1969); Orison for Organ and Tape (1969; N.Y., Jan. 19, 1970); Delizie contente che I’alme beate for Wind Quintet and Tape (N.Y, Dec. 13, 1973); Other Voices for Brass Quintet (Aspen, Colo., July 20, 1976); Tromba Marina for 4 Double Basses (N.Y, Dec. 29, 1981); Reflections on the Nature of War for Marimba (Washington, D.C., Nov. 7,1986); Dance With Shadows for Brass Quintet (1989); Come Round for Chamber Ensemble (Santa Fe, N.Mex., Aug. 16, 1992); Duo for Violin and Cello (Charonne, France, June 17, 1994); Glint for

Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (N.Y, Oct. 17,1995). VOCAL ilaude for Baritone, Flute, Viola, and Cello (1952); The Simple Gifts for Chorus and Piano (1954); 4 Madrigals for Chorus (1958; N.Y., March 6, 1959); Dark Upon the Harp for Mezzo-soprano, Brass Quintet, and Percussion (1962); Antiphonies I, II, and III for 2 Choruses (1963; / and II, N.Y., Feb. 28, 1964; III, Tanglewood, July 30, 1976); The Sound of Time for Soprano and Piano (N.Y, Dec. 3,1964; also for Soprano and Orch., Provincetown, Mass., July 25, 1965); Dance of the Maidens for Chorus, Organ, and Percussion (1965); Hymnus referamus for Chorus, Organ, and Percussion (1965); Psalm 89 for Chorus, Organ, and Percussion (1965); Shir Shel Yakov: Sabbath Eve Service for Tenor, Chorus, and Organ (N.Y, April 21, 1967); Animus II for Soprano, 2 Percussionists, and Tape (1968; Paris, Feb. 2, 1970) and IV for Tenor, Instrumental Ensemble, and Tape (Paris, Sept. 29, 1977); Lamia for Soprano and Orch. (Albany, N.Y, April 20, 1974; rev. version, N.Y, Oct. 17, 1975; also for Soprano and Small Orch., St. Paul, Minn., Nov. 7, 1986); Bo for 3 Women’s Voices, Marimba, Harp, and Bass Clarinet (N.Y, March 3, 1979); Vox Humana for Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Tenor, Bass, Chorus, and Orch. (1982–83; Washington, D.C., Oct. 25, 1983); Nor Spell for Mezzo-soprano and English Horn (Aspen, Colo., July 19, 1990); Counterpoise for Soprano and Orch. (Philadelphia, April 28, 1994).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire