Frederic Rzewski

Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( born April 13, 1938 in Westfield, Massachusetts) is an American composer and pianist.

Life and work

He studied at Harvard and at Princeton University with teachers such as Virgil Thomson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Milton Babbitt. In 1960 he went to Italy, a journey that was decisive for his musical style. There he studied with Luigi Dallapiccola in 1960 and began a career as a pianist of contemporary music. A few years later he teamed up with Alvin Curran and Richard Teitelbaum Musica Elettronica Viva the group. Characteristic of their music was improvisational elements and the use of live - electronic instruments. In 1971 Rzewski returned to New York. In 1977 he was appointed professor of composition at the Conservatory in Liège, where he worked until his retirement in 2003. He taught in addition also at other universities (eg Yale University, Mills College, California Institute of the Arts, University of California, University of the Arts Berlin and The Hague ).

Many works by Rzewski have a political reference, they also often contain improvisational elements. Coming Together is based on the letter of the occupant Sam Melville (written on May 16, 1970 " to a dear brother " ) from the Attica Correctional Facility at the time of the local prison riots in 1971 and contains impressive improvisational passages ( among others with Karl Berger and Garrett List). The piano work The People United Will Never Be Defeated in 1975 consists of 36 variations on the fight song El pueblo unido jamás será vencido by Sergio Ortega. In the 1980s Rzewski returned to traditional scores and one based on serial techniques of composition.

He is also known as an interpreter of contemporary music ( among other things with Steve Lacy and Irene Aebi ).