Charles Fussell
Charles Clement Fussell (born February 14, 1938, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina)[1] is an American composer and conductor of contemporary classical music. He has composed six symphonies and three operas.[2] His symphony Wilde for solo baritone and orchestra, based on the life of Oscar Wilde and premiered by the Newton Symphony Orchestra and the baritone Sanford Sylvan in 1990, was a finalist for the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Music.[3][4] He received a citation and award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1992.[2][5][6]
Fussell received advanced degrees in composition and conducting from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Thomas Canning and Bernard Rogers. He received a Fulbright grant to study at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, where he worked with Boris Blacher. He also attended the Bayreuth masterclasses of Friedelind Wagner.[2][6] In 1964 he received a Ford Foundation grant to be a composer-in-residence in the Newton, Massachusetts public school system.[7] He was an assistant and close friend of the composer Virgil Thomson.[8] He served as the president of the Thomson Foundation for many years.[6]
Fussell has served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the North Carolina School of the Arts (1976–1977), Boston University (1983–2003), and Rutgers University.[1]
Catalogue of works
Late 1950s
- Essay for Orchestra
- Variations for Orchestra
- Six Dances for Orchestra
1962
- Caligula, opera based on a play by Albert Camus
- Trio, for violin, cello, and piano
1963
- Dance Suite, for flute, trumpet, viola, and two percussionists
- Symphony in One Movement [No. I], for large orchestra
1964
- Sweelinck Liedvariationen Mein Junges Leben, for solo string trio, marimba, mandolin, harp, and small orchestra
- Saint Stephen and Herod, drama for speaker, chorus, and winds
1965
- Poems for Chamber Orchestra and Voices after Hart Crane, text by Hart Crane
- Three Choral Pieces (rev. 1975), for chorus and piano
- I. Fancy's Knell (SA and piano)
- II. Three Epitaphs (TB and piano)
- III. I Saw a Peacock (mixed chorus and piano)
1967
- Symphony No. II, for soprano and large orchestra
1968
- Two Ballades (rev. 1976), for cello and piano
- The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation, realization after Henry Purcell for soprano and ten instruments
1970
- Voyages, for soprano and tenor soloists, female chorus, piano, and solo wind instrument plus recorded speaker. Text by Hart Crane.
1971
- Julian, drama in five scenes after the tale of Gustave Flaubert
1973
- Three Processionals for Orchestra
1975
- Eurydice, for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, with obligato trumpet, horn, trombone, and bass-drum
1976
- Résumé, cycle of nine songs for soprano, clarinet, string bass, and piano. Text by Dorothy Parker.
- Greenwood Sketches, Music for String Quartet
- A Prophecy, for chorus and piano. Text by Allen Ginsberg.
1977
- Etudes and Portraits, for solo organ
1979
- Northern Lights, two portraits for chamber orchestra
- I. Leós Janacek, for two flutes, four solo violins, timpani, and strings
- II. Edvard Munch, for two flutes, string quartet, timpani, and string orchestra
- A Joyful Fugue, transcription for band of an orchestral score by Virgil Thomson
1981
- Landscapes, Symphony No. III, for chorus and large orchestra
- I. A Prophecy (Allen Ginsberg)
- II. A Night Battle (Walt Whitman)
- III. Moment Fugue 1929 (Hart Crane)
- IV. Landscape (Alberta Phillips)
- Four Fairy Tales After Oscar Wilde, for orchestra
- I. The Young King
- II. The Nightingale and the Rose
- III. The Happy Prince
- A. Prelude
- B. Romance of the Sparrow and Reed
- C. Coda
- IV. The Remarkable Rocket
1982
- Overture to Paul Bunyan, transcription for band of an orchestral score by Benjamin Britten
1983
- Song of Return, for SATB chorus with piano. Text by W. H. Auden.
1985
- Cymbeline, drama after Shakespeare for soprano and tenor soli, narrator, plus chamber ensemble (11 players)
1986
- The Gift, for SATB chorus with soprano solo. Text by William Carlos Williams.
- Three Portraits for Chamber Orchestra
- I. Virgil Thomson (1981)
- Version for solo piano composed in 2015
- II. Maurice Grosser (1983)
- III. Jack Larson (1986)
- I. Virgil Thomson (1981)
1988
- Free-fall, for chamber ensemble (seven players)
1989
- A Song of Return, cantata for small chorus and orchestra. Text by W. H. Auden.
- The Gift, for chorus, soprano solo, and orchestra
1990
- Wilde [Symphony No. IV], for baritone and orchestra. Runner-up for the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
1991
- Goethe Lieder, cycle of five songs with an epilogue
- 1. Soprano or tenor and piano
- 2. Version for seven players
- 3. Version for orchestra
- Last Trombones, for five percussionists, two pianos, and six (or twelve) trombones
1992
- Specimen Days, cantata for baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra. Text by Will Graham, based on the life and writings of Walt Whitman.
1993
- Being Music, for baritone solo and string quartet. Text by Walt Whitman.
- Song and Dance, for violin and piano
- Invocation, for chorus (SA and accompaniment or SATB). Text by May Sarton.
1994
- Sonata-Duo, for flute and piano
1995
- Symphony No. V, for orchestra
- Night Song, for solo piano
1996
- Comrade and The Journey, two songs for baritone and piano
1997
- The Astronaut's Tale, chamber opera. Text by Jack Larson.
- Mists, three pieces for a cappella chorus. Texts by Hart Crane.
1998
- November Leaves, four songs for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. Texts by Alfred Corn.
- Sonnet, for baritone solo, flute, and organ. Text by Elizabeth Bishop.
- Trio, for violin, cello, and piano
1999
- From A Pioneer Songbook, for a cappella chorus
2000
- A Walt Whitman Sampler, for TTBB chorus and piano. Text by Will Graham.
- Venture, four songs for baritone and piano on poems by Toni Mergentime Levi
- Version for baritone and orchestra was composed in 2016
2002
- Right River, Variations on an Original Theme for 'cello and string orchestra
2003
- Infinite Fraternity, for SATB chorus, baritone solo, flute, and viola. Texts by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Will Graham.
- High Bridge (rev. 2008), A Choral Symphony [No. VI] after poems of Hart Crane, for soprano, alto, tenor, baritone solos, chorus and orchestra
2008
- Moonshine, for double bass and vibraphone
2011
- Marion in Memory, for flute, clarinet, horn, violin, cello, piano, and marimba
2018
- K.G. in Space and Time, for flute, clarinet, horn, marimba (and vibraphone), piano (and celesta), violin, and cello
References
- ^ a b Zullinger, Nathan. “A Guide to the Choral Music of Charles Fussell.” DMA diss., Boston University, 2012.
- ^ a b c Fussell, Charles. Charles Fussell: Wilde. Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Gil Rose. BMOP/sound 1005, 2008, compact disc. Liner notes.
- ^ Dyer, Richard (October 2, 2004). "Modern Orchestra is in fine voice". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- ^ Valdes, Lesley (May 18, 1992). "Whitman's 'Days' Given Spin As Cantata "We Wanted This To Be A Portrait Of The Whole Man," Says Composer Charles Fussell". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- ^ Fussell, Charles. Charles Fussell: Specimen Days; Being Music. Sanford Sylvan; Cantata Singers. David Hoose. Koch International Classics 3-7338-2H1, 1997, compact disc. Liner notes.
- ^ a b c Fussell, Charles. Charles Fussell: Cymbeline. Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Gil Rose. BMOP/sound 1059, 2018, compact disc. Liner notes.
- ^ "$5,000 Ford Grants For 10 Composers". The New York Times. March 6, 1964. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
- ^ "Rustic Streams Hiding Complicated Traditions". The New York Times. January 14, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- v
- t
- e
- Bright Sheng ('91): Four Movements for Piano
- Charles Fussell ('91): Wilde
- Ralph Shapey ('92): Concerto Fantastique
- Leon Kirchner ('93): Music for Cello and Orchestra
- Joan Tower ('93): Violin Concerto
- Aaron Jay Kernis ('94): Still Movement with Hymn
- Charles Wuorinen ('94): Microsymphony
- Donald Erb ('95): Evensong
- Andrew Imbrie ('95): Adam
- Peter Lieberson ('96): Variations for Violin and Piano
- Elliott Carter ('96): Adagio tenebroso
- John Musto ('97): Dove Sta Amore
- Stanisław Skrowaczewski ('97): Passacaglia Immaginaria
- John Adams ('98): Century Rolls
- Yehudi Wyner ('98): Horntrio
- David Rakowski ('99): Persistent Memory
- Stanisław Skrowaczewski ('99): Concerto for Orchestra
- Donald Martino ('00): Serenata Concertante
- John Zorn ('00): contes de fees
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Pulitzer_Prizes_%28medal%29.png/60px-Pulitzer_Prizes_%28medal%29.png)
- (Winners)
- (Citations)
- (Finalists: '80s
- '90s
- '00s
- '10s)