Jacob Druckman

Jacob Druckman (June 26, 1928 – May 24, 1996) was an American composer born in Philadelphia. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood and later continued his studies at the École Normale de Musique in Paris (1954-55). He worked extensively with electronic music, in addition to a number of works for orchestra or for small ensembles. In 1972 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his first large orchestral work Windows. He was composer-in-residence of the New York Philharmonic from 1982-1985. Druckman taught at Juilliard, The Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood, Brooklyn College, Bard College, and Yale University, among other appointments. He is Connecticut's state Composer laureate.^[1]

He is the father of percussionist Daniel Druckman. Druckman died of lung cancer at age 67. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Notable musicians who have recorded his works include David Zinman, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Dawn Upshaw, Jan DeGaetani, and the American Brass Quintet.

Notable students

• Daniel Asia
• Mark Birnbaum
• Robert Beaser
• Sidney Corbett
• Conrad Cummings
• Michael Daugherty
• Anthony Gatto
• Melissa Hui
• Daniel Kellogg
• Aaron Jay Kernis
• Douglas Knehans
• Graeme Koehne
• David Lang
• Peter Scott Lewis
• Scott Lindroth
• Jing Jing Luo
• Cindy McTee
• Marc Mellits
• Kevin Puts
• Arlene Sierra
• Sheila Silver
• Laurie Spiegel
• Jan Swafford^[2]
• Christopher Theofanidis
• Augusta Read Thomas
• Joseph Waters
• Amnon Wolman
• Donald Fagen

Major works

• Windows, for orchestra
• Brangle, for orchestra
• Aureole, for orchestra
• String Quartet no. 3
• Lamia, (1975) for soprano and orchestra. Based on the poem by John Keats
• Prism, (1980) for orchestra
• The Seven Deadly Sins, for piano
• Animus I, (1966-67) for trombone and electronic tape
• Animus III, (1968) for clarinet and electronic tape
• Antiphonies, for two choruses. Setting of poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins
• Dark Upon the Harp, for mezzo soprano, brass, and percussion. Psalms
• Vox Humana, (1983) Chorus Orchestra
• Counterpoise, (1994) Soprano Orchestra
• Synapse, (1971) for tape
• Valentine, (1969) for solo double bass
• Reflections on the Nature of Water, for solo marimba

References

1. ^ STATE OF CONNECTICUT, Sites º Seals º Symbols; Connecticut State Register & Manual; retrieved on January 4, 2007
2. ^ “The Scott Chamber Players”, playing works by Jan Swafford and Glen Gass.

External links

• The Jacob Druckman Papers, the composer's personal papers and manuscripts, are housed in the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
• Art of the States: Jacob Druckman
• Biography at Boosey and Hawkes Publisher
• Jacob Druckman at the Avant Garde Project has FLAC files made from high-quality LP transcriptions of out-of-print vocal, instrumental, and electroacoustic works by Druckman available for free download.