Michael Colgrass

Ulla Colgrass talks about her husband, Michael, in Toronto.

Michael Colgrass had a remarkable life lasting 87 years, from 22 April 1932 to 2 July 2019.

His health had been failing gradually in recent years, but as his friends know, he enjoyed life until the end. They went with him to concerts, came to play music in his home, and brought food and laughter. Michael did not want any ceremonies after he was gone, but he always loved a party. So his wife Ulla and son Neal arranged a festive celebration on November 10 in Walter Hall at the University of Toronto. People poured in from Canada, Europe and all over the U.S. to play music and talk about how Michael had influenced their lives as composer, educator, therapist and friend. Michael’s family came from many parts of the States. More than 25 people took to the stage and over several hours played some of Michael’s favourite music, from jazz to Bach and new music. See presentations by Ulla, violist Rivka Golani, pianist Joanne Kong, and others.

Three major orchestral works by Michael were issued shortly before he died as a CD from Boston Modern Orchestra Project with the title work “Side by Side” with soloist Joanne Kong, as well as “The Schubert Birds” and “Letter from Mozart.” A rather complete listing of his works can be found here at his website.

Some years ago I wrote a chamber-ensemble arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for my wife’s birthday—and conducted a small, surprise performance of the piece for her in our living room.

Now Equilibrium Records has released a terrific performance on CD by the University of Central Oklahoma Faculty Chamber Collegium, conducted by Brian Lamb.

At MusicalToronto.org, John Terauds lists the CD as one the “Best of 2013″. From his original review:

“What if someone forgot to let the world know that they have just released one of the year’s finest classical albums? That’s the case with an absolutely brilliant recording of an absolutely brilliant arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations by Toronto composer Michael Colgrass.

“…His first masterstroke is in small, unlikely pairings of instruments: say marimba and clarinet, or flute and trombone, or cello and French horn — just enough for colour and texture yet entirely devoted to putting the focus on each musical line.

“Colgrass’s second masterstroke is in the musical analysis he did before beginning this arrangement. A keyboard player — especially when she or he has all the colours of a modern piano at hand — needs to spend hundreds of hours figuring out which voices to highlight in every one of the variations.

“The listener has to be convinced that there is no other way that this music could sound right — even if the interpreter (or, in this case, the arranger) knows that there are, in fact, thousands of other little options and permutations. Like Jeremy Denk’s magnificent new recording for piano, these Goldbergs wear a smiling heart on their impeccably tailored sleeve.”

Click for the full review. And find the CD at Equilibrium.

The excellent Chiaroscuro Trio has made a marvellous recording of my “New People” song cycle, along with four other pieces for mezzosoprano, viola and piano by contemporary composers. Elizabeth Petillot is the first-rate soloist. Aurelien Petillot and Yuko Kato support her with great viola and piano playing. I’m proud of this fine recording and recommend it as representative of these songs.

I’ll be giving performance & creativity workshops for students at the University of Central Oklahoma on March 5, 6 and 7. Their outstanding student and faculty performance groups will be playing a wide variety of my pieces, from chamber to wind ensemble. Read about my “Key to Creativity: Think Like a Kid” workshop here or concerts here (scroll down to March). See the poster below.

I have a couple of new CD collections out this summer — one of my 1950s percussion music, the other of wind ensemble pieces like Arctic Dreams and younger-band works like Bali and Beethoven’s Machine.

Patrick Roulet did a terrific job of assembling my percussion pieces on Michael Colgrass: Percussion Music, 1951-1957 for Equilibrium. He even included excerpts of me talking about music and my life as a composer. Bravo, Patrick!

The wind music CD — Composer’s Collection: Michael Colgrass on the GIA label — is available for download.

Here are a few excerpts from Brian Buerkle’s review in the American Record Guide:

On Arctic Dreams:

The work is in seven programmatic movements and uses some interesting colors and new sounds. Unique combinations of instruments and voices depict the icy environment, even animal calls. … I found a short video excerpt on the Internet from a new documentary, called Michael Colgrass: Musical Maverick, where he discusses the time he spent in the Arctic and how it inspired him to write Arctic Dreams. He has a unique voice in wind repertoire, and this piece is certainly an adventure.

On Bali:

One of his most challenging works for young band is his 2005 composition, Bali, inspired by an extended stay in Ubud, a town in south central Bali. It’s a creative and playful work that is full of the joy of its people. … All of these works [for younger bands] are performed with conviction by the North Texas Wind Symphony.

On Winds of Nagual:

[Colgrass] drew his inspiration from tales by Carlos Castaneda about a Yaqui Indian sorcerer from Mexico. The programmatic work is in seven movements that play along like a film score. The Cincinnati Wind Symphony performance is flawless and exciting.

On Raag Mala:

Colgrass uses the instruments in interesting combinations to mimic the sound of Indian culture and music. He rarely scores for the full band at once, instead writing a series of significant solo passages for clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, trombone, and flute that are often accompanied by a drone-like pipe organ. The Georgia ensemble plays very well. … The sound quality is fantastic in this excellent set.

You can read the whole review here. And if you aren’t already reading the American Record Guide, I highly recommend getting a subscription.

Join me and conductor Glen Adsit this summer for “The Colgrass Experience: Music Making, Creating, Conducting and Self-Discovery”!

It’s a week-long workshop at The Hartt School, where Glen and I show music educators how to teach their students to compose, conduct and perform music using only graphic notation. I also throw in NLP techniques, including language skills and walk-ons!

The dates: July 23-July 27, 2012. The place: The Hartt School, University of Hartford, in Hartford, Connecticut. Sign up here.

And here’s a video directed and edited by my son Neal about the workshop:

(Direct link here)

Flute player Marina Piccinini performed my “Wild Riot of the Shaman’s Dream” in Boston on Sunday, inspiring these words from Jeremy Eichler in the Boston Globe:

Piccinini’s remarkable solo turn came via Michael Colgrass’s “Wild Riot of the Shaman’s Dream,’’ a long flood of expressionistic gestures calling for the flute (as Colgrass puts it) to “pant, growl, cry, and mutter.’’ I might add gasp, purr, and scream. Piccinini’s account was a tour de force of modern flute playing.

Piccinini shared the stage with violist Kim Kashkashian and harpist Sivan Magen in what Eichler called “a transfixing recital.” This fine trio also played music by Rameau (“Pièces de clavecin en concert’’), Gubaidulina (“The Garden of Joy and Sorrow’’) and Debussy (his late L.137 sonata).

Eichler says “the night as a whole had the charm and resonance of one of those Kurtag miniatures: a small vessel with a secret cargo.” See his entire review here.