b. 1938
William Bolcom
William Bolcom is a composer of cabaret songs, concertos, sonatas, operas, symphonies, and much more. Named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America, and honored with multiple Grammy Awards for his ground-breaking setting of Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Bolcom was awarded the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his 12 New Etudes for Piano.
Photo: William Bolcom, www.bolcomandmorris.com
Audio
“Ailey, Baldwin, Floyd, Killens, and Mayfield” (from “Let Evening Come”)
Laura Strickling (soprano), Laura Pearson (viola) & Liza Stepanova (piano)4:14
“Briefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)3:51
“February: Thinking of Flowers” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)1:58
Gettysburg: July 1, 1863
Nathan Wyatt (baritone) & Lucas Wong (piano)6:46
“George” (from “Cabaret Songs”)
Siobahn Sung (mezzo-soprano) & Hyueeun Ham (piano)4:02
“He Tipped the Waiter” (from “Cabaret Songs”)
Mario Diaz-Moresco (baritone) & Lucas Wong (piano)2:48
“How To Swing Those Obbligatos Around” (from “I Will Breathe a Mountain”)
Kate Tombaugh (mezzo-soprano) & Bobby Pace (piano)2:16
“Let Evening Come” (from “Let Evening Come”)
Laura Strickling (soprano), Laura Pearson (viola) & Liza Stepanova (piano)6:25
“Man eating” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)1:32
“Otherwise” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)2:53
“Over the Piano” (from “Cabaret Songs”)
Loralee Songer (mezzo-soprano) & Hyanghyun Lee (piano)3:01
“Peonies at Dusk” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)2:21
“Sonetto 286” (from “Laura Sonnets”)
Lorant Najbauer (baritone) & Kwok-Wai Lui (piano)2:02
” ‘Tis Not That Dying Hurts Us So” (from “Let Evening Come”)
Laura Strickling (soprano), Laura Pearson (viola) & Liza Stepanova (piano)2:24
“The Bustle in a House” (from “I Will Breathe a Mountain”)
Laura Choi Stuart (soprano) & Javier Arrebola (piano)1:51
“The Clearing” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)4:05
“The Sick Wife” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)3:34
“Twilight: After Haying” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)3:43
Viola and Piano Duo (from “Let Evening Come”)
Laura Pearson (viola) & Liza Stepanova (piano)0:51
“Who” (from “Briefly It Enters”)
Rachel Schutz (soprano) & Tomasz Lis (piano)1:48
About
The eclecticism at the heart of American music takes a vital new twist in the work of contemporary composer William Bolcom, for whom non-specialization has become a raison d’être. A composer of songs, operas, and instrumental works; a pianist of distinction who frequently accompanies his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, in recital; an artist who has worked in a variety of idioms from classical to cabaret, Bolcom is a fresh voice on the American music scene.
Born in Seattle on May 26, 1938, Bolcom studied with Darius Milhaud at Mills College, with Leland Smith at Stanford University, and with both Milhaud and Olivier Messiaen in Paris. He settled in New York in the 1960’s, and immersed himself for a time in the ragtime of Scott Joplin and Eubie Blake, as well as pursuing a fascination for another Blake: the mystical English Romantic poet, William. This latter interest culminated in 1984 with Bolcom’s powerful cycle Songs of Innocence and of Experience, in which he set 46 Blake poems for solo voice and piano, orchestra, and chorus.
Bolcom’s music demonstrates his flair for the dramatic, his fondness for experimentation, and his knack for combining pre-existing styles with his own dissonant textures and jaunty vernacular idiom. His catalogue encompasses the 1988 Pulitzer Prize-winning 12 New Etudes for piano, ten string quartets, and five piano concerti. For the stage he has composed Dynamite Tonight (1963), Greatshot (1969), Theatre of the Absurd (1970), and A View from the Bridge (1998), plus the highly acclaimed McTeague, an opera based on Frank Norris’ novel, which had its premiere at Chicago’s Lyric Opera in 1992. Bolcom has also constructed many a delightful cabaret evening of his songs, among them the very winning Amor. He taught at the University of Michigan from 1973 to 1988.
–Thomas Hampson and Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold, PBS I Hear America Singing
Related Information
William Bolcom Website
williambolcom.comHampsong Foundation
hampsongfoundation.org/resource/songfest-2012-bolcom-projectSongs
A Walt Whitman Triptych1995William BolcomWalt WhitmanAfrica2002 · Old AddressesWilliam BolcomArnold WeinsteinAiley, Baldwin, Floyd, Killens, and Mayfield1994 · Let Evening ComeWilliam BolcomMaya AngelouAmor1978 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinAngels are the Highest Form of Virtue1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinAt the Last Lousy Moments of Love1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinBallad of the Landlord2002 · Old AddressesWilliam BolcomLangston HughesBlue1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinBriefly It Enters1996William BolcomJane KenyonBriefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonCabaret Songs, Vol. 11996William BolcomArnold WeinsteinCabaret Songs, Vol. 21996William BolcomArnold WeinsteinCabaret Songs, Vol. 31996William BolcomArnold WeinsteinCabaret Songs, Vol. 41996William BolcomArnold WeinsteinCan’t Sleep1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinCome Up From the Fields, Father1995 · A Walt Whitman TriptychWilliam BolcomWalt WhitmanFebruary: Thinking of Flowers1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonFirst Meditation1975 · Open HouseWilliam BolcomTheodore RoethkeFur (Murray the Furrier)1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinGeorge1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinGettysburg: July 1, 18632012William BolcomJane KenyonGive Way, Ye Gates1975 · Open HouseWilliam BolcomTheodore RoethkeHe Tipped the Waiter1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinHistrion2002 · Old AddressesWilliam BolcomEzra PoundHorse Song1979 · Three Donald Hall SongsWilliam BolcomDonald HallHow To Swing Those Obbligatos Around1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomAlice FultonI Knew a Woman1975 · Open HouseWilliam BolcomTheodore RoethkeI Saw Eternity1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomLouise BoganJust Once1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomAnne SextonLady Death2002 · Old AddressesWilliam BolcomA.D. WinansLady Luck1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinLet Evening Come1993William BolcomMaya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Jane KenyonI Will Breathe a Mountain1991William BolcomElizabeth Bishop, Louise Bogan, Gwendolyn Brooks, Edna St. Vincent Millay, H. D., Emily Dickinson, Alice Fulton, Denise Levertov, Marianne Moore, Anne Sexton, May SwensonLaura Sonnets2011William BolcomLet Evening Come1994 · Let Evening ComeWilliam BolcomJane KenyonLove in the Thirties1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinMan Eating1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonMinicabs2010William BolcomArnold WeinsteinMiracle Song1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinNever More Will The Wind1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomH. D.Night Practice1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomMay SwensonO Cheese1979 · Three Donald Hall SongsWilliam BolcomDonald HallO To Be a Dragon1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomMarianne MooreOh Close the Curtain1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinOld Addresses2002William BolcomMark Doty, Langston Hughes, Kenneth Koch, Ezra Pound, A.D. Winans, Arnold WeinsteinOpen House1975William BolcomTheodore RoethkeOpen House1975 · Open HouseWilliam BolcomTheodore RoethkeOtherwise1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonOver the Piano1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinPeonies at Dusk1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonPity Me Not Because the Light of Day1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomEdna St. Vincent MillayPlaces To Live1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinPoet Pal of Mine1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinRadical Sally1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinSatisfaction1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinScented Herbage of My Breast1995 · A Walt Whitman TriptychWilliam BolcomWalt WhitmanSong of Black Max (as told by the de Kooning boys)1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinSurprise!1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold Weinstein‘Tis Not That Dying Hurts Us So1994 · Let Evening ComeWilliam BolcomEmily DickinsonThe Actor1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinThe Bustle in a House1990 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomEmily DickinsonThe Clearing1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonThe Crazy Woman1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomGwendolyn BrooksThe Embrace2002 · Old AddressesWilliam BolcomMark DotyThe Fish1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomElizabeth BishopThe Junction, On a Warm Afternoon1990William BolcomHoward NemerovThe Right Thing1975 · Open HouseWilliam BolcomTheodore RoethkeThe Sage1991 · I Will Breathe a MountainWilliam BolcomDenise LevertovThe Serpent1975 · Open HouseWilliam BolcomTheodore RoethkeThe Sick Wife1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonThe Total Stranger in the Garden1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinThius, King of Orf1996 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinThree Donald Hall Songs1979William BolcomDonald HallTo My Old Addresses2002 · Old AddressesWilliam BolcomKenneth KochToothbrush Time1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinTwilight: After Haying1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonWaitin1985 · Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1William BolcomArnold WeinsteinThe Waking1975 · Open HouseWilliam BolcomTheodore RoethkeWheel of the Oxcart1979 · Three Donald Hall SongsWilliam BolcomDonald HallWho1996 · Briefly It EntersWilliam BolcomJane KenyonYears of the Modern1995 · A Walt Whitman TriptychWilliam BolcomWalt Whitman
Video
Records
2020
American Composers at Play
William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto
Sheet Music
I Will Breathe a Mountain
William Bolcom
1. Pity Me Not Because the Light of Day
2. How To Swing Those Obbligatos Around
3. The Crazy Woman
4. Just Once Text: Anne Sexton
5. Never More Will The Wind
6. The Sage Text: Denise Levertov
7. O To Be a Dragon
8. The Bustle in a House
9. I Saw Eternity
10. Night Practice
11. The Fish
2. How To Swing Those Obbligatos Around
3. The Crazy Woman
4. Just Once Text: Anne Sexton
5. Never More Will The Wind
6. The Sage Text: Denise Levertov
7. O To Be a Dragon
8. The Bustle in a House
9. I Saw Eternity
10. Night Practice
11. The Fish
Laura Sonnets
William Bolcom
I. Sonetto 5
II. Sonetto 90
III. Sonetto 267
IV. Sonetto 286
V. Sonetto 292
II. Sonetto 90
III. Sonetto 267
IV. Sonetto 286
V. Sonetto 292
Let Evening Come
William Bolcom
1. Ailey, Baldwin, Floyd, Killens, and Mayfield
2. 'Tis Not That Dying Hurts Us So
3. Let Evening Come
2. 'Tis Not That Dying Hurts Us So
3. Let Evening Come
Old Addresses
William Bolcom
1. Lady Death
2. Histrion
3. Ballad of the Landlord
4. The Embrace
5. Africa
6. To My Old Addresses
2. Histrion
3. Ballad of the Landlord
4. The Embrace
5. Africa
6. To My Old Addresses
Open House
William Bolcom
1. Open House
2. Give Way, Ye Gates
3. The Waking
4. The Serpent
5. I Knew a Woman
6. First Meditation
7. The Right Thing
2. Give Way, Ye Gates
3. The Waking
4. The Serpent
5. I Knew a Woman
6. First Meditation
7. The Right Thing