Robert Morris at 70

Abstract

PERSPECTIVES ON AND AROUND ROBERT MORRIS AT 70 ROBERT MORRIS AT 70 EADERS AND CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS JOURNAL know Robert Morris in various ways—as composer and theorist, author and editor, teacher and administrator, colleague and friend. Over the last 50 years Morris has composed over 200 pieces, spanning a wide variety of genres: works scored for orchestra, wind ensemble, myriad chamber groups, voice, and much for the piano; there are mixed-media compositions, computer and electronic pieces, improvisations (with or without real-time processing), and six “outdoor pieces.” Many are multi-movement works and some are over an hour in duration. Some are approachable, brief, and directly comprehensible; others are big and complex, “tough” music. Represented among his compositions are at least half a dozen fundamentally different ways of composing— some of his own discovery or invention. In addition, Morris is a skilled, prolific, and wide-ranging writer. His landmark in compositionally-oriented music theory, Composition with Pitch Classes, was awarded the first of his two Outstanding Publication Awards from the Society for Music Theory. His second and third R Robert Morris at 70 15 books are manuals in support of teaching atonal music theory. Broader in scope, his most recent book, The Whistling Blackbird, delves into issues of poetics, aesthetics, temporality, and pragmatics of composition . Among much new material, it reprints seven of the 60 or so articles he has published on topics including analysis, twelve-tone theory, voice-leading, pitch-class set structure, post-tonal canon, and theory of Carnatic music. Teaching and administration have been essential aspects of Morris’s work. Leading music theorists, composers, and performers (some contributing to this volume) are among his former students. He chaired the Composition departments at Yale and at the Eastman School of Music (where he has taught since 1980) and has directed the electronic music studios at Yale and the University of Pittsburgh. He is co-editor of this journal. He feeds his creative imagination through extensive travel in the United States and abroad, visiting friends and colleagues, speaking at various venues, studying Buddhist philosophy, taking hundreds of wonderful photographs, and hiking in the mountains and at the coast. Bob’s 70th year brought, as ever, half a dozen beautiful new pieces and essays. We who learn from him have to scramble just to keep up. Each of us with the good luck to know Bob has a distinctive sense of him, because he responds to his students, friends, and colleagues on their own terms. His impulse is to answer their questions and, generally, to support and inspire all of us in our own creative work. “Fundamentally,” as he has said to us, “I just like talking about and listening to music with others.” When we suggested this “Bobfest” to Perspectives of New Music, the idea was to celebrate the multifaceted person we knew. As it turns out, our conceptions of many aspects of Morris’s work have been considerably enlarged by the breadth and depth of the essays, musical compositions, and performances in this volume. We are pleased to offer it as a tribute to his achievements. Benjamin Boretz Dora Hanninen Joshua Mailman Wayne Slawson 16 Perspectives of New Music ACKNOWLEDGMENT All score excerpts, unless otherwise indicated, are included by kind permission of Robert Morris. Perspectives of New Music and the Authors extend their thanks for this use of his work. ...