Harold Farberman
Encyclopedia
Harold Farberman is an American
conductor
, composer
, and percussionist
.
with Aaron Copland
. In 1951, he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra
as the youngest player ever to become a full-time member of the orchestra.
Farberman's conducting positions include principal guest conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra
in 1963, and music director and conductor of the Colorado Springs Orchestra from 1967–1970, and the Oakland Symphony Orchestra (later reorganized as the Oakland East Bay Symphony
) from 1971 to 1979, where he gave a rare concert performance of Scott Joplin
's folk opera Treemonisha
. He has championed the work of Charles Ives
, having recorded more of his works than any other conductor including all four of his symphonies. He has also recorded the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler
and Michael Haydn
with the London Symphony Orchestra
and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta
, respectively.
Farberman founded the Conductors Guild
in 1976, and is founder and director of the Conductor's Institute, a summer conducting program initiated at the Hartt School
, and now located at Bard College
. Marin Alsop
, a graduate of this program, is one of his most notable students. Farberman is also the author of The Art of Conducting Technique.
Farberman's compositions include three operas; many works for orchestra and chamber ensembles; the film score to the Academy Award–winning documentary, The Great American Cowboy
; and music for dance companies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and percussionist
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
.
Biography
Farberman studied percussion at Juilliard and composition at the New England Conservatory and at TanglewoodTanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
with Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
. In 1951, he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
as the youngest player ever to become a full-time member of the orchestra.
Farberman's conducting positions include principal guest conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra
Denver Symphony Orchestra
The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in Denver, Colorado. Until 1978, when the Boettcher Concert Hall was built to house the symphony orchestra, it performed in a succession of theaters, amphitheaters and auditoriums...
in 1963, and music director and conductor of the Colorado Springs Orchestra from 1967–1970, and the Oakland Symphony Orchestra (later reorganized as the Oakland East Bay Symphony
Oakland East Bay Symphony
The Oakland East Bay Symphony is a leading orchestra based in Oakland, California. The current music director and conductor is Michael Morgan, who has held the position since September 1990. The Paramount Theatre has been the home of the Symphony since the 1995. Bryan Nies has been Assistant...
) from 1971 to 1979, where he gave a rare concert performance of Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
's folk opera Treemonisha
Treemonisha
Treemonisha is an opera composed by the famed African-American ragtime composer Scott Joplin. Though it encompasses a wide range of musical styles other than ragtime, and Joplin did not refer to it as such, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "ragtime opera"...
. He has championed the work of Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, having recorded more of his works than any other conductor including all four of his symphonies. He has also recorded the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
and Michael Haydn
Michael Haydn
Johann Michael Haydn was an Austrian composer of the classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn.-Life:...
with the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Bournemouth Sinfonietta
The Bournemouth Sinfonietta was a chamber orchestra founded in 1968 as an off-shoot of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.-Formation:The orchestra was initially conducted by George Hurst, who acted as artistic adviser, and Nicholas Braithwaite, in order to perform the classical repertoire in the...
, respectively.
Farberman founded the Conductors Guild
Conductors Guild
The Conductors Guild is an non-union organization intended for professional conductors based in the USA. The Guild offers services to enhance the training and development of conductors and promises to represent the views of conductors to the larger community of music professionals.The Conductors...
in 1976, and is founder and director of the Conductor's Institute, a summer conducting program initiated at the Hartt School
Hartt School
The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre...
, and now located at Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
. Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
, a graduate of this program, is one of his most notable students. Farberman is also the author of The Art of Conducting Technique.
Farberman's compositions include three operas; many works for orchestra and chamber ensembles; the film score to the Academy Award–winning documentary, The Great American Cowboy
The Great American Cowboy
The Great American Cowboy is a 1973 documentary film by Kieth Merrill. The film, which won the 1973 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, is about the battle between two rodeo stars for the world championship: veteran Larry Mahan and newcomer Phil Lyne.-External links:* at the Internet Movie...
; and music for dance companies.
Orchestras conducted by Farberman
Listed alphabetically- BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
- Bournemouth SinfoniettaBournemouth SinfoniettaThe Bournemouth Sinfonietta was a chamber orchestra founded in 1968 as an off-shoot of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.-Formation:The orchestra was initially conducted by George Hurst, who acted as artistic adviser, and Nicholas Braithwaite, in order to perform the classical repertoire in the...
- Danish Radio Orchestra
- English Chamber OrchestraEnglish Chamber OrchestraThe English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
- Hessischer RundfunkHessischer RundfunkHessischer Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the German state of Hesse. The main offices of HR are in Frankfurt am Main. HR is a member of the ARD.- Studios :...
- Hong Kong Philharmonic
- KBS Symphony OrchestraKBS Symphony OrchestraThe KBS Symphony Orchestra is one of the most famous symphony orchestras in South Korea. It was founded in 1956 as the radio orchestra of the Korean Broadcasting System ....
- London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
- Melbourne Symphony OrchestraMelbourne Symphony OrchestraThe Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
- Mozarteum Orchestra
- PhilharmoniaPhilharmoniaThe Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
- Radio Audizioni Italiane Orchestra
- Royal Philharmonic
- Seoul Philharmonic
- Swedish Radio Orchestra
- Stockholm Philharmonic
- Sydney Symphony
Selected compositions
- Variations for Percussion With Piano (1954) - composed for the New York Percussion TrioNew York Percussion TrioThe New York Percussion Trio was a three-member musical group consisting of two percussionists and one pianist, active in the New York City area from the early 1950s until the mid-1970s....
- Evolution (1954) - scored for over one hundred percussion instruments and has been recorded four times, once by Leopold StokowskiLeopold StokowskiLeopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
. - Greek Scene (1957) - a trio for mezzo soprano, piano, and percussion chosen to represent the United States in an International Composer's Symposium held in Paris.
- Cello Concerto (2000) - premiered by the American Symphony OrchestraAmerican Symphony OrchestraThe American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski, then aged 80. Following Maestro Stokowski's departure, Kazuyoshi Akiyama was appointed Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1973-1978. Music Directors during the early...
at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
. - Diamond Street (2009) - premiered at Hudson Opera House
Notable students
- Marin AlsopMarin AlsopMarin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
- Ronald CaltabianoRonald CaltabianoRonald Caltabiano is an American arts administrator and composer of contemporary classical music, with his music showing elements of modernism and romanticism....
- Leon BotsteinLeon BotsteinLeon Botstein is an American conductor and the President of Bard College . Botstein is the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director and principal conductor from 2003-2010...
- Guillermo Figueroa
- Peter OundjianPeter OundjianPeter Oundjian is a violinist and conductor, the youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother. He also claims Scottish ancestry through his maternal grandfather, a Sanderson, and the MacDonell of Glengarry clan.Oundjian was educated in England, where he began studying the...
- Michael Jeffrey ShapiroMichael Jeffrey ShapiroMichael Jeffrey Shapiro is a noted American composer and conductor.The son of a klezmer band clarinetist, Michael Shapiro was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent most of his high school years in Baldwin, a Long Island suburb. The winner of several piano competitions during his youth, he earned...