Martin Pearlman
Encyclopedia
Martin Pearlman is an American conductor, harpsichordist, composer, and early-music specialist. In the1973-74 season, he founded Boston Baroque
(originally called Banchetto Musicale), the first permanent period-instrument orchestra in North America. Many of its original players went on to play in or direct other ensembles in what became a growing field in the American music scene. He later founded the chorus of that ensemble and has been the music director of Boston Baroque
from its inception up to the present day.
, where he received training in composition, violin, piano, and theory. He received a B. A. in 1967 from Cornell University
, where he studied composition with Karel Husa
and Robert Palmer and began studying harpsichord with Donald Paterson. In 1967-68, he studied harpsichord in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt
on a Fulbright Grant. In 1971, he received an M. M. in composition from Yale University, studying composition with Yehudi Wyner
and harpsichord with Ralph Kirkpatrick
. In 1971, he moved to Boston, where he won the Erwin Bodky competition as a harpsichordist and began performing widely in solo recitals and concertos. In 1973-74, he founded Boston Baroque
(which was called Banchetto Musicale until 1992). With that ensemble, he has conducted many American and world period-instrument premieres of operas, choral works, and instrumental works, including Mozart operas and major works of Bach, Handel and Monteverdi. He has directed Boston Baroque
in an annual subscription series in Boston, toured with the ensemble in the U.S. and Europe, and made recordings (principally for Telarc International), three of which have been nominated for Grammy awards (see www.bostonbaroque.org).
With modern-instrument ensembles, Pearlman made his Kennedy Center debut conducting The Washington Opera
in Handel's Semele, led the National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa in the Monteverdi Vespers, and has conducted the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis, the Utah Opera in Salt Lake City, Opera Columbus, Boston Lyric Opera, San Antonio Symphony, the New World Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Alabama Symphony and others. He is the only conductor from the period-instrument field to have performed live on the internationally televised Grammy Awards show.
Pearlman's work as a composer has been influenced by, among others, Carter, Boulez, and certain composers of the following generation. His recent works have included chamber music, piano works, and The Creation according to Orpheus for solo piano, harp and percussion with string orchestra. His music for three Samuel Beckett
plays (Words and Music (play)
, Cascando
, ... but the clouds ...) was commissioned by and premiered at the 92nd Street Y in New York for the Beckett centennial in 2006 and produced at Harvard University in Cambridge.
Since 2002, he has been a professor at Boston University
, where he directs Baroque ensembles and teaches in the Historical Performance department of the School of Music.
Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque is the oldest continuing period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical...
(originally called Banchetto Musicale), the first permanent period-instrument orchestra in North America. Many of its original players went on to play in or direct other ensembles in what became a growing field in the American music scene. He later founded the chorus of that ensemble and has been the music director of Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque is the oldest continuing period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical...
from its inception up to the present day.
Biography
He grew up in Oak Park, IllinoisOak Park, Illinois
Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
, where he received training in composition, violin, piano, and theory. He received a B. A. in 1967 from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he studied composition with Karel Husa
Karel Husa
Karel Husa is a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition...
and Robert Palmer and began studying harpsichord with Donald Paterson. In 1967-68, he studied harpsichord in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
on a Fulbright Grant. In 1971, he received an M. M. in composition from Yale University, studying composition with Yehudi Wyner
Yehudi Wyner
Yehudi Wyner is an American composer, pianist, conductor, and music educator.Wyner, who grew up in New York City, was raised in a musical family. His father, Lazar Weiner, was an eminent composer of Yiddish art songs. Wyner attended Juilliard, Yale, and Harvard...
and harpsichord with Ralph Kirkpatrick
Ralph Kirkpatrick
Ralph Kirkpatrick was an American musician, musicologist and harpsichordist. He is most famous for his chronological catalog of Domenico Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas.-Life and work:...
. In 1971, he moved to Boston, where he won the Erwin Bodky competition as a harpsichordist and began performing widely in solo recitals and concertos. In 1973-74, he founded Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque is the oldest continuing period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical...
(which was called Banchetto Musicale until 1992). With that ensemble, he has conducted many American and world period-instrument premieres of operas, choral works, and instrumental works, including Mozart operas and major works of Bach, Handel and Monteverdi. He has directed Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque
Boston Baroque is the oldest continuing period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical...
in an annual subscription series in Boston, toured with the ensemble in the U.S. and Europe, and made recordings (principally for Telarc International), three of which have been nominated for Grammy awards (see www.bostonbaroque.org).
With modern-instrument ensembles, Pearlman made his Kennedy Center debut conducting The Washington Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
in Handel's Semele, led the National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa in the Monteverdi Vespers, and has conducted the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis, the Utah Opera in Salt Lake City, Opera Columbus, Boston Lyric Opera, San Antonio Symphony, the New World Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Alabama Symphony and others. He is the only conductor from the period-instrument field to have performed live on the internationally televised Grammy Awards show.
Pearlman's work as a composer has been influenced by, among others, Carter, Boulez, and certain composers of the following generation. His recent works have included chamber music, piano works, and The Creation according to Orpheus for solo piano, harp and percussion with string orchestra. His music for three Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
plays (Words and Music (play)
Words and Music (play)
Samuel Beckett wrote the radio play, Words and Music between November and December 1961. It was recorded and broadcast on the BBC Third Programme on 13 November 1962. Patrick Magee played Words and Felix Felton, Croak. Music was composed especially by John Beckett. The play first appeared in print...
, Cascando
Cascando
Cascando is a radio play by Samuel Beckett. It was written in French in December 1961, subtitled Invention radiophonique pour musique et voix, with music by the Franco-Romanian composer Marcel Mihalovici. It was first broadcast on France Culture on 13 October 1963 with Roger Blin and Jean Martin...
, ... but the clouds ...) was commissioned by and premiered at the 92nd Street Y in New York for the Beckett centennial in 2006 and produced at Harvard University in Cambridge.
Since 2002, he has been a professor at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, where he directs Baroque ensembles and teaches in the Historical Performance department of the School of Music.
Conducting Boston Baroque on Telarc International
- Bach, Brandenburg ConcertosBrandenburg concertosThe Brandenburg concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 . They are widely regarded as among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era...
- Bach, The Four Orchestral Suites
- Bach Magnificat & Vivaldi Gloria
- Bach, Mass in B Minor
- Cherubini, Requiem in C minor (with Beethoven, Elegischer Gesang and * Cherubini, Marche Funèbre)
- Gluck, Iphigènie en Tauride
- Handel, MessiahMessiah (Handel)Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
- Handel, Concerti grossi, op. 6 (complete)
- Handel, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music (complete)
- Monteverdi, Vespers of 1610
- Mozart, Requiem (completion by Robert Levin)
- Mozart, Jupiter Symphony and Flute Concerto (with Jacques Zoon, flute)
- Mozart, The Impresario (Der Schauspieldirektor) and The Beneficent Dervish (Der wohltätige Derwisch), Singspiel by Emanuel Schikaneder
- Mozart et al., Der Stein der Weisen (The Philosopher's Stone), world premiere recording of singspiel from Schikaneder's theater.
- Music of the American Moravians ("Lost Music of Early America")
- Purcell, Dido and Aeneas and orchestral works
- Vivaldi, The Four SeasonsThe Four Seasons (Vivaldi)The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music. The texture of each concerto is varied, each resembling its respective season...
(with Christina Day Martinson, violin)
Earlier recordings conducting Banchetto Musicale
- Mozart, Coronation Mass and Solemn Vespers (Harmonia Mundi)
- Haydn, Lord Nelson Mass (Arabesque)
- Handel, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (Arabesque)
Solo harpsichord recordings on LP
- Music of the Couperin Family: Louis, François, and Armand-Louis (Titanic)
- Scarlatti sonatas (Titanic)
Editions & Completions
- Armand-Louis Couperin, critical edition of the complete music for one and two harpsichords (includes completions of two Quatuors for two harpsichords).
- Monteverdi, L'incoronazione di Poppea, performing edition.
- Monteverdi, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, performing edition.
- Cimarosa, Il maestro di cappella, orchestration and edition (from surviving piano reduction).
- Moravian music, performing editions from manuscripts of 33 works, recorded with Boston Baroque for Telarc International.
- Purcell, The Comical History of Don Quixote, performing version.
- Mozart, Lo sposo deluso, completion of surviving fragments.