Laurence Traiger

Traiger, with Peruvian harp, Phoenix, AZ, 2010

Laurence Traiger (born October 16, 1956) is an American composer and musicologist. Originally from Bellmore, Long Island, New York, he has studied and worked in Europe since 1976.[1] He is the son of Arthur Traiger,[2] English writing pedagogue, and brother of Saul Traiger,[3] a philosophy educator.

At age 11 he composed duos for violin; at age 14 he took lessons in harmony, counterpoint and composition from his violin instructor, William Cosgriff, and at 16 had a work performed at the Hartt School of Music. In 1974 he graduated from John F. Kennedy High School (Bellmore, New York). He received a scholarship from the University of Kansas, studying composition under Prof. John Pozdro. Leaving Kansas after his sophomore year, he moved to Europe. He first studied with Prof. Cesar Bresgen at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, graduating in 1980.[4] From 1980 to 1982 Traiger studied at the Conservatoire National in Paris with Ivo Malec. In 1982 he became a student in the master class of Wilhelm Killmayer at the Munich College of Music.

His extensive list of works include early music, Jewish music, Appalachian music, new music, choral music, orchestral music, accordion,[5] Irish music, chamber music and film music, as well as compositions for historical instruments and educational works. He has found returning to his roots touching and therapeutic,[6] incorporating both Klezmer and rural Appalachian music into his body of work. (One his earliest published works was a Yiddish sing-along.[7]) He has long been engaged with Jewish mysticism, and many of his works reflect this interest.[8][9] For didactic works he strives to provide something that the student could use as a vehicle for expression, attempting to capture the teenage disposition in a moody and thoughtful, yet energetic and optimistic tone.[10] He has been invited to take part in international "new music" festivals such as the Steirischen Herbst,[11] Klangspektrum, Villach and ADE-vantgarde, München. Traiger has had many collaborations with the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Choir,[12] including an invitation to compose a piece for Schumann-2010,[13] honoring the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann's birth.[14] His work has appeared on MDR's CD "Das Hohelied Salomos." [15] He has dedicated works to various groups and artists, including Meistersextet Leipzig MDT Radio Choir[16] and award winning classical guitarist, and fellow Mozarteum teacher, Maria Isabel Siewers.[17] Soprano Priska Eser-Steit lists Traiger as one of the few composers of "modern music" in her repertoire.[18] His work has been premiered by the Tyrolean Chamber Orchestra,[19] Orpheus Choir of Munich,:[20] nota bene:[21] and Ensemble Cantissimo, among others.[22] His favorite period is Baroque, describing it as “when rhetoric in music as well as in speaking was prized, and musicians ‘spoke’ with their instruments.” He has been described by Howard Arman[23][24] as one of the few composers of music for Baroque instruments today.[1] His motets have been performed by Cantissimo Ensemble and Cantemus Lugano.[25] He has won numerous composition awards, including from ORF (broadcaster) and the publisher Barenreiter.[26]

Laurence Traiger teaches at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Innsbruck branch of Mozarteum University of Salzburg.[27] His areas of interest include music history, theory for music teachers, composition and arrangement, and vocal polyphony of the 16th Century.[28] At the 2013 Internationale Sommerakademie Mozaertum, Traiger was featured in a Komponistenporträt (the presentation of a living composer in talk and music).[29]

Musical style

In 1986, Traiger “turned away from the ‘avant-garde’ and tried to find my own voice in tonality.”[1] With an emphasis on clarity, sensuality, and excitement, using tonal sonorities, his work has been described as melodically oriented and rhythmically varied, as well as rich in contrast and atmosphere. His goal is to make his work directly accessible to widely ranging ensembles and audiences.[30] His work has been described as "fresh and alive."[22]

Notable works

With Richard Voss,[31] Traiger has written two tune book collections of Irish folk music, arranging the songs for piano solo in both. "Roving Through Ireland" is a collection of 38 traditional Irish ballads.[32] "O'Carolan's Tunes for Piano"[33] is a collection of 32 songs, originally for harp, by Turlough O'Carolan, 17th Century Irish harper. Voss and Traiger have three other tune book collaborations, including "Auf Den Spuren Der Inkas".[34]

"According to Juliet" is a monodrama (in four scenes for soprano, flute and accordion) written by Traiger. Using excerpts from the original text of Arthur Brooke’s Romeus and Juliet, written shortly before Shakespeare’s birth, Traiger tells the beautiful but hopeless love story from Juliet's perspective.[35][36] The work was premiered with great success in the 2007 Black Forest Music Festival in Badenweiler; the Munich premiere of the libretto was 16 March 2010.[37] Reviewer Bianca Flier reported that the interplay of the voice and instruments grips the audience until the dramatic finale, and that "the composer has created a moving and compelling, almost unearthly work."[38]

"Aliyat" is a work for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. Based on mystical teachings of Judaism, the composition describes the journey of a disembodied soul through the various stages of life after death, as one imagines oneself in the mystical tradition of Kabbalah.[39]

Traiger considers his cantata, "Be Still," written for the 9/11/2001 tragedy, to be one of his definitive works.[40] Commissioned by the Orpheus Choir of Munich,[41] Joel Frederiksen was the narrator/bass soloist for the 30 June 2002 premiere,[42] at the Europäischen Wochen, Passau.[43] The OCM has long collaborated with Traiger, and premiered many of his works.[41] Traiger and Frederiksen have other collaborations, most recently their work honoring Baroque architect Domenico Martinelli. For "Project Martinelli,"[44] Traiger was commissioned, and wrote a Baroque piece for arciliuto, theorbo and soprano based upon text by Frank Lloyd Wright.[45]

"Prayer Without Words"[46] has been, very likely, his most widely played piece, with three concerts at the Scharzwald Festival in 2006,[47] as well as at the International Festival of Sacred Choral Music in Rottenburg am Neckar 2008,[48] the Munich-based festival “Cantional 2009” and various church concerts throughout Germany.[40]

"Nach Im Schlaf" was written in 1998 for the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Chor. A 12-part composition, it is based on text from the Song of Songs. It was performed by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Chor at the opening of its 2012-2013 season.[49] His 2015 piece for the choir, "Till This Night," uses the famous monologue from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in which Romeo says of his mistress: "Swear it, my eye; before this happy night not you know what beauty is."[50]

In 2014, Traiger wrote the music for the award winning[51] documentary movie "Fukushima Nichts Ist Wie Es War."[52]

Festivals

Selected works

Sologesang (Solo Vocal)

Solo Works

Chorus

Chamber music

Orchestra

Film Music

Vocal Works

Educational works

Awards[40]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 http://nandocs.pbworks.com/f/traiger.pdf
  2. ↑ Amazon.com: arthur traiger
  3. ↑ Traiger, Saul. "Saul Traiger's Home Page". Occidental College. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Komponisten
  5. ↑ Müllheim: "Das Akkordeon hat einen Wandel durchlaufen" - badische-zeitung.de
  6. ↑ AbelDuo » Press Reviews
  7. ↑ Chasidic Singalong Sound
  8. ↑ sueddeutsche.de
  9. ↑ Gera: Konzert mit Musik von Zeitgenossen zur Karwoche | OTZ
  10. ↑ http://www.teenstringsmagazine.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=21748
  11. ↑ de:Steirischer herbst
  12. ↑ MDR MUSIKSOMMER 2013 | MDR.DE
  13. ↑ http://www.schumann-portal.de/pgcms/output.php?PAGE_ID=2606
  14. ↑ Die nächsten Konzerte | MDR.DE
  15. ↑ Review: Gewaltsam Wie Der Tod Ist Die Liebe: Das Hohelied Salomos - MDR Choir And Orchestra | Cross Rhythms
  16. ↑ http://www.mdr.de/konzerte/die-naechsten-konzerte/artikel104844.html
  17. ↑ Isabel Siewers profile
  18. ↑ http://www.eser-streit.de/repertoire.html/
  19. ↑ Komponisten unserer Zeit XII - Tiroler Kammerorchester Innstrumenti - Veranstaltung - events.at
  20. ↑ Oehmsclassics: orpheus chor münchen
  21. ↑ Danes naokoli: torek, 06.09.2011 | Dnevnik
  22. 1 2 Gelungen: Altes und Neues ergänzen sich - Der Online-Dienst für die Region - Startseite - schwaebische.de
  23. ↑ http://www.mdr.de/klangkoerper/biografien/123280.html
  24. ↑ Howard Arman (Conductor) - Short Biography
  25. ↑ http://www.irispress.it/Iris/page.asp?VisImg=S&Art=15024&Cat=1&I=immagini/Italia/Presepe.jpg&IdTipo=0&TitoloBlocco=Enti%20Locali
  26. ↑ Biographie - ltraiger
  27. ↑ http://www.moz.ac.at/german/toolbar/results.shtml?cx=002911380811694884954:jkmkrngbric&cof=FORID:11&q=traiger&sa=Search!
  28. ↑ http://www.moz.ac.at/lvs.php?penr=51396&lang=2
  29. ↑ http://www.moz.ac.at/files/pdf/soak/soak_va.pdf
  30. ↑ Laurence Traiger, Biography - ltraiger
  31. ↑ Scores of Richard Voss 40/Page Sorted by: artist/composer A to Z
  32. ↑ Roving Through Ireland: Piano Solos of Traditional Irish Folk Music - Google Books
  33. ↑ Richard Voss & Laurence Traiger, O'Carolan's Tunes for Piano
  34. ↑ VOSS RICHARD + TRAIGER LAURENCE - Noten - Musiknoten - Songbook
  35. ↑ ACCORDING TO JULIET, Monodram über Romeo und Julia aus der Sicht der Julia
  36. ↑ http://www.stefanieschumacher.de/bilder/AccordingJuliet.jpg
  37. ↑ schwere reiter - Programm
  38. ↑ http://www.rauscher-kultur.at/bilder/juliet-kritik.pdf
  39. 1 2 Theater & Philharmonie Thüringen | Bühnen der Stadt Gera - Landestheater Altenburg
  40. 1 2 3 ltraiger
  41. 1 2 Orpheus Chor Munchen (Chamber Choir) - Short History
  42. ↑ http://www.domenico-martinelli.com/download/Joel_Frederiksen_bio_EN_05.pdf
  43. ↑ [ orpheus chor münchen ] chronik 2000- 2009
  44. ↑ http://domenico-martinelli.com/index_en.html
  45. ↑ Zwischen Mars und Venus - Joel Frederiksen/ Ensemble Phoenix Munich - Projekt Martinelli, Sonntag, 25.04.2010 Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Mars-Venus-Saal - München Ticket
  46. 1 2 http://traiger.net/laurence/prayers/prayers.html
  47. ↑ Infodienst - Landwirtschaft, Ernährung, Ländlicher Raum - Startseite
  48. ↑ http://www.chorfestival-rottenburg.de/fileadmin/media/festival5/downloads/Flyer-II_in_englisch.pdf
  49. ↑ http://www.ndr.de/orchester_chor/chor/philippahmann115.html
  50. ↑ "Till the Night".
  51. ↑ http://www.br.de/fernsehen/bayerisches-fernsehen/sendungen/dokumentarfilm/fukushima-nichts-ist-wie-es-war-dokumentarfilm-100.html Award winning documentary]
  52. ↑ Fukushima documentary
  53. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/musicanova/
  54. ↑ http://www.violadamoresocietyofamerica.org/Ochsenhausen/Ochsenhausen/Ochenshausenprogram.pdf
  55. ↑ Lev Tahor - A Pure Heart
  56. ↑ http://www.rauscher-kultur.at/bilder/according-to-juliet.pdf
  57. ↑ Original text - Hebrew - Kol dodi Hine ze ba Ani Shomea et kol dodi
  58. ↑ Mateus Baroque Lutes
  59. ↑ http://ohr.edu/yomi/yomi121.pdf
  60. ↑ NDR Chor: "Noch im Schlaf" | NDR.de - Der NDR - Presse - pressemitteilungen
  61. ↑ http://www.sverigeskorforbund.se/landetrunt/piccolo.htm
  62. ↑ ensemble CHRISMOS
  63. ↑ de:Querflöte
  64. ↑ Google Translate
  65. ↑ https://sites.google.com/site/ltraiger/i-saw-a-ship
  66. ↑ Guitares §
  67. ↑ Quote by Thomas Merton: When we are alone on a starlit night, when by c
  68. ↑ Published Work
  69. ↑ Es wird modern und harmonisch zugleich - Symphoniekonzert in Brockeler Kirche - Zeitung im Landkreis Rotenburg - Rotenburger Rundschau
  70. ↑ http://www.wallfahrtskirche-alt-kruessow.de/Alt_Kruessow.pdf
  71. ↑ Andreas Treske aka KasputniK
  72. ↑ http://www.buecher-musik-dvd.de/index.php?title=Christiane_Streckfuss:_Hilfe_nach_dem_Hardware_
  73. ↑ The Violoncello and its History
  74. ↑ The Zink
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