Jay Schwartz Explained

Jay Schwartz (born June 26, 1965) is an American composer.^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Schwartz's father was a professional boxer before becoming a swimming pool maintenance worker in San Diego, where Schwartz was born.^[3] His mother was a kindergarten teacher. Schwartz began playing the piano at a young age and taught himself composition. He studied music at Arizona State University, graduating in 1989. He pursued musicology in Tübingen, Germany.

Career

From 1992 to 1995, he worked in the archives at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Germany. Schwartz was initially employed as a manual labourer, then as an archivist, and later as an assistant composer for incidental music.

His compositions have been performed at many festivals, including New York Philharmonic Biennial, Salzburg Festival, Biennale di Venezia, and Vancouver New Music Festival. His works have been performed by many orchestras and ensembles, including New York Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR), and Staatskapelle Weimar, Ensemble Modern.

In 2000, he received the Bernd-Alois-Zimmermann-Prize for composition from the city of Cologne, Germany. He is also a three-time recipient of the Strobel-Fellowship for electronic music from the Südwestrundfunk.

In 2014, he was awarded a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and in 2017/2018 he received the Rome Prize for a residency at the Villa Massimo in Rome. In 2019, he was a fellow at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Italy.^[4]

His works are published and represented by Universal Edition in Vienna, London, and New York.^[5]

Works

Orchestral works

• Three Pieces for Orchestra (2001)
• Orchestral Suite, Incidental Music to "Werther: Sprache der Liebe" (2003)
• Music for Orchestra I (2005)
• Music for Orchestra II (2007)
• Music for Voices and Orchestra (2008)
• Music for Orchestra III (2010)
• Delta – Music for Orchestra IV (2014)
• Querendo Invenietis – Music for Orchestra V (2016)
• Tonus – Music for Orchestra VI (2019)
• Credo – Music for Orchestra VII (2022)
• Theta – Music for Orchestra VIII (2023)
• Passacaglia – Music for Orchestra IX (2024)

Instrumental works

• Music for Saxophone and Piano (1992)
• Music for Vibraphone and Electronics (1993)
• Music for Piano (1994)
• Music for 3 Stringed Instruments and Piano, Incidental Music to "Die Möwe" (2001)
• Music for Five Stringed Instruments (1997)
• Music for Two Saxophones and Two Double Basses (1998)
• Music for Piano, Violin and Double Bass (2000)
• Music for Cello (2000)
• Music for 6 Stringed Instruments, Boy Soprano and Harpsichord, Incidental Music to "Triumph der Liebe" (2001)
• Music for 12 Cellos (2002)
• Music for 5 Stringed Instruments, Incidental Music to "Werther: Sprache der Liebe" (2003)
• Music for 17 Stringed Instruments (2003)
• Music for Chamber Ensemble (2006)
• Music for Eight Double Basses (2007)
• Music for Flute (2007)
• Music for Violin, Cello and Piano (2007)
• Music for 13 Cellos (2007)
• Music for Five Stringed Instruments II (2009)
• Music for Three Stringed Instruments (2011)
• M for Baritone and Ensemble (2013)
• Lament for Voice and Saxophone Quartet (2013)
• Music for String Quartet (2016)
• Music for Cello (2019)
• Lament for Voice and Saxophone Ensemble (2019)

Vocal works

• Music for Six Voices I (2006) Music for Six Voices II (2007)
• Music for Six Voices III (2008)
• Zwielicht for Mixed Choir, Three Trombones and Organ (2012)
• In Paradisum for Mixed Choir, Two Violoncellos, Two Double Basses and Organ (2018)

Music theater

• Narcissus & Echo, chamber opera (2003)

Sound installations

• Music for a Bridge (2000)
• Music for Electromagnetic Piano (2000)
• Music for Autosonic Gongs I (2001) Donaueschingen
• Music for Autosonic Gongs II (2002) International Music Conference Sweden
• Music for Autosonic Gongs III (2002) Stadthaus Ulm
• Music for Autosonic Gongs IV (2002) Akademie der Kuenste Berlin
• Music for Autosonic Gongs V (2003) City of Kaiserslautern
• Music for Autosonic Gongs VI (2003) Saint Gereon Cologne
• Music for Autosonic Gongs VII (2003) Festival Schichtwechsel Industriekultur Saar
• Music for Autosonic Gongs VIII (2005) Homunculus Tanztheater - Semper Depot Vienna
• Music for Autosonic Gongs IX (2007) Documenta Kassel XII – Music Board Saint Martin
• Music for Autosonic Gongs X (2008) Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik
• Music for Autosonic Gongs XI (2017) Villa Massimo Rome
• Music for Autosonic Gongs XII (2018) Villa Massimo Rome
• Music for Autosonic Gongs XIII (2019) Gropius Bau Berlin
• Music for Autosonic Gongs XIV (2021) Music Hall Cincinnati^[6]

External links

• • Jay Schwartz biography and works on the UE website (publisher)
• Video of Autosonic Gongs Concert Installation
• Profile in Van Magazine
• Web site: Komponist Jay Schwartz: Ein Flug über unermessliche Weiten . . 25 June 2020 . de . 23 November 2023.
• Web site: Der Erhabenheit verpflichtet: Die Komponisten John Luther Adams und Jay Schwartz . . 28 April 2020 . de . 23 November 2023.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jay Schwartz . 23 November 2023 . Salzburg Foundation . de.
2. Web site: Jay Schwartz . 23 November 2023 . Villa Massimo . de.
3. News: Brown . Jeffrey Arlo . 2023-12-06 . Jay Schwartz’s Music Reflects a Past of Oceans and Deserts . 2025-01-20 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
4. Web site: 16 May 2022 . Jay Schwartz . 23 November 2023 . Civitella Ranieri.
5. Web site: Schwartz Jay . . de . 23 November 2023.
6. Web site: Jay Schwartz - the composer's life and work . 2025-01-26 . Universal Edition . en-GB.