Thea Musgrave Explained

Thea Musgrave CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972.[1]

Biography

Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Musgrave was educated at Moreton Hall School, a boarding independent school for girls near the market town of Oswestry in Shropshire, followed by the University of Edinburgh, and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger from 1950 to 1954.[2] In 1958 she attended the Tanglewood Festival and studied with Aaron Copland.[3] In 1970 she became guest professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a position which confirmed her increasing involvement with the musical life of the United States. She married American violist and opera conductor Peter Mark in 1971.[4] From 1987 to 2002 she was distinguished professor at Queens College, City University of New York.[5]

Among Musgrave's earlier orchestral works, the Concerto for Orchestra of 1967 and the Concerto for Horn of 1971 display the composer's ongoing fascination with 'dramatic-abstract' musical ideas.[6] More recent works continue the idea though sometimes in a more programmatic way: such as the oboe concerto Helios of 1994, in which the soloist represents the Sun God. Another frequent source of inspiration is the visual arts – The Seasons took its initial inspiration from a visit to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, while Turbulent Landscapes (commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered by them in 2003) depicts a series of paintings by J. M. W. Turner.[7]

She has written more than a dozen operas and other music theatre works, many taking a historical figure as their central character, among them Mary, Queen of Scots (1977), Harriet Tubman (Harriet, the Woman called Moses, 1984), Simón Bolívar (1993; premiere 1995 at the Virginia Opera) and Pontalba (2003). In 2008, her 80th birthday was marked by premieres of Points of View, Green, Cantilena, Taking Turns and other performances.[8]

In 2018, coinciding with Musgrave's 90th birthday, her compositions were performed at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms.

Reflections on a musical career

In response to a question presented by Tom Service for the BBC about Musgrave's view of being a 'woman composer' she replied, "Yes I am a woman, and I am a composer. But rarely at the same time".[9] She admits that pursuing music can be a difficult career. When asked by the BBC to offer advice to young composers, she replied, "Don't do it, unless you have to. And if you do, enjoy every minute of it."[10]

Honours and awards

Works

Major works

Operas

External links

Notes and References

  1. Garrett. Matthew L.. May 2012. Thea Musgrave Choral Works. The New York Virtuoso Singers, Harold Rosenbaum, conductor. Bridge Records CD 9161, 2004. Journal of the Society for American Music. 6. 2. 263–266. 10.1017/S1752196312000144. 192207739.
  2. Book: LePage, Jane Weiner. Women Composers, Conductors, and Musicians of the Twentieth Century: Selected Bibliographies. Scarecrow Press. 1980. 0-8108-1298-3. Metuchen, New Jersey. 147.
  3. Book: Hixon, Donald L.. Thea Musgrave: A Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Press. 1984. 0-313-23708-5. Westport, Connecticut. 6.
  4. News: Thea Musgrave's turbulent landscapes. Service. Tom. Tom Service. 14 February 2014. The Guardian. 29 March 2018.
  5. Web site: The composer's quest. Thea Musgrave profile. The Herald. 23 May 1998 . Glasgow. 29 March 2017.
  6. Web site: The BIG Question...with Thea Musgrave. British Association of Songwriters, Composers & Authors. 31 December 2018.
  7. News: Interview: Thea Musgrave. Financial Times. 24 January 2014 . 29 March 2017 . Clark . Andrew .
  8. Web site: Biography. Thea Musgrave. 29 March 2017.
  9. Web site: Thea Musgrave, Music Matters. BBC Radio 3. 10 August 2018.
  10. Web site: Proms 2018: 'Don't do it unless you have to!' — the advice of composer Thea Musgrave for anyone seeking a career in music. BBC Scotland. 10 August 2018.
  11. Web site: Complete List of Koussevitzky Commissions. Koussevitzky Music Foundation. 29 March 2018.
  12. Web site: Thea Musgrave. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. 29 March 2018.
  13. Web site: Thea Musgrave NMC Recordings. www.nmcrec.co.uk. en. 10 August 2018.
  14. Web site: Thea Musgrave Receives The Queen's Medal for Music. News.musicsalesclassical.com. 7 July 2018.
  15. News: The Queen's Medal for Music 2017. CharlotteDunn. 7 June 2018. The Royal Family. 10 August 2018. en.
  16. Kennan, Kent, Grantham, Donald The Technique of Orchestration, 3rd. ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1983, p. 340
  17. Web site: Clarinet Concerto – Thea Musgrave, Composer . Thea Musgrave web site . 31 January 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070206123130/http://www.theamusgrave.com/html/clarinet_concerto.html . 6 February 2007. dmy-all.
  18. https://www.musicwebinternational.com/2023/07/musgrave-orchestral-nmc/ Musgrave: Orchestral Works, NMC CD D074 (2003)
  19. http://www.theamusgrave.com/html/song_of_the_enchanter.html Song of the Enchanter – Thea Musgrave, composer

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