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Robert Moevs

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Robert Moevs The creator of a rich body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental music, American composer Robert Moevs has received major performances by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony, and Leonard Bernstein and Symphony of the Air. Worldwide recognition came in the form of the Stockhausen International Prize in Composition, which he was awarded in 1978. Moevs was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin on December 2, 1920. He worked with Walter Piston at Harvard, where he would later join the faculty. Along with other leading American composers before and after, he studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Robert Moevs is part of a generation of composers who came of age musically in the years immediately following World War II. Bold new works of Bartok and Stravinsky, heard amidst the upheavals of the war, inspired many to take a next step: to reject much of the past, forging a new musical language which built on the path-breaking atonality and compositional rigor of Schoenberg and Webern. Moevs was well placed to become a leading American representative of the post-war international movement in the world of music. After serving in World War II as a pilot in the United States Air Force, Moevs’ formative years were spent in Europe, first as a student in Paris, and later as a recipient of the coveted Rome Prize. In close contact with the tightly-structured works of Boulez, and stunned by the raw sound of Edgar Varèse, Moevs synthesized these styles into what he termed “systematic chromaticism.” Perhaps because of his deep-seated love of the music of such masters as Bach and Beethoven, Moevs never adopted complete serialism. Based on intervallic procedures that could be heard and recognized, his music retains a compelling and visceral dynamic impact. As Moevs himself observed in an interview: “I started with the conviction that all, or practically all, music has a tonal center, and that the phrase “atonal music” is self-contradictory, an imaginary entity.” Moevs’ style has been described as “an extremely rich resource,” because he found a unique way to combine identifiable tonal centers with serialism, creating a musical style the excitement of which arises out of the underlying tension between the realism of tonal centers and the abstraction of serialism. The power of Moevs’ music is evident from the press reactions to works such as Attis for chorus and orchestra. At the time of its 1960 premiere by the Boston Symphony, Attis was front-page news in the Boston Globe, which described the scene of its premiere: "Heaven knows what will be the future fortunes of “Attis”, but Moevs, whose name is said to rhyme with waves, may rest assured he has caused more ructions, probably, than has anyone else at a Friday Symphony since the introduction here, decades ago, of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and “Seven, They are Seven”, by Sergei Prokofieff." [Boston Globe, Feb. 13, 1960] A more in-depth review of the same concert captures the magnificent impact the work made at the time: “[Attis is]…made up of elements of awe-inspiring design…fierce tensions are built by moving gigantic chords chromatically, either in parallel or contrary motion. Brasses growl, bite, and snarl. Tempos remain largely in flux, breathing, one might say, when breath is needed. Percussion is earthy, exotic, maddening. All these elements are employed to create a mood of violent paganism, a tonal illustration in the most vivid terms possible of the ancient blood rites of a cult dedicated to the worship of Attis and Cybele. Mr. Moevs was inspired… he chose a strong subject on which to paint a shocking scene; and what is more, he did it with stupefying success. How can one classify him? As a romantic, perhaps, or impressionist, but with a modern tongue. This man is following no trails; he is blazing highways.” [Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 13, 1960] Within a year, another Moevs work, the Concerto for Piano, Orchestra, and Percussion, was again receiving a glowing review after its premiere from an astonished musical press: "This is no place to evaluate the over-all significance of Robert Moevs’ Concerto in the mainstream of 20th century music; but one thing is certain -- it had plenty of communicative impact, both in spite of and because of its high dissonance content. Moevs is no cerebralist or system-ridden 12-toner. This has been evident both from his Piano Sonata, which has been recorded commercially, and from his ferocious symphonic score, “Attis”, that was premiered by the Boston Symphony last season. However, he is an expert craftsman when it comes to making his tonal materials serve as binding force throughout the whole of a work; for this new concerto grows out of a basic three-note progression and a basic rhythmic pattern stated at the very beginning. Yet the rhythmic and coloristic variety written into the score by Moevs makes up for the lack of consonance-dissonance contrast. Moevs’ music making is dramatic, incantatory, not coldly cerebral, and this is a quality he shares with the founding father and genius among all 20th century percussion composers, Edgard Varèse." [Bridgeport Post, March 27, 1961]. Critical acclaim, international performances, and many publications have marked Moevs’ continuing success for several decades right until the present time. A valued teacher at both Harvard and Rutgers, Robert Moevs’ many awards include the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Stockhausen International Prize in Composition in 1978, mentioned above. Moevs has been listed in virtually every music “Who’s Who” and his works have been discussed in numerous magazines and journals. Especially fascinating is “A Conversation with Robert Moevs”, written by James Boros and published in the classic journal of new music published by Princeton University Press: Perspectives of New Music. With a career spanning much of the 20th Century, and having persisted in the face of constant change in musical fashion, Robert Moevs presents through his works a treasure of American music, the depth and beauty of which continually reward exploration.

Title	Ensemble Type	Composed	Duration	Media
Three pieces for violin and piano	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice		00:15:30
Ave Maria	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices		00:00:00
Trio	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice		00:15:00
Postlude for organ	Keyboard		00:03:00
Itaque ut	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices		00:03:30
Prelude	Keyboard		00:11:00
Brief Mass, A [vocal score]	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices		00:07:00
Crystals	Solo instrument, non-keyboard		00:00:00
Epigram	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble		00:00:00
String quartet	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice		00:25:00
Phoenix	Keyboard		00:00:00
Air for flute	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	2005	00:00:00
Adagio for Strings	Orchestra	2005	00:00:00
Cadenza to the Mozart Flute Concerto	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	2005	00:00:00
Musica da Camera V	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1998	00:00:00
Adagio for solo vibraphone	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1998	00:00:00
The Ballad of Angel Lynn (Angel of the Wind)	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1997	00:02:30
Musica da Camera IV	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1996	00:06:30
Rondo	Keyboard	1995	00:04:15
String Quartet No. 3	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1995	00:14:00
Rondo	Keyboard	1995	00:04:15
Pentachronon	Keyboard	1993	00:05:00
Conun-drum	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1993	00:06:00
Six Songs on Poems by Ungaretti	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1992	00:11:15
Echo	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1992	00:07:30
Musica da Camera III: Daphne	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1992	00:07:00
Two Songs from Sappho	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1990	00:07:15
String Quartet No. 2	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1989	00:19:00
Triad	Keyboard	1988	00:02:15
Woodwind Quintet	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1987	00:10:00
Dark Litany	Band	1987	00:09:00
Woodwind quintet	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1987	00:10:00
Saraband for harpsichord	Keyboard	1986	00:04:30
Symphonic Piece No. 6	Orchestra	1986	00:00:00
Saraband	Keyboard	1986	00:04:30
Symphonic Piece No. 5	Orchestra	1984	00:00:00
Pandora: Music for Small Orchestra, II	Orchestra	1983	00:12:30
Pandora : Music for small orchestra II	Orchestra	1983	00:12:30
Three Pieces for Violin and Piano	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1982	00:15:00
Prometheus: Music for Small Orchestra, I	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1980	00:09:30
Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1980	00:12:00
Postlude	Keyboard	1980	00:03:00
Crystals	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1979	00:10:00
Epigram	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1978	00:03:00
Una Collana Musicale	Keyboard	1977	00:19:30
Collane musicale, Una : 13 brief pieces	Keyboard	1977	00:15:00
Concerto per pianoforte, orchestra e percussione	Orchestra	1977	00:18:00
Ludi praeteriti = Games of the past	Keyboard	1976	00:08:00
Ludi Praeteriti: Games of the Past	Keyboard	1976	00:08:00
Interlude	Keyboard	1976	00:02:00
The Aulos Player	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1975	00:09:00
Main-Travelled Roads, Symphonic Piece No. 4	Orchestra	1973	00:12:00
Musica da Camera, II	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1972	00:10:30
Prelude, B-A-C-H-Es ist genug	Keyboard	1972	00:00:00
Phoenix	Keyboard	1971	00:06:00
B-A-C-H, Es ist genug	Keyboard	1970	00:06:00
Paths and Ways	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1970	00:06:00
Piece for Synket	Electronic Instruments and Sound Sources	1969	00:00:00
Time	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1969	00:03:30
Heptachronon	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1969	00:08:00
Heptachronon	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1969	00:07:00
A Brief Mass (Mass for the Young)	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1968	00:08:00
Alleluia for Michaelmas	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1967	00:04:00
Ave Maria	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1966	00:08:00
Fanfara Canonica	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1966	00:03:00
Musica da Camera, I	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1965	00:12:30
Musica da camera	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1965	00:12:35
Et occidentum illustra	Unknown	1965	00:19:00
Et occidentem illustra	Unknown	1965	00:19:00
Et Occidentem Illustra	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1964	00:09:00
Et nunc, reges	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1963	00:05:00
Ode to an Olympic Hero	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1963	00:00:00
Ode to an Olympic Hero	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1963	00:00:00
Attis, Part II	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1963	00:17:30
In Festivitate	Band	1962	00:09:00
Variazioni sopra una melodia	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1962	00:09:25
Variazioni sopra una melodia	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1961	00:09:25
Variazioni sopra una Melodia	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1961	00:10:00
Concerto Grosso for Piano, Percussion and Orchestra	Orchestra	1960	00:19:45
Attis, Completion of Part I	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1959	00:08:15
Itaque ut	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1959	00:03:30
Attis	Unknown	1959	00:00:00
Attis	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1958	00:20:00
String Quartet No. 1	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1957	00:25:00
The Past Revisited: Three Pieces for Solo Violin	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1956	00:16:00
Three Symphonic Pieces	Orchestra	1954	00:26:30
Duo for oboe and english horn	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1953	00:06:30
Cantata Sacra	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1952	00:10:00
Fourteen Variations for Orchestra	Orchestra	1952	00:16:00
Fantasia sopra un Motivo, per Pianoforte	Keyboard	1951	00:06:20
Pan: Music for Solo Flute	Solo instrument, non-keyboard	1951	00:04:30
Fantasia sopra un motivo	Keyboard	1951	00:00:00
Sonata per pianoforte	Keyboard	1950	00:00:00
Sonata per Pianoforte	Keyboard	1950	00:18:30
Villanelle	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1950	00:03:00
Spring	Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice	1950	00:00:00
Overture for Orchestra	Orchestra	1950	00:12:45
Introduction and Fugue	Orchestra	1949	00:18:30
Endymion	Orchestra	1948	00:35:00
The Bacchantes	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1947	00:12:00
Sonatina per Pianoforte	Keyboard	1946	00:09:00
Great Nations of This Earth	Chorus, with or without Solo Voices	1942	00:12:30
Passacaglia	Orchestra	1941	00:00:00
Youthful Song	Voice, Solo or With Chamber or Jazz Ensemble	1940	00:09:00

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Robert Moevs

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Robert Moevs