John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer, known for his symphonies, operas, and large choral works.

Life [edit]

John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harbison and Janet German Harbison. The Harbisons were a musical family; Elmore had studied composition in his youth and Janet wrote songs.^[1] Harbison's sisters Helen and Margaret were musicians as well. He won the prestigious BMI Foundation's Student Composer Awards for composition at the age of sixteen in 1954. He studied music at Harvard University (BA 1960), where he sang with the Harvard Glee Club, and later at the Berlin Musikhochschule and at Princeton (MFA 1963). He is an Institute Professor of music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a former student of Walter Piston and Roger Sessions. His works include several symphonies, string quartets, and concerti for violin, viola, and bass viol (double bass).

He won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1987 for The Flight into Egypt, and in 1989 he received a $305,000 MacArthur Fellowship.^[2] In 1998 he was awarded the 4th Annual Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities.^[3] In 2006 a recording of his Mottetti di Montale was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Small Ensemble Performance category.

The Metropolitan Opera commissioned Harbison's The Great Gatsby to celebrate James Levine's 25th anniversary with the company. The opera premiered on December 20, 1999, conducted by Levine and starring Jerry Hadley, Dawn Upshaw, Susan Graham, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Mark Baker, Dwayne Croft, and Richard Paul Fink.

Harbison was jointly commissioned by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue to write a piece for the "Papal Concert of Reconciliation." The event was co-officiated by the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Rav Elio Toaff, the Imam of the Mosque of Rome, Abdulawahab Hussein Gomaa, and Pope John Paul II. Abraham, a six-minute composition for brass and antiphonal choirs, had its world premiere on January 17, 2004, performed by members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a choir made up of members of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, the London Philharmonic Choir, the Krakow Philharmonic Choir, and the Ankara Polyphonic Choir, under the baton of Sir Gilbert Levine.

Harbison was previously the principal guest conductor for Emmanuel Music in Boston; after founding director Craig Smith's untimely death in 2007, Harbison was named Acting Artistic Director.

When asked in 1990 for his "artistic credo" Harbison replied: "to make each piece different from the others, to find clear, fresh large designs, to reinvent traditions."

He is married to violinist Rose Mary Harbison (née Pederson).

Discography (Incomplete) [edit]

• Mirabai Songs / Variations (1987). Northeastern Records NR 230-CD. Performed by Janice Felty, mezzo-soprano, Collage New Music Ensemble, conducted by John Harbison — Rose Mary Harbison, violin; David Satz, clarinet; Ursula Oppens, piano. Tracks 1-6: Mirabai Songs, text from Mirabai Versions by Robert Bly. Tracks 7-10: Variations, for violin, clarinet, and piano. Track Listing:

1. I. It's True, I Went to the Market
2. II. All I Was Doing Was Breathing
3. III. Why Mira Can't Go Back to Her Old House
4. IV. Where Did You Go?
5. V. The Clouds
6. VI. Don't Go, Don't Go
7. Variations i-v
8. Variations vi-x
9. Variations xi-xv
10. Finale and Epilogue

• The Flight into Egypt and other works by John Harbison (1990). New World Records 80395-2. Performed by The Cantata Singers and Ensemble, The Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Conducted by David Hoose, John Harbison, and Andre Previn. Tracks:

1. The Flight into Egypt, text from the King James translation of the story of the Flight into Egypt in the Gospel of Matthew
2. The Natural World: Prelude
3. Where We Must Look for Help, text from Robert Bly
4. On the Road Home, text from Wallace Stevens
5. Milkweed, text from James Wright
6. Concerto for Double Brass Choir and Orchestra: I. Invention on a Motif: Tempo giusto
7. II. Invention on a Chord: Cantabile
8. III. Invention on a Cadence: Molto allegro

• At First Light (1998). Archetype Records 60106. Performed by Lorraine Hunt, mezzo-soprano, Dawn Upshaw, soprano, Greenleaf Chamber Players, and Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Scott Yoo. Tracks:

1. Due Libri dei Mottetti di Montale
2. Snow Country
3. Chorale Cantata
4. Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet, and Strings

• John Harbison: Ulysses' Bow / Samuel Chapter (2004). First Edition ASIN: B0002RQ35C. Tracks:

1. Ulysses' Bow ballet performed by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Andre Previn
2. Samuel Chapter performed by Susan Larson (soprano) and conducted by John Harbison

• The Reawakening, String Quartet No. 3, Fantasia on a Ground, Thanks Victor (2001). Musica Omnia om0110. Lydian String Quartet, Dominique Labelle, soprano.
• World Premiere Recordings: Violin Concerto, Recordare, Seven Motets (1997). Koch 3-7310-2-H1. Emmanuel Music, Craig Smith, conductor, Rose-Mary Harbison, violin.
• Sessions: Symphony No. 2; Harbison: Symphony No. 2, Oboe Concerto (1994). london 443 376-2. San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Bloomstedt, conductor, William Bennet, oboe.
• String Quartet No.1/String Quartet No. 2/November 19, 1828 (1992). Lydian String Quartet, Yehudi Wyner, piano.
• Simple Daylight/Words from Patterson/Piano Quintet, (1999). Electra Nonesuch 79189-2. Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Gilbert Kalish, piano, Sanford Sylvan, baritone, Dawn Upshaw, soprano.
• Four Psalms/Emerson (2004). New World Records 80613-2. Cantata Singers and Ensemble, David Hoose, conductor.
• Mottetti di Montale (2005). Koch KIC-CD-7545. Collage New Music, David Hoose, music director, Janice Felty and Margaret Lattimore mezzo-sopranos.

Works [edit]

Opera [edit]

• Winter's Tale (1974)

  Based on the play by Shakespeare

• Full Moon in March (1977)

  Chamber opera

• The Great Gatsby (1999)

  commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera

  Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ballet [edit]

• Ulysses (1983)

Orchestral [edit]

• Incidental Music from The Merchant of Venice (1971), for string orchestra
• Elegiac Songs (1974), for mezzo-soprano & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation

• Diotima (1976)

  commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress

• Piano Concerto (1978), for piano & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra for Robert Miller^{[disambiguation needed]}

• Snow Country (1979), for oboe & string orchestra

  commissioned by Dr. Maurice Pechet, New England Arts Patron

• Violin Concerto (1978–80), for violin & chamber orchestra

  written for Rose Mary Harbison

• Symphony No. 1 (1981)

  commissioned by the Boston Symphony

• Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet and String Orchestra (1985)

  commissioned by the National Endowment of the Arts for the Toledo Symphony, the International Chamber Soloists, the Wall Street Chamber Players, the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, the Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

• Remembering Gatsby (1985)

  commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony

• Symphony No. 2 (1987)

  commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony in celebration of the orchestra's seventy-fifth anniversary season

• Concerto for Double Brass Choir and Orchestra (1988), for twelve brass soli & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic

• Viola Concerto (1988), for viola & orchestra

  commissioned by the New Jersey Symphony

• Symphony No. 3 (1990)

  commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony

• David's Fascinating Rhythm Method (1991), for chamber orchestra

  commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony

• Three City Blocks (1991), for concert band

  commissioned by the concert bands of the New England Conservatory, University of Cincinnati, Florida State University, U.S. Air Force, Ohio State University, University of Michigan and University of Southern California.

• Oboe Concerto (1991), for oboe & orchestra

  commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony

• Cello Concerto (1993), for cello & orchestra

  commissioned by Yo-Yo Ma and the Chicago Symphony

• The Most Often Used Chords (1993), for chamber orchestra

  commissioned by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

• Flute Concerto (1994), for flute & orchestra

  commissioned by Ransom Wilson and the American Composers Orchestra

• Olympic Dances (1996), for concert band

  commissioned by the College Band Directors National Association

• Partita (2001)

  commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra

• Symphony No. 4 (2003)

  commissioned by the Seattle Symphony

• Crane Sightings (2004), for violin & string orchestra

  written for Rose Mary Harbison, the composer's wife

• Darkbloom: Overture for an Imagined Opera (2004)

  commissioned by the Boston Symphony

• Canonical American Songbook (2005)

  commissioned by the Albany Symphony

• Concerto for Bass Viol (2005), for double bass & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by the International Society of Bassists

• Milosz Songs (2006), for soprano & orchestra

  commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for Dawn Upshaw

• The Great Gatsby - Suite (2007)

  commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival and School

• Symphony No. 5 (2007), for mezzo-soprano, baritone soli & orchestra

  commissioned by the Boston Symphony

• Mary Lou (Four Symphonic Memories of Mary Lou Williams) (2008)

  commissioned by the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony

• Double Concerto for Violin and Cello (2009), for violin, cello & orchestra

  commissioned by the Friends of the Dresden Music Foundation for the Boston Symphony

Choral [edit]

• In Spiritu: Prayer (1955), for a cappella male-voice choir
• Ave Maria (1959), for a cappella S.S.A.A. choir
• He Shall Not Cry (1959), for S.A. choir & organ
• Five Songs of Experience (1971), for S.A.T.B. choir, two percussion & string quartet

  commissioned by the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston for the Cantata Singers

• Music When Soft Voices Die (1966), for S.A.T.B. choir & harpsichord or organ

  commissioned by the Cantata Singers

• Nunc Dimittis (1975), for T.B. choir & piano

  commissioned by the Harvard Glee Club

• The Flower-Fed Buffaloes (1976), for baritone solo, S.S.A.T.B.B. choir & instrumental ensemble

  commissioned by the New York State Bar Association

• The Flight into Egypt (1986), for soprano, baritone soli, S.A.T.B. choir & chamber orchestra

  commissioned by the Cantata Singers

• Two Emmanuel Motets (1990), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir

  commissioned by the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston

• Ave Verum Corpus (1991), for a cappella S.S.A.T.B. choir

  commissioned by the Emmanuel Choir, Boston and the Ojai Festival

• O Magnum Mysterium (1991/92), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir

  commissioned by Saturday Evening Brass

• Veni Creator Spiritus (1992), for a cappella T.B. choir

  commissioned by the Rosalind Denny Lewis Music Library at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Communion Words (1994), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
• Concerning Them Which Are Asleep (1994), for a cappella S.S.A.T.B.B. choir
• Emerson (1995), a cappella S.A.T.B. double choir

  commissioned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music for their 100th anniversary (1995)

• Juste Judex (1995), for mezzo-soprano, baritone soli, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  commissioned as part of the Requiem of Reconciliation

• Evening (Der Abend) (1997), for a cappella S.A.T.B. double choir
• Four Psalms (1998), for S.A.T.B. soli, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  commissioned by the Israeli Consulate for the Chicago Symphony

• Psalm 137 (1998), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
• Requiem (1985–2002), for S.A.T.B. soli, S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra

  commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra

• We do not live to ourselves (2002), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
• Abraham (2004), for double S.A.T.B. choir & two large brass choirs

  commissioned for the Papal Concert of Reconciliation in Rome for the Ankara Polyphonic Choir, London Philharmonic Choir, Krakow Philharmonic Choir and musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony

• Charity Never Faileth (2004), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
• Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled (2004), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir
• My Little Children, Let Us Not Love in Word (2004), for a cappella S.A.T.B. choir

  commissioned by the Cantata Singers

• But Mary Stood (2005), for soprano solo, choir & string orchestra

  commissioned by the Cantata Singers

• Umbrian Landscape with Saint (2005), for optional choir & chamber ensemble

  commissioned by the Chicago Chamber Musicians

• A Clear Midnight (2007), for T.T.B.B. choir & five strings

  commissioned by the Georgina Joshi Foundation for Indiana University and the Pro Arte Singers

• Madrigal (2007), for a cappella S.A.T.B.B. choir

  commissioned by the New York Virtuoso Singers

• Koussevitzky Said: Choral Scherzo with Orchestra (2012), for S.A.T.B. choir & orchestra: commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Festival

Chamber [edit]

• Andante con moto (1955), for cello & piano
• Duo (1961), for flute & piano
• Canzonetta (1962), for bassoon quartet
• Confinement (1965), for twelve players

  written for the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble and Arthur Weisberg

• Serenade (1968), for flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, viola & cello
• Piano Trio (1969), for violin, cello & piano
• Bermuda Triangle (1970), for tenor saxophone, electric organ & amplified cello

  commissioned by the New York Camerata

• Die Kurze (1970), for flute, clarinet, piano, violin & cello

  commissioned by the New York Composer's Forum

• Snow Country (1979), for oboe & string quintet

  commissioned by Dr. Maurice Pechet

• Wind Quintet (1979), for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon

  commissioned by the Naumburg Foundation

• Due Libri (1980), for mezzo-soprano & nine players

  commissioned by the New York Philomusica and Robert Levin

• Mottetti di Montale (1980), for mezzo-soprano & nine players or piano

  commissioned by New York Philomusica, the University of Oregon and Collage

• Organum for Paul Fromm (1981), for glockenspiel, marimba, vibraphone, harpsichord & piano

  commissioned by the University of Chicago

• Piano Quintet (1981), for two violins, viola, cello & piano

  commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

• Exequien for Calvin Simmons (1982), for seven players
• Overture: Michael Kohlhaas (1982), for twelve brass
• Variations (1982), for clarinet, violin & piano

  commissioned by Frank Taplin for the Token Creek Festival, Wisconsin

• String Quartet No. 1 (1985), for two violins, viola & cello

  commissioned by the Cleveland Quartet

• Twilight Music (1985), for horn, violin & piano

  commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

• Fanfare for Foley's (1986), for twelve brass & two percussion
• Music for Eighteen Winds (1986)

  commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• String Quartet No. 2 (1987), for two violins, viola & cello
• Two Chorale Preludes for Advent (from "Christmas Vespers") (1987), for brass quintet
• Fantasy-Duo (1988), for violin & piano

  commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress for David Abel and Julie Steinberg

• Little Fantasy on "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (1988), for brass quintet
• November 19, 1828 (1988), for violin, viola, cello & piano

  commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts for the Atlanta Chamber Players, the Da Capo Chamber Players and Voices of Change

• Fanfares and Reflection (1990), for two violins

  commissioned by Token Creek Festival

• Fourteen Fabled Folksongs (1992), for violin & marimba
• Prelude (1993), for cello & piano
• String Quartet No. 3 (1993), for two violins, viola & cello
• San Antonio (1994), for alto saxophone & piano
• Thanks Victor (1994), for string quartet

  commissioned by the Lydian Quartet

• Trio Sonata (1994), for three clarinets or three saxophones or oboe, cor Anglais & bassoon or string trio
• Fanfare for a Free Man (1997), for three oboes & three bassoons
• La Primavera di Sottoripa (1998), for mezzo-soprano & nine players

  commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

• North and South (2000), for soprano/mezzo-soprano & seven players

  written for Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

• Six American Painters (2000), for flute/oboe, violin, viola & cello

  commissioned by the radio station WGUC Cincinnati

• Chaconne (2001), for flute, clarinet, violin, cello & piano
• String Quartet No. 4 (2002), for two violins, viola & cello

  commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

• Cucaraccia and Fugue (2003), for four violas

  commissioned by the Token Creek Festival

• Trio II. (2003), for violin, cello & piano

  commissioned by the Harris Foundation, Chamber Music America and Meet the Composer for the Amelia Trio

• Songs America Loves to Sing (2004), for flute, clarinet, piano, violin & cello

  commissioned by the Atlanta Chamber Players and the Da Capo Chamber Players

• Abu Ghraib (2006), for cello & piano

  commissioned by the Rockport Festival for Rhonda Rider and David Deveau

• Deep Dances (2006), for cello & double bass

  commissioned by the Bank of America Celebrity Series for Rebecca Rice

• French Horn Suite (2006), for four French horns

  commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Cortège: in memoriam Donald Sur (2008), for percussion sextet

  commissioned by the New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble

• Diamond Watch (2010), for two pianos

  commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Priscilla Myrick Diamond for Peter Diamond and pianist Robert Levin

Vocal [edit]

• Due Libri (1980), for mezzo-soprano & nine players

  commissioned by the New York Philomusica and Robert Levin

• Mottetti di Montale (1980), for mezzo-soprano & nine players or piano

  commissioned by New York Philomusica, the University of Oregon and Collage

• Mirabai Songs (1982), for soprano/mezzo-soprano & eight players or piano
• December 1 (1995), for mezzo-soprano & chamber orchestra
• La Primavera di Sottoripa (1998), for mezzo-soprano & nine players

  commissioned by the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival

• Il Saliscendi Bianco (1999), for mezzo-soprano & nine players

  commissioned by Collage

• North and South (2000), for soprano/mezzo-soprano & seven players

  written for Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

• Ain't Goin' to Study War No More (2003), for baritone, two trumpets, snare drum & string orchestra
• Milosz Songs (2006), for soprano & orchestra

  commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for Dawn Upshaw

Solo [edit]

• Amazing Grace (1972), for oboe

  commissioned by oboist Philip West

• Four Occasional Pieces (1978), for piano

  written for Andre Previn, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and in memory of John Boros, respectively

• Four Songs of Solitude (1985), for violin

  written for the composer's wife, Rose Mary Harbison

• Four More Occasional Pieces (1987), for piano

  written for Joan Tower, Harriet Thiele, Rose Mary Harbison and Milo Feinberg, respectively

• Sonata No. 1 - In Memoriam Roger Sessions (1987), for piano

  commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts for Robert Shannon, Ursula Oppens and Alan Feinberg

• Suite (1993), for cello
• Trio Sonata (1994), for piano or harpsichord or fortepiano or electric keyboard

  commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Gatsby Etudes (1999), for piano
• A Violist's Notebook, Book 1 (1998–2000), for viola
• Sonata No. 2 (2001), for piano

  commissioned by G. Schirmer Associated Music for Robert Levin, to whom the work is dedicated

• A Violist's Notebook, Book 2 (2002), for viola
• Montale Sketches (2002), for piano

  after three poems by Eugenio Montale

• Ten Micro-Waltzes (2004), for piano
• Leonard Stein Anagrams (2009)

  written for Leonard Stein

References [edit]

Additional Resources [edit]

• Harbison, John. "Six Tanglewood Talks (1,2,3)." Perspectives of New Music 23, no. 2 (Spring-Summer 1985): 12-22.
• Harbison, John. "Six Tanglewood Talks (4,5,6)." Perspectives of New Music, 24, no.1 (Autumn-Winter 1985): 46-60.
• Harbison, John. “Symmetries and the New Tonality.” Contemporary Music Review 6, no. 2 (1992): 71-79.

External links [edit]

• Schirmer.com: John Harbison
• Harbison bio at MIT
• Art of the States: John Harbison two works by the composer
• Art of the States: Exploded View #1 podcast of John Harbison discussing his String Quartet No. 3 (1993)
• Del Sol Quartet: Tear includes Harbison's Fantasia from quartet no. 2 performed by Del Sol Quartet
• Spectrum Concerts Berlin
• Interview with John Harbison by Bruce Duffie, June 13, 1991