Claire Polin


Claire Polin was an American composer of contemporary classical music, musicologist, and flutist.

Education

She obtained three degrees in music from the Philadelphia Conservatory: a Bachelor, Masters and Doctorate in Music. She also studied at the Juilliard School and Tanglewood. Her teachers included Vincent Persichetti, Lukas Foss, Roger Sessions, and Peter Mennin. She also studied flute with William Kincaid, with whom she collaborated on a multi-volume method of flute technique.

Career

Her works were commissioned and performed by the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonia, the Israel Bach Society, and the London Pro Musica Antiqua of Westminster, as well as by William Kincaid, Gordon Gottlieb, and the Gregg Smith Singers.
Polin served on the faculty at Rutgers University, where she taught composition, as well as courses in the music of the Bible, music of ancient Wales, and music of Russia. She also published books on musicological subjects.

Personal life

She is survived by two sons, Josef and Gabriel Schaff, and one grandchild.

List of works

Note: This is not a complete list. In some cases, the dates listed may have been the original publication date as opposed to the year it was written. Many pieces were published several times in new editions.

Compositions

Sonata No. 1 for Flute 1959Symphony in two movements 1960No-Rai: Songs from Korea, 1963? Soprano Voice, Flute, Double BassSonata for Flute and Harp 1964/73No Man is an Island, SATB chorus, piano, 196_Serpentine: Lyrical instances for solo viola and imaginary dancer, 1965Structures for Solo Flute 1965Consecutivo: Study on a Requiem, 1966Summer Settings, harp, 1967Makimono, flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello, piano, 1969Second Sonata for flute and harp , 197xMusic for the Prince of Wales: Hen ganiadau gwanwyn, medium high voice with cello accompanimentCader Idris: Landscape for Brass Quintet, 1971Infinito: A Requiem, alto sax, soprano solo, narrator, SATB chorus, 1972Out of childhood; variations on Russian-Turkish folksongs for piano, 1972Margóä for solo flute, 1972O, Aderyn Pur, Flute, Alto Sax, Tape, or flute solo 1972The Death of Procris: Studies After a Painting by Piero di Cosimo, 1972-73 Flute and TubaTelemannicon: Solo obe flute, canonically played with tape or live, 1974Second Symphony, 1974Journey of Owain Madoc: Symphonic Meditations on the Discovery of America, 1974Scenes from Gilgamesh, flute and string orchestra, 1974Makimono II: for brass quintet, 1975Laissez sonner for solo piano, 1976Pièce d’encore: for solo viola , 1976Synaulia II, flute, clar, piano, 1976Paraselene: Dark nebulae I: Book of Songs for Soprano, Flute, and Piano, 1976/77A klockwork diurnal, alto sax, French horn, bassoon, 1977Amphion: for symphony orchestra, 1977Wind Songs for soprano and guitar, 1978?Vigniatures: Variations for Violin and Harp, 1979Felína, Felína, violin, harp, 1980Res naturae: The Carmarthan dove in a mialiseet dance, woodwind quintet, 1980Dark nebulae II: Ma’a lot, viola and percussion, 1981Georgics: After Virgil for Solo Flute, 1981Mythos: Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra, 1982Kuequenaku-Cambiola, percussion and piano, 1983Phantasmagoria, piano 4 hands, 1985Freltic Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1985Shirildang: trans-Ural Suite for piano, 1991Walum olum, clarinet, viola, piano

Publications

  • Music of the ancient Near East, 1974 Greenwood Press
  • "Why Minimalism Now?" Music and the Politics of Culture, ed. Christopher Norris, pp. 226–239, London: Lawrence & Wishart 1989
  • "Interviews with Soviet Composers", Tempo 1984 151, 10-16 Cambridge University Press
  • “The Composer as Seer, but not Prophet” Tempo Combridge 1994 Issue 190, p13-18
  • New York: Women in Music and Soviet Contemporaries. Tempo 174, 1990 p32,34,36-37
  • The Ap Huw manuscript. 1982 Henryville, PA: Institute of Mediaeval Musicological Studies.
  • “Observations on the Ap Huw manuscript. Music & Letters 60 1979, 296-304: Oxford University Press.
  • A Possible Provenance for parts of the Ap Huw manuscript. Welsh Music, 1985.
  • The Ap Huw Manuscript. Music & Letters 62: 120, 1981
  • Moscow Festival Diary. Tempo 1984 No. 150 p. 35-38
  • Ancient Semitic Music: A study starting in earliest times and ending circa 500 BC
  • A Treasury of Jewish Folksong. Ethnomusicology 9. 191-193
  • Gifts of Jubal; musical instruments from the ancient East. Philadelphia, PA: University Museum Press