William Mayer (composer)


William Mayer was an American composer, best known for his prize-winning opera A Death in the Family.

Life and career

Mayer was born in New York City, the son of Dorothy and John C. Mayer. His great-grandfather was Emanuel Lehman, co-founder of Lehman Brothers. He entered Yale University in 1944, but his college years were interrupted by military service. Upon his discharge he re-entered Yale and graduated in 1949, then trained at the Juilliard School and the Mannes College of Music, studying with Roger Sessions and Felix Salzer, and later with Otto Luening, Emanuel Balaban and Izler Solomon.
The composer wrote three stage works in addition to his prize-winning A Death in the Family, and a variety of orchestral, chamber, choral and vocal works. John Rockwell of The New York Times has pointed out that Mayer was "especially known for his operas and songs... his work sings out with real beauty, both in the vocal writing and the instrumental settings."
Distinguished artists have introduced his scores: Robert De Cormier led the New York Choral Society in its Lincoln Center premiere of "Spring Came on Forever"; sopranos Heidi Grant Murphy, Eleanor Steber and Christine Brewer have all premiered vocal-chamber works; and Leopold Stokowski conducted Mayer's piano concerto Octagon at Carnegie Hall with William Masselos as soloist.
Mayer taught composition and orchestration at Boston University; was a guest lecturer at Yale, Columbia, the Pratt Institute and the Juilliard School; fulfilled writing and cultural assignments from the US Information Agency, one of which involved preparing lectures on American chamber opera to be delivered abroad; served on judging panels for the MacDowell Colony, the American Composers Orchestra, Composers Recordings, Inc., the National Opera Association and the National Federation of Music Clubs; and was Composer-in-Residence at the Conductors' Institute and Adirondack New Music Festival.
Mayer was the author of a provocative feature for The New York Times entitled "Live Composers, Dead Audiences".

Awards and honors

Work

Mayer's lyricism and humor have frequently been singled out. "His is a lyrical music, favored by an unusual flow of fancy and wit," wrote Joseph Machlis in his Introduction to Contemporary Music. ''AmeriGrove also touches on his humor: "His style is characterized by a contrasting of transparent textures with humorous, highly rhythmic and densely scored passages."
This humor is seen in the micro-opera Brief Candle, in which a mime is hurdled from infancy to marriage, and then death in six minutes, followed by a ten-second recapitulation. It is also present in an article entitled "Good Friend, Bad Piece", which addresses a not-infrequent dilemma: what to say to a composer friend after having just heard—and disliked—his new piece.
Among Mayer's works for young people are Hello, World!, which was recorded with Eleanor Roosevelt as narrator, the ballet The Snow Queen and the opera One Christmas Long Ago. All three stage works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
His discography encompasses most media. Operatic and orchestral works have been recorded by the Manhattan School of Music, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony and Music Today ; choral works by conductors Robert De Cormier, Peter Schubert and Gregg Smith ; and chamber music by St. Luke's Chamber Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, North/South Consonance and the New York Brass and Wind Ensemble.
Both Mayer's Piano Sonata and Octagon have been recorded by William Masselos, while pianists and have recorded Abandoned Bells and Subway in the Sunlight and Other Memories. Most recorded of all are the composer's songs, especially with instrumental accompaniment.
A Death in the Family, Mayer's opera based on the James Agee novel and Tad Mosel play All the Way Home, was named the "best new work" of its type for 1983. The late Robert Jacobson wrote in Opera News:
The St. Louis performance with Dawn Upshaw and Jake Gardner was broadcast on National Public Radio.
In 2012, the Center for Contemporary Opera and the Armel Opera Festival and Szeged National Theatre staged a production of A Death in the Family'', and it won the award for "Best Production" in the Armel Opera Competition and Festival. Filmed excerpts from the production have been uploaded to YouTube.com.

Complete list of works

Stage

Hello, World!, dance troupe, two child actors, orchestra, 1956 One Christmas Long Ago, two boy sopranos/sopranos, soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, high baritone, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1962 The Snow Queen, dance troupe, flute, cello, two pianos, percussion, 1963 Brief Candle, female mime, mixed chorus, piano/small orchestra, 1976A Sobbing Pillow of a Man, baritone, comprimario rôles, piano, 1980A Death in the Family, boy soprano, two sopranos, four mezzo-sopranos, alto, two tenors, two baritones, bass-baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, two-track tape, 1983

Orchestral

The Greatest Sound Around, baritone-speaker, orchestra, 1955 Hello, World!, female voice-speaker/male voice-speaker, orchestra, 1956 Andante for Strings, 16 or more strings, 1956 Concert Piece for Trumpet and Strings, trumpet, small orchestra, 1957 Overture for an American, large orchestra, 1958 Two Pastels for Orchestra, 1960, Scenes from The Snow Queen, small orchestra/large orchestra, 1966Octagon, piano, orchestra, 1971 Inner and Outer Strings, string quartet, 26 or more strings, 1982 Of Rivers and Trains, small orchestra /large orchestra, 1988 Good King Wenceslas, female speaker/male speaker, orchestra, 1996

Chamber music

Andante for Strings, string quartet, 1951 Song for English Horn, English horn, piano, 1951 Song for Oboe, oboe, piano, 1952 Essay for Brass and Winds, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, two French horns, two trumpets, trombone, tuba, percussion, 1954 Celebration Trio, flute, clarinet, piano, 1956 Concert Piece for Trumpet and Piano, trumpet, piano, 1957 Country Fair, two B-flat trumpets, trombone, 1958Two Moods for Solo Clarinet, 1960Brass Quintet, French horn, two trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1965Three for Three, piano, two percussion, 1967 Back Talk, page-turner, ensemble, 1970Messages, flute, violin, viola, cello, 1/2 percussion, 1973Appalachian Echoes, harp, 1975Yankee Doodle Fanfare, French horn, two trumpets, trombone, tuba, 1976 Dream's End, oboe, clarinet, French horn, violin, cello, piano, 1976Wedding Romp, bassoon, violin, 1985 Unlikely Neighbors, flute, oboe, clarinet, trombone, piano, 1991 Summer Glints, countertenor, flute, oboe, harpsichord, string quartet, 2002 Twists, oboe, viola, 2008

Choral

To Electra, mixed chorus, 1951 The Passionate Shepherd to his Love, mixed chorus, 1952 The Nymph's Reply to the Passionate Shepherd, mixed chorus, 1952 Corinna's Going a-Maying, mixed chorus, 1952 Festive Alleluia, mixed chorus, organ, 1963 Kyrie, mixed chorus, 1965 The Eve of St. Agnes, two sopranos, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, piano/orchestra, 1968Letters Home, male speaker, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1968 Lines on Light, female chorus, piano, 1971 Spring Came on Forever, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1974La Belle Dame sans Merci, tenor, mixed chorus, 1976 A Death in the Family, mixed chorus, piano, 1983 The Negro Speaks of Rivers, five mixed voices, piano, 1992 Ae Fond Kiss, mixed chorus, flute, cello, piano, 1993

Vocal

That Purple Bird, soprano/mezzo-soprano/tenor, piano, 1950 Paradox, soprano, piano, 1952 For a Young Man, soprano/tenor, piano, 1953 Children's songs, baritone-speaker, piano, 1952-55 Barbara, What have you Done?, two sopranos, piano, 1962 Always, Always Forever Again, two sopranos, piano, 1963 No one knows, soprano/mezzo-soprano/tenor, piano, 1964 Khartoum, soprano/mezzo-soprano, piccolo, violin, cello, piano, 1968 Eight Miniatures, soprano, flute, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, soprano, flute, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, 1968 Five Miniatures, soprano, piano, 1969 Enter Ariel, soprano, clarinet, piano, 1980Kitchen Duet, soprano, baritone, piano, 1980 Passage, mezzo-soprano, flute, harp, 1981 Fern Hill, soprano, flute, harp, 1981Lover's Lament, tenor/baritone, piano, 1982 First Song, tenor, clarinet, violin, piano, 1990 Good King Wenceslas, female speaker/male speaker, flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, piano, 1992 Distant Playing Fields, tenor, flute, clarinet, French horn, cello, piano, 1995Last Song, soprano/high mezzo-soprano, clarinet, violin, piano, 1996 Zoom-bah, soprano, flute, harp, viola, 1997Dream Variations, baritone, piano, 2007 The Negro Speaks of Rivers, soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 2007 Advice, soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass, piano, 2008

Piano

Pepper and Salt, 1957 Angles, 1958 Sonata, 1959 The Snow Queen, two pianos, 1963 Octagon, two pianos, 1971 Toccata, 1972 A Most Important Train, piano/2 pianos, 1975Abandoned Bells, 1982Subway in the Sunlight and Other Memories, 1991

Songs for music theatre (1951–61)

Here in New York Look at Me What Did I Do? It's a Perfect Day I Need Your Magic I'm Nobody Now Mary Ann How About It? Deep in the Hidden Heart Let's Have a Party Autumn Girl Chez Vous
  • ''No One Knows''