Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of a classical music professor. She has received many awards including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, in 2010, 2018, and 2020. She was elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019. Higdon has received commissions from major symphonies including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the National Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Dallas Symphony. Conductors who worked extensively with her include Christoph Eschenbach, Marin Alsop, Leonard Slatkin, and Giancarlo Guerrero. She wrote her first opera based on Charles Frazier's 1997 novel, Cold Mountain with a libretto by Gene Scheer. It was co-commissioned by The Santa Fe Opera and Opera Philadelphia and premiered in Santa Fe in 2015. Her works have been recorded on more than four dozen CDs. Her most popular work is the blue cathedral, a one-movement tone poem dealing with the death of her brother from cancer, which premiered in 2000. It has been performed by more than 400 orchestras since. Jennifer Higdon's musical background has influenced her in many unique ways. Her musical style grew out of her humble beginnings, listening to groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, and many other bands, rather than classical music. As a result, she has described her own compositional process as "intuitive" and "instinctive," where she favors music that makes sense, rather than writing music that adheres to classical forms and structures. Popular and folk music were not the only early influences on her composition; the mountains and wide-open spaces of her Tennessee home have influenced her style and even helped bond her to George Crumb, who encouraged her to use nature as a muse. Many of Jennifer Higdon's pieces are considered neo-romantic. Harmonically, Higdon's music tends to use tonal structures but eschews traditional harmonic progressions in favor of more open intervals. Avoiding specific key signatures allows for sudden, surprising harmonic shifts and modulations. Open perfect fifths and parallel fifths can be found in most of her compositions. She also often uses scalar passages to add melodic or harmonic context to the music. Her early background in percussion likely influenced her rhythmic style; her music often features complex, intricate rhythmic passages, even when melodies are lyrical. She also makes use of rhythmic ostinati which gives motion to many of her works -, especially her more rapid compositions. Some of her rhythmic and melodic repetition could be considered minimalist in nature. In her vocal and choral works, Higdon works to emulate speech patterns and applies them to writing both the pitch and the rhythm of her melodies. She tries to reflect the mood of the text, which results in melodies that tend to have a more romantic sound. On the occasions where she has set non-English texts, she tends to use both the text and translation in the piece, allowing the piece to more effectively communicate its message. Structurally, her music reflects the "intuitive" style that she composes by: Her music is decidedly sectional, but tends to have a natural flow - often melodies can carry over bar lines, creating some motivic and sectional ambiguity. Many of her works begin with a sparse orchestration and build in performing forces as a piece continues, creating variety and interest throughout a given piece of music. Higdon does not intentionally compose with a form in mind but allows the music to unfold naturally WikiPedia
Hi kids from my school, you know who you are. Welcome to quarantine. What’s your favorite song for our orchestra activity? .........Yeah, mine too. My recommendations on youtube after this are gonna have so many orchestra videos, and I don’t know how to feel about that. Anyways, have a good day.
I'm not a great fan of Higdon's output, but there is a lot more going on in this work than meets the eye (or ear as the case may be) :-). The shifts in this tonal writing are all over the place and create some different and rewarding tapestries of sound. Unlike some of her other works, I would definitely return to this piece.
La musique de cette compositrice est à mon gout ce qui se fait de mieux actuellement. Elle se situe entre le contemporain et le moderne d'une manière très personnelle, d'une grande liberté tout en étant très lisible, avec un sens de l'orchestration d'une richesse incroyable et d'une totale originalité. Il faut remonter à Villa-Lobos pour trouver une musique aussi libre et riche. C'est une figure majeur de notre temps.
Jennifer Elaine Higdon (born December 31, 1962) is an American composer of a classical music professor. She has received many awards including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, in 2010, 2018, and 2020. She was elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019.
Higdon has received commissions from major symphonies including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the National Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Dallas Symphony. Conductors who worked extensively with her include Christoph Eschenbach, Marin Alsop, Leonard Slatkin, and Giancarlo Guerrero.
She wrote her first opera based on Charles Frazier's 1997 novel, Cold Mountain with a libretto by Gene Scheer. It was co-commissioned by The Santa Fe Opera and Opera Philadelphia and premiered in Santa Fe in 2015.
Her works have been recorded on more than four dozen CDs. Her most popular work is the blue cathedral, a one-movement tone poem dealing with the death of her brother from cancer, which premiered in 2000. It has been performed by more than 400 orchestras since.
Jennifer Higdon's musical background has influenced her in many unique ways. Her musical style grew out of her humble beginnings, listening to groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, and many other bands, rather than classical music. As a result, she has described her own compositional process as "intuitive" and "instinctive," where she favors music that makes sense, rather than writing music that adheres to classical forms and structures. Popular and folk music were not the only early influences on her composition; the mountains and wide-open spaces of her Tennessee home have influenced her style and even helped bond her to George Crumb, who encouraged her to use nature as a muse.
Many of Jennifer Higdon's pieces are considered neo-romantic. Harmonically, Higdon's music tends to use tonal structures but eschews traditional harmonic progressions in favor of more open intervals. Avoiding specific key signatures allows for sudden, surprising harmonic shifts and modulations. Open perfect fifths and parallel fifths can be found in most of her compositions. She also often uses scalar passages to add melodic or harmonic context to the music. Her early background in percussion likely influenced her rhythmic style; her music often features complex, intricate rhythmic passages, even when melodies are lyrical. She also makes use of rhythmic ostinati which gives motion to many of her works -, especially her more rapid compositions. Some of her rhythmic and melodic repetition could be considered minimalist in nature.
In her vocal and choral works, Higdon works to emulate speech patterns and applies them to writing both the pitch and the rhythm of her melodies. She tries to reflect the mood of the text, which results in melodies that tend to have a more romantic sound. On the occasions where she has set non-English texts, she tends to use both the text and translation in the piece, allowing the piece to more effectively communicate its message.
Structurally, her music reflects the "intuitive" style that she composes by: Her music is decidedly sectional, but tends to have a natural flow - often melodies can carry over bar lines, creating some motivic and sectional ambiguity. Many of her works begin with a sparse orchestration and build in performing forces as a piece continues, creating variety and interest throughout a given piece of music. Higdon does not intentionally compose with a form in mind but allows the music to unfold naturally
WikiPedia
I have recently discovered her music, and I enjoy the 2 compositions Ive heard...refreshing.
Hi kids from my school, you know who you are. Welcome to quarantine. What’s your favorite song for our orchestra activity?
.........Yeah, mine too.
My recommendations on youtube after this are gonna have so many orchestra videos, and I don’t know how to feel about that. Anyways, have a good day.
I'm not a great fan of Higdon's output, but there is a lot more going on in this work than meets the eye (or ear as the case may be) :-). The shifts in this tonal writing are all over the place and create some different and rewarding tapestries of sound. Unlike some of her other works, I would definitely return to this piece.
I am very happy to know that, dear David!!!
1. Teton Range
2. String Lake - 3:39
3. Snake River - 10:44
4. Cathedrals - 13:02
C'est tout simplement magnifique !
Je suis content de savoir que vous avez aimé cette composition !!!!
Merci beaucoup pour votre message, Samuel !!!
La musique de cette compositrice est à mon gout ce qui se fait de mieux actuellement. Elle se situe entre le contemporain et le moderne d'une manière très personnelle, d'une grande liberté tout en étant très lisible, avec un sens de l'orchestration d'une richesse incroyable et d'une totale originalité. Il faut remonter à Villa-Lobos pour trouver une musique aussi libre et riche. C'est une figure majeur de notre temps.
@@samuelgirard357, Je pense comme toi, ami!