Gloria Coates facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Gloria Coates

Background information
Born	(1933-10-10)October 10, 1933 Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	August 19, 2023(2023-08-19) (aged 89) Munich,Bavaria, Germany
Occupation(s)	Composer

Gloria Coates (born October 10, 1933 – died August 19, 2023) was an American composer. She lived in Munich, Germany, from 1969 until she passed away. She studied music with famous teachers like Alexander Tcherepnin, Otto Luening, and Jack Beeson. After her death in 2023, her family confirmed she was born in 1933, which was different from what many people thought.

Music

Gloria Coates's music is special because it often uses "canonic" structures. This is like a musical "follow the leader," where different parts play the same tune but start at different times. She also used a lot of "glissandos," which means sliding from one note to another, like running your finger quickly up or down piano keys.

Her music is sometimes called "postminimalist." This means it uses simple, repeated patterns, but it also adds a lot of emotion and feeling. People often describe her music as having a strong emotional power.

One writer, Mark Swed, said that Coates was a "master of microtones." Microtones are notes that are "between" the usual notes you hear on a piano. Using these unique sounds, she could create mystical and unusual musical places.

Kyle Gann, another writer, called Gloria Coates "the greatest woman symphonist." A symphonist is someone who writes symphonies, which are long and complex pieces of music for a large orchestra. She wrote many symphonies, even though this field was mostly dominated by men. Gloria Coates said she didn't try to be different from other female composers. She just wrote what felt natural and important to her. She explained that her symphonies needed many different instruments to express her deep musical ideas.

Painting

Besides writing music, Gloria Coates was also a talented painter. She created abstract expressionistic paintings. This style uses colors and shapes to show feelings and ideas, rather than painting realistic pictures. Her paintings often featured bright, opposite colors like red and green, or yellow and blue, mixed together in small strokes. Her painting style, with its swirling layers of color, reminded some people of the famous artist Vincent van Gogh. Many of her album covers featured her own artwork.

Compositions

Here is a list of Gloria Coates's musical works. This list was put together by Theresa Kalin and edited by Christian Dieck.

A. Instrumental music

a) Works for orchestra

Symphony No. 1 „Music on Open Strings“ (1972)
Symphony No. 2 „ Music on Abstract Lines/ Illuminatio in Tenebris“ (1973/74)
Symphony No. 3 „ Symphony for Strings“/ „Symphony Nocturne“ (1974)
Symphony No. 3 – 2. version (Concerto for violin) (2006)
Symphony No. 4 „Chiaroscuro“ (1984/89)
Symphony No. 5 „Drei mystische Gesänge“ (text: Alexandra Coates) for choir and orchestra (1985)
Symphony No. 6 „Music in Microtones“ (1985/86)
Symphony No. 7 (1989/90)
Symphony No. 8 „Indian Sounds“ for voices and orchestra (1990/91)
Symphony No. 9 „Homage to Van Gogh“ (1992-1994)
Symphony No. 10 „Drones of Druids on Celtic Ruins“ for brass and percussion (1992/93)
Symphony No. 11 (1997)
Symphony No. 12 (1998)
Symphony No. 13 (2000)
Symphony No. 14 (2001–02) "The Americans"
Symphony No. 15 (2004/05) "Homage to Mozart"
Symphony No. 16 „Time Frozen“ (1993)
Vita –Anima della Terra (text: Leonardo da Vinci) for soli, mixed choir and orchestra (1972/76)
Planets (1973/74)
Fonte di Rimini (text: Leonardo da Vinci) for mixed choir and orchestra (1976/84)
Transitions (1984)
Cantata da Requiem (1972)
Stardust and Dark Matter (2018)

b) Chamber orchestra with voice

Voices of Women in Wartime. Cantata da Requiem for soprano solo, viola, violoncello, piano and percussion (1972)
The Force for Peace in War. Cantata da Requiem for soprano, tape and orchestra (1988)
Wir tönen allein (Paul Celan) for soprano, timpani, percussion and string orchestra (1988)
Rainbow across the Night Sky for female voices and ensemble (1990)
Emily Dickinson Lieder for solo voice and Chamber orchestra (1989)
Cette Blanche Agonie (text: Stéphane Mallarmé) for soprano, English horn, oboe, timpani, percussion and string orchestra (1988)

c) Chamber music

1. Solo-instrument

Colony Air for piano solo (1982)
Colony Air No. 2 for harpe (1982)
Reaching for the Moon for flute (1988)
To Be Free Of It for one to three percussionists (1988/89)
Castles in the Air for Tenorsaxophone solo (1993)
Märchensuite for flute (1996)
Sonata for Violin Solo (1999)
Sonata for Piano No. 1 (1972)
Sonata for Piano No. 2 (2001)
The Books for piano (2003)
Five Abstractions for piano solo (1962)
Interludium for organ solo (1962)
Star Tracks Through Darkness for organ solo (1974/89)
Prayers without words for organ solo (2002)

2. Two instruments

Sylken for flute and piano (1961)
Fantasy about „Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" for viola and organ (1973)
Overture to Saint Joan for organ and percussion
Fiori for flute and tape (1988)
Fiori and the Princess for flute and tape
Blue Monday for guitar and percussion (1988/89)
Elegy No. 2 for Soprano saxophone and piano (2002/2011)
Nightscape for contrabass and percussion (2008)
Reaching into Light for two percussionists (2010)

3. Three and more instruments

Trio for flute, oboe and piano (1962)
From a Poetry Album for harp, violoncello and percussion (1976)
Night Music for Tenor-Saxophone, piano and gongs (1992)
Piano Trio Lyric Suite for violin, violoncello and piano (1993/1996)
Lyric Suite No. 2 for flute (also flute alto), violoncello and piano (2002)
Five Abstractions of Poems by Emily Dickinson for woodwind quartet (flute, clarinet, oboe and bassoon)
Heinrich von Ofterdingen (Homage an Novalis) for flute, two violoncelli and harp (1996)
Glissando String Quartet (1962)
String Quartet No. 1 „Protestation Quartet" (1965/66)
String Quartet No. 2 „Mobile“ (1971)
String Quartet No.3 (1975)
String Quartet No. 4 (1976)
Six Movements for String Quartet (1978)
String Quartet No. 5 (1988)
String Quartet No. 6 (1999)
String Quartet No. 7 „Angels“ with organ (2001)
String Quartet No. 8 (2001/02)
String Quartet No. 9 (2007)
String Quartet No. 10 „Among the Asteroids“ (1971/76)
Halley´s Comet Nonet for flute (piccolo), oboe (English horn), bassoon (contrabassoon), horn and string quintet (1974)

B. Vocal compositions

a) Works for choir

Dies Sanctificatus from Saint Joan for soprano, alto, tenor a cappella (1961)
Missa Brevis (1964)
Sing onto the Lord a new song for mixed choir a cappella (1964)
Te Deum aus Saint Joan for mixed choir a cappella (1964)
The Beautitudes for soli and organ (1978)
Der Schwan from Licht (Alexandra Coates) for mixed choir a cappella (1988)

b) Works for Solo voice

1. Voice with piano

The Sighing Wind (Gloria Coates) (1950)
Twilight (Gloria Coates) (1961)
Ophelia Lieder from Hamlet by Shakespeare for middle voice and Liederharpe (1964/65)
Komplementär (Friederike Mayröcker) (1999)
Catch the wind (text: Alexandra Coates)
Songs on poems by Emily Dickinson for voice and piano

2. Solo voice with ensemble

Voices of Women in Wartime - Cantata da Requiem for soprano solo, viola, violoncello, piano and percussion (1972)
The Tune without the Words (Emily Dickinson) for voice, Glockenspiel, percussion and timpani (1975)
Go the Great Way (Emily Dickinson) for voice, percussion, timpani and organ (1982)

C. Electronic music

Eine Stimme ruft elektronische Klänge auf for Live electronics, modulator, voice and laser (1971)
Neptune Odyssey for tape. Musique concrete (1975)
Ecology No. 1. Realized in the electroacoustic Studio of the Musikakademie Krakau (1978)

D. Multimedia

Music heard visually Presto (1972)
Cosmos Klang (1973)
Musik-Kunst (1990) Premiere of the Symphony No. 4, performance of Symphony No. 2, Stage work with paintings from Ursula and Dietmar Thiele-Zoll
Abraham Lincoln´s Cooper Union Adresson poems by Gloria Coates and texts by Martin Luther King (2003)
Entering the Unknown for spinett, string quartet and video (Birgit Ramsauer) (2004)

E. Theatre

Bühnenmusik zu Jedermann for flute, oboe and percussion (1961)
Musik zum Schauspiel Hamlet von Shakespeare for choir, organ and chamber orchestra (1964/65)
The three Billy Goat´s Gruff Interactive music theatre piece for children between 3–6 years (1965)
La Vox Humaine (von John Cocteau) for two percussionists and ballet (2010)
Stolen Identity. Chamber Opera for soprano, countertenor, Bassbariton, string quartet, piano and percussion (2012)

F. Music in film productions

Politik nach Notenblatt (1981, Klaus Croissant, BR-Fernsehen-Dokumentation) with Voices of Women in Wartime
Turin- Die geräderte Stadt (1983, Gabriel Heim, BR-Fernsehen-Fernsehfilm) with Stein quartet No. 4
Death of Cain (2001, Ido Angel, Ido Angel Films Tel Aviv, Israel- Independent Film) with Symphony No. 2
Another Kind (2011, Jonathan Blitstein, Blitstein Films- Independent Film) with some orchestral pieces

Discography (selection)

Here are some of the albums featuring Gloria Coates's music.

Symphonies

Symphony No.1 (1973) "Music on Open Strings" 1980 (live) Musica Viva Munich, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Elgar Howarth, cond. (cpo 999 392-2
Symphony No.2 (1974) "Illuminatio in Tenebris" 1990 (live), Stuttgart Philharmonic, Wolf-Dieter Hauschild, cond. Classic Produktion Osnabrück 999 590-2
Gloria Coates: Symphony No. 2 / Homage To Van Gogh / Anima Della Terra (cpo 1998); Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Wolf-Dieter Hauschild/ Musica-viva-ensemble Dresden, Jürger Wirrmann/ Orchester des Internationalen Jugendfestspieltreffens Bayreuth 1984, Matthias Kuntzsch/ Soloists: Jirina Markova, Soprano, Gerda Maria Knauer, Alto, Miroslav Kopp, Tenor, Piotre Nowacki, Bass/ Ensemble Das Neue Werk, Hamburg, Dieter Cichewiecz
Symphony No.3 (1975)"Holographic Universe" 2007 (live), Cambridge Orchestra, UK, Sheppard-Skaerved, violin, Neil Thomson, cond., Tzadik TZ 8096
Symphony No.4 (1984)"Chiaroscuro" 1990 (live), Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Wolf-Dieter Hauschild, cond. CPO 999 392-2
Symphony No.7 (1989) SD Radio commission; 1991 Stuttgart Philharmonic, Georg Schmöhe, cond. CPO 999 392-2,
Symphony Nr.7(1989) Musica Viva Munich 1997 (live), Bavarian Radio Symphony, Olaf Henzold, cond. (Naxos 8.559289
Symphony No.8 (1990–91) "Indian Sounds" 1992 (live) Musica-Viva-Dresden, Juergen Wirrmann, cond. New World Records 80599-2
Symphony No.9 (1992–93) "Homage to Van Gogh" 1995 (live) Schwinger Dresden, Musica-Viva-Dresden, Juergen Wirrmann, cond. CPO 999 590-2
Symphony No. 10 (1989) "Drones of Druids on Celtic Ruins", CalArts Orchestra, Susan Allen, cond. (Naxos 8.559848)
Symphony No.14 (2001–02) "American Fathers" 2003 (live) Residence Munich, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Christoph Poppen, cond. Naxos 8.559289
Symphony No.15 (2004) "Homage to Mozart" 2006 Passau Festival, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Michael Boder, cond. Naxos 8.559371
Symphony No.16 (1993) "Time Frozen" 1995 (live) 25 Years Das Neue Werk Hamburg, Das Neue Werk, Dieter Cichewiecz, cond. CPO 999 590-2

Chamber music

Kreutzer Quartet (2002) – String Quartets Nos. 1, 5, 6 (Naxos 8.559091)
Kreutzer Quartet (2003) – String Quartets Nos. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 (Naxos 8.559152)
Kreutzer Quartet (2010) – String Quartet No. 9, Solo Violin Sonata, Lyric Suite for Piano Trio (Naxos 8.559666)
Kreutzer Quartet (2013) - "Piano Quintet", Roderick Chadwick, Piano (Naxos 8.559848)
Kreutzer Quartet – Coates, G.: String Quartets Nos. 1–9 (3-CD Box Set) (Naxos 8.503240)
Gloria Coates: Symphony No. 15 (2004–2005), Cantata da Requiem (1972), Transitions (1984) (Naxos 8.559371); Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/Boder, Teri Dunn (Sopran)/ Talisker Players, Ars Nova Ensemble Nuremberg/Heider (2007)
Gloria Coates: At Midnight (Tzadik New York, 2013)
Explore America – String Quartet No. 1: Protestation Quartet (Naxos 8.559187)
Bezaly: Solo Flute From A to Z, Vol. 2 – Gloria Coates: Reaching for the Moon (Naxos BIS-CD-1259)
Class Of ’38 – Symphony No. 15, „Homage to Mozart“: III. What Are Stars (Naxos 8.557087)
„…für Violine solo“ (2004) – Sonata for violin solo (2000), Andreas Lucke (Cavalli Records CCD 133)
Vitality begun (2003) – Komplementär, Verwelkte Bücher, 15 Songs on Poems by Emily Dickinson (Cavalli Records CCD 308)
Flötenmusik von Komponistinnen (2011) – Phantom für Flöte und Klavier (Thorofon CTH 2577)