Laura Schwendinger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laura Schwendinger
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| Born |
Laura Elise Schwendinger
January 26, 1962 |
| Education | San Francisco Conservatory of Music The Boston Conservatory University of California at Berkeley, PhD |
| Occupation | Composer Professor of Music |
| Years active | 1994- |
| Spouse(s) | Menzie Chinn |
Laura Elise Schwendinger, born on January 26, 1962, is a talented American composer. She made history as the first composer to win the prestigious American Academy in Berlin's Berlin Prize. Her music is known for being very expressive and unique.
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About Laura Schwendinger
Laura Schwendinger was the first composer to win the American Academy in Berlin Prize. Her opera, Artemisia, won the 2023 American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Opera Award. This is a very big award for vocal music in the United States. She also received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009. She has been honored by many other groups like the Yaddo Colony and the MacDowell Colony.
Laura is a Professor of Composition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. There, she also leads the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley. She has been invited to share her music at famous universities like Harvard University and Yale University. She has also taught at summer music programs and festivals.
Laura Schwendinger was born in Mexico City. Before teaching in Madison, she was a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also taught at other schools, including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 1985, she even started a program there for young composers.
Laura's Musical Works
Laura Schwendinger has created many amazing musical pieces. Her double violin concerto, Nightingales, was performed by the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Another piece, Fluorescenza, was recorded for Matt Haimovitz's Primavera project.
She wrote Chiaroscuro Azzurro for the Miller Theatre in New York. This piece was first performed by violinist Jennifer Koh. Her cello concerto, Esprimere, was written for and performed by Matt Haimovitz.
Her song in Just- spring was performed by famous singers like Dawn Upshaw and Gilbert Kalish. They performed it in many places, including Carnegie Hall in New York and Wigmore Hall in London. You can find this performance on a Naxos DVD.
Laura's String Quartet #1 was first played by the Arditti Quartet. She also wrote Celestial City, which was performed in Berlin. Her piece Nonet was commissioned by the Fromm Foundation. Two of her works, Songs of Heaven and Earth and Magic Carpet Music, were performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
More recently, her Creature Quartet was performed by the JACK Quartet. Her piece Arc of Fire was a Chamber Music America Commission. It was performed in New York City. As part of a special program, her work Waking Dream was performed by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra.
Her music has been played at many important venues and festivals. These include Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln-Center and the Tanglewood Festival. Her piece Shadings was performed at Zankel Hall in 2012. Her Seven Choral Settings were also performed there in 2013.
In 2017, the National Flute Association asked Laura to compose a piece for their Young Artist Competition. Her opera, Artemisia, was created with writer Ginger Strand. It tells the story of Artemisia Gentileschi. This opera had its world premiere in 2019 in two different versions.
Critics have praised Artemisia. The New York Times said the opera dealt with "big themes" using "music of quivering intensity." The San Francisco Classical Voice called it "sumptuous on every level" with a "striking" score.
Her second work with Ginger Strand, Cabaret of Shadows, was performed in March 2022.
What Critics Say
Critics often praise Laura Schwendinger's unique musical style. Allan Kozinn from the New York Times wrote about her Chiaroscuro Azzurro. He said the violin parts were energetic but also sweet. He felt the music would "blossom with repeated listening."
Colin Clarke reviewed her Creature Quartet. He said Laura's music is "highly individual" and "spellbinding." He felt her passion for her music really shines through.
Richard Buell of the Boston Globe called her chamber work Fable "shrewd composing, the genuine article." He also said her String Quartet had an "unmistakable lyric intensity." He noted that Laura "rejoices in edge and has a force that has its way."
Mark Kanny of the Pittsburgh Tribune praised her Buenos Aires. He said she creates "fresh and compelling lines" that build to a "powerful climax." Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim from the New York Times described Laura's works as "musical short stories of somnambulant fragility and purpose."
Awards and Honors
Laura Schwendinger has received many awards and honors. Besides those already mentioned, she has been recognized by the Guggenheim Foundation. She also received fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
She has been awarded commissions from the Harvard Music Association and the Fromm Foundation. She was the first prize winner of the 1995 ALEA III International Composition Competition. Laura is also one of the few composers to receive two commissions from the Koussevitzky Foundation.
Selected Musical Works
- Artist's Muse (1998) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion. This was a Koussevitzky Foundation Commission.
- Chiaroscuro Azzurro (2008) for violin and chamber orchestra. Commissioned by Miller Theater for Jennifer Koh.
- High Wire Act (2005) for flute, strings, and piano.
- Esprimere Concerto for cello and orchestra (2005) written for Matt Haimovitz.
- Celestial City (2002) for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano. A Koussevitzky Foundation Commission.
- String Quartet (2001) in three movements. Commissioned by the Harvard Musical Association.
- Magic Carpet Music (1999) for flute, clarinet, violin, and cello. Written for The Theater Chamber Players.
- Chansons Innocentes: Three songs including In Just Spring- (1988) for soprano and piano. Performed by Dawn Upshaw and Gilbert Kalish.
- Fable (1994) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion.
- Van Gogh Nocturnes (2008) for solo piano.
- Rapture (2003) for cello and piano.
- Sonata for solo violin (1992) in three movements.
- Songs of Heaven and Earth (1998) for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, and harp.
- Artemisia (2019), an opera about Artemisia Gentileschi, with librettist Ginger Strand.
Recordings of Her Music
- Voices of Our Time: A recital by Dawn Upshaw, recorded in Paris. Available on Naxos/TDK DVD.
- Chamber Concerto for piano and chamber orchestra: On the album Grand Designs from Capstone records.
- 3 Works for Solo Instruments and Orchestra: Features Matt Haimovitz and Christina Jennings, from Albany records.
- Quartets: Features the JACK Quartet, Jamie Van Eyck, and Christopher Taylor. Includes String Quartet #1 and Creature Quartet.
- Notable Women: Trios by Today’s Female Composers: Features the Lincoln Trio playing works by Laura Schwendinger and other composers.
- Cow Music: From Ein Klang records, Austria.
