Mario Davidovsky facts for kids

Mario Davidovsky (born March 4, 1934 – died August 23, 2019) was an Argentine-American composer. He was born in Argentina and moved to the United States in 1960. He lived there for the rest of his life.

Davidovsky is most famous for his music series called Synchronisms. These pieces are special because they combine live music played by instruments with electronic sounds played from a tape.

About Mario Davidovsky's Life

Mario Davidovsky was born in Médanos, a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. This town is about 600 kilometers (nearly 370 miles) southwest of the big city of Buenos Aires.

He started learning to play the violin when he was seven years old. By the time he was thirteen, he began writing his own music. He studied music composition and theory at the University of Buenos Aires. His teacher was Guillermo Graetzer.

In 1958, Davidovsky studied with famous composers Aaron Copland and Milton Babbitt. This was at the Berkshire Music Center, which is now called the Tanglewood Music Center. Through Milton Babbitt, Davidovsky became very interested in electronic music. Aaron Copland encouraged him to move to the United States.

In 1960, Davidovsky settled in New York City. There, he became an associate director at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.

After the 1970s, most of the music Davidovsky published did not use electronic sounds. His only electronic pieces published after that time were Synchronisms No. 9 (1988) and Synchronisms No. 10 (1992). However, he was asked by a group called SEAMUS to create two more electronic works in the Synchronisms series. These new pieces, No. 11 and No. 12, were first performed in 2007.

Davidovsky continued to work with the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. From 1981 to 1993, he was the director of the lab. He was also a music professor at Columbia University. In 1994, he became a music professor at Harvard University.

During his career, Davidovsky also taught at many other schools. These included the University of Michigan (1964), the Di Tella Institute in Buenos Aires (1965), the Manhattan School of Music (1968–69), Yale University (1969–70), and the City College of New York (1968–80). He also taught composition at Mannes College The New School for Music.

In 1982, Davidovsky was chosen to be a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

His Family Life

Mario Davidovsky married Ellen Blaustein in 1961. They had two children and later three grandchildren. He passed away in New York City on August 23, 2019, at the age of 85.

Awards and Recognitions

Mario Davidovsky received many important awards for his music:

• The American Academy of Arts and Letters' Academy Award (1965)
• Pulitzer Prize (1971)
• Brandeis University Creative Arts Award
• Aaron Copland-Tanglewood Award
• SEAMUS Lifetime Achievement Award (1989)
• Naumburg Award
• Peggy Guggenheim Award (1982)
• Barlow Endowment for Music Composition – Commission (2003)

Special Fellowships and Grants

He also received several special fellowships, which are like grants that help artists and scholars with their work:

• Koussevitzky fellowship (1958)
• Rockefeller fellowships (1963, 1964)
• Guggenheim fellowships (1960, 1971)
• Williams Foundation Fellowship
• Walter Channing Cabot Fellowship

Mario Davidovsky's Compositions

Here is a list of some of the musical pieces Mario Davidovsky composed:

• String Quartet No. 1 (1951)
• Concertino for Percussion and String Orchestra (1954)
• Quintet for Clarinet and Strings (1955)
• Suite Sinfonica Para "El Payaso" (1955), orchestra
• Three Pieces for Woodwind Quartet (1956)
• Noneti for Nine Instruments (1956)
• String Quartet No. 2 (1958)
• Serie Sinfonica 1959 (1959), orchestra
• Contrastes No. 1 (1960), string orchestra and electronic sounds
• Electronic Study No. 1 (1961) Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
• Piano 1961 (1961), orchestra
• Electronic Study No. 2 (1962)
• Synchronisms No. 1 (1962), flute and electronic sound
• Trio for Clarinet, Trumpet, and Viola (1962)
• Synchronisms No. 2 (1964), flute, clarinet, violin, cello and tape
• Synchronisms No. 3 (1964), cello and electronic sound
• Electronic Study No. 3 (1965)
• Inflexions (1965), chamber ensemble
• Junctures (1966), flute, clarinet, and violin
• Synchronisms No. 4 (1966), chorus and tape
• Music for Solo Violin (1968)
• Synchronisms No. 5 (1969), percussion players and tape
• Synchronisms No. 6 (1970), piano and electronic sound (won 1971 Pulitzer Prize)
• Chacona (1971), violin, cello, and piano
• Transientes (1972), orchestra
• Ludus 2 (1973), flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano
• Synchronisms No. 7 (1974), orchestra and tape
• Synchronisms No. 8 (1974), woodwind quintet and tape
• Scenes from Shir ha-Shirim (1975), soprano, two tenors, bass soli and chamber ensemble
• String Quartet No. 3 (1976)
• Pennplay (1979), sixteen players
• Consorts (1980), symphonic band
• String Quartet No. 4 (1980)
• String Trio (1982), violin, viola, violoncello
• Romancero (1983), soprano, flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin and violoncello
• Divertimento (1984), cello and orchestra
• Capriccio (1985), two pianos
• Salvos (1986), flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet, harp, percussion, violin and cello
• Quartetto (1987), flute, violin, viola and violoncello
• Synchronisms No. 9 (1988), violin and tape
• Biblical Songs (1990), soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
• Concertante (1990), string quartet and orchestra
• Simple Dances (1991–2001), flute (piccolo, alto flute), two percussion, piano, and cello
• Synchronisms No. 10 (1992), guitar and electronic sounds
• Shulamit's Dream (1993), soprano and orchestra
• Festino (1994), guitar, viola, violoncello, contrabass
• Concertino (1995), violin and chamber orchestra
• Flashbacks (1995), flute (piccolo and alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin violoncello, piano and percussion
• Quartetto No. 2 (1996), oboe, violin, viola, violoncello
• String Quartet No. 5 (1998)
• Quartetto No. 3 (2000), piano, violin, viola, and violoncello
• Cantione Sine Textu (2001), soprano and chamber ensemble
• RecitAndy (2001), cello
• Duo Capriccioso (2003), piano and violin
• Sefarad: Four Spanish-Ladino Folkscenes (2004), baritone voice, flute (piccolo, alto flute), clarinet (bass clarinet), percussion, violin and cello
• Quartetto No. 4 (2005), clarinet, violin, viola and cello
• Synchronisms No. 11 (2005), contrabass and tape
• Synchronisms No. 12 (2006), clarinet and tape
• Piano Septet (2007)
• Divertimento for 8 ‘Ambiguous Symmetries’ (2015), flute, clarinet, percussion, violin, viola, cello, bass, piano

Recorded Music: His Discography

Here are some albums featuring Mario Davidovsky's music:

• Works by Martin Brody, Mario Davidovsky, Miriam Gideon, Rand Steiger, Chinary Ung, New World Records, New World 80412–2. Released: December 8, 1992.
  • Synchronisms No. 6; Fred Bronstein, Piano.
• Korf: Symphony No.2/Davidovsky: Divertimento/Wright: Night Scenes, New World Records, New World 80383–2. Released: December 8, 1992.
  • Divertimento; Fred Sherry, cello; Riverside Symphony, George Rothman conducting.
• Flashbacks: Music by Mario Davidovsky, Bridge Records, Bridge 9097. Released: June 27, 2000.
  • Flashbacks; The New York New Music Ensemble.
  • Festino; Speculum Musicae.
  • Romancero; Susan Narucki, soprano; Speculum Musicae.
  • Quartetto No. 2; Peggy Pearson, oboe; Bayla Keyes, violin; Mary Ruth Ray, viola; Rhonda Rider, violoncello.
  • Synchronisms No. 10; David Starobin, guitar.
  • String Trio; Speculum Musicae.
• Mario Davidovsky: 3 Cycles on Biblical Texts; Susan Narucki, soprano; Riverside Symphony, George Rothman conducting; Bridge Records, Bridge 1112. Released: July 30, 2002.
  • Shulamit's Dream.
  • Scenes from Shir ha-Shirim.
  • Biblical Songs.
• Harvard Composers, Mendelssohn String Quartet, BIS Records, BIS-SACD-1264. Released: September 9, 2003.
  • String Quartet No. 5.
• Salvos: Chamber Music of Mario Davidovsky, Empyrean Ensemble; Susan Narucki, soprano. Arabesque Records, Arabesque Z6777. Released: January 6, 2004.
  • Simple Dances.
  • Cantione Sine Textu.
  • Quartetto.
  • Salvos.
  • String Trio.
• The Music of Mario Davidovsky, Vol. 3, Bridge Records, Bridge 9171. Released: September 1, 2005.
  • Synchronisms No. 5; The Manhattan School of Music Percussion Ensemble, Jeffrey Milarsky, conductor.
  • Synchronisms No. 6 Aleck Karis, piano.
  • Synchronisms No. 9; Curtis Macomber, violin.
  • Chacona; Curtis Macomber, violin; Eric Bartlett, cello; Aleck Karis, piano.
  • Quartetto; Susan Palma Nidel, flute; Curtis Macomber, violin; Maureen Gallagher, viola; Eric Bartlett, violoncello.
  • Duo Capriccioso; Curtis Macomber, violin; Aleck Karis, piano.

People He Taught

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In Spanish: Mario Davidovsky para niños