Rebecca Saunders facts for kids
Rebecca Saunders (born 19 December 1967) is a talented composer from London. She now lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Her music is very special and has been recognized as some of the best art music created since the year 2000. In fact, in one important poll, her pieces received the third-highest number of votes! People describe her music as exploring the deep sounds and feelings within instruments and voices.
Contents
Rebecca's Life and Musical Journey
Early Studies and Education
Rebecca Saunders studied music at the University of Edinburgh. She learned to play the violin and also how to compose music. She earned a special degree called a PhD in composition in 1997. From 1991 to 1994, she also studied with a famous composer named Wolfgang Rihm in Germany.
Awards and Recognitions
Rebecca Saunders has won many important awards for her music. These include the Busoni Prize in 1994 and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 1996. She also received the Hindemith Prize in 2003 and the Mauricio Kagel Music Prize in 2015. In 2019, she won the main Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. She was the first female composer to receive this very high honor. In 2024, she won an Ivor Novello Award for her piece The Mouth.
Teaching and Residencies
Rebecca Saunders has also shared her knowledge with others. She taught at the Darmstadt International Summer Courses in 2010 and 2012. She was also a "composer-in-residence" at several places. This means she worked closely with musical groups. These places included the Konzerthaus Dortmund and the Staatskapelle Dresden.
Performances of Her Music
Many famous music groups around the world have performed Rebecca Saunders's music. Some of these groups are Ensemble Musikfabrik, Klangforum Wien, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been heard by many people globally.
Exploring Rebecca Saunders's Music
Unique Sounds and Textures
Rebecca Saunders's music often uses a small number of main notes. However, she creates a huge variety of sounds and textures. She loves to use the natural noises that instruments make. This includes the scratch of a bow on a string instrument. It also includes the thud of piano pedals. She even uses the taps and slides of fingers on a string instrument. Because her sounds are so specific, she writes long notes in her music. These notes explain exactly how she wants the musicians to play each sound.
Music as a Physical Experience
Rebecca Saunders thinks about music in a very unique way. She once said that she wants listeners to feel the "magical physicality of sound." She wants them to feel its "timbre, color, mass, and weight." She compares her work to a sculptor who shapes different materials. This means she tries to make sound feel like something you can touch or feel in a space. In some of her pieces, like chroma, she even invites people to walk around. This helps them explore how the physical space changes their experience of the music.
List of Rebecca Saunders's Works
- Behind the Velvet Curtain (1991–92), for trumpet, harp, piano and cello
- Trio (1992), for clarinet, violoncello and piano
- Mirror, mirror on the wall (1993–94), for piano
- The Under Side of Green (1994), for clarinet, violin and piano
- Molly's Song 1—crimson (1995), for twelve soloists, metronome, whistle, music box and conductor
- Molly's Song 2—a shade of crimson (1995), for voice, viola, flute, steel string guitar and shortwave radios
- Molly's Song 3—shades of crimson (1995), for alto flute, viola, steel-stringed guitar, four radios and music box
- Duo (1996), for violin and piano
- Into the Blue (1996), for clarinet, bassoon, cello, double bass, piano and percussion
- dichroic seventeen (1996), for piano, two percussionists, two double basses, accordion and electric guitar
- G and E on A (1996–97), for orchestra and 27 music boxes
- String Quartet (1997)
- QUARTET (1998), for piano, B-flat clarinet/bass clarinet, double bass and accordion
- cinnabar (1999), for violin, trumpet and ensemble
- duo four – two exposures (2000–01), for solo trumpet, solo percussion and orchestra
- albescere (2001), for twelve instruments and five voices
- Chroma (I–XIX) (2003–13), for twelve to sixteen performers
- vermilion (2003), for clarinet, electric guitar and cello
- insideout (2003), for woodwinds, brass, timpani, percussion, piano, strings, accordion, electric guitar — music for the choreographic installation by Sasha Waltz
- blaauw (2004), for double-bell trumpet
- Choler (2004), for piano duo
- Miniata (2004), for accordion, piano, choir and orchestra
- Crimson (2004–05), for piano
- Fury I (2005), for double bass
- Blue and Gray (2005), for two double basses
- rubricare (2005), for strings and organ
- rubricare (2005), for baroque string orchestra
- A Visible Trace (2006), for seven soloists and conductor
- Traces (2006–09), for orchestra
- Soliloquy (2007), for six voices a cappella
- Stirrings Still I (2007), for alto flute, oboe, clarinet, piano and bowed crotales
- Stirrings Still II (2008), for six players: alto flute, oboe, clarinet in A, crotales, piano and double bass
- Company (2008), for counter tenor, trumpet, violoncello, accordion and electric guitar
- Disclosure (2008), for five players: bass clarinet (doubling clarinet), trumpet, trombone, piano and violin
- murmurs (2009), Collage for ten players
- Fury II (2010), Concert for double bass and ensemble
- To and fro (2010), for violin and oboe
- Stratum (2010), for orchestra
- Stasis I (2011), a special collage for 16 soloists
- Stasis collective (2011–16), a special collage for 23 musicians
- Stasis II (2011–14), quartet for trumpet, oboe, percussion and piano
- Caerulean (2011), for bass clarinet
- Dialogue (2011), for viola and percussion
- Neither (2011), for 2 double bell trumpets
- Stirrings (2011), for nine players: alto flute, clarinet in A (boehm system), oboe, crotales (top octave with 2 violoncello bows), piano (grand), harp, violin, violoncello (IV scordatura), double bass (with five strings, V scordatura)
- Still (2011), for violin and orchestra
- Ire (2012), Concerto for violoncello, strings and percussion
- Fletch (2012), for string quartet
- Shadow (2013), for piano
- ...of waters making moan (2013), for accordion
- Solitude (2013), for violoncello
- Void (2013–14), for two percussionists and chamber orchestra
- Alba (2014), for trumpet und orchestra
- Six for AK (2015), for 2 percussionists, piano (2 players), guitar (steel strings) and harp
- White (2015, revised 2016), for double bell trumpet solo
- Skin (2016), for soprano and ensemble
- Myriad (2015–2016) sound installation of 2464 identical musical box mechanisms
- Still / Aether/ Alba (2020)
- Solo – Klangforum Wien (2021)
- Us Dead Talk Love (2021), for alto voice, tenor saxophone, e-guitar, Korg organ and percussion
See also
In Spanish: Rebecca Saunders para niños
