1994
for
String quartet: two violins, viola and cello
Ralph Shapey
Ying Quartet
1993 Chamber Music Competition
October 27, 1994
Ralph Shapey was an American composer and conductor who founded the University of Chicago's Contemporary Chamber Players in 1964. A student of Stefan Wolpe, he wrote more than 200 works and received a MacArthur Fellowship. He taught at Chicago until 1991 and continued composing into his final years.
Ralph Shapey was an American composer, conductor, and teacher. Born in Philadelphia in 1921, he studied violin with Emanuel Zetlin and composition with Stefan Wolpe. After serving in the Army during World War II, he worked in New York as a violinist, composer, and conductor. He joined the University of Chicago in 1964 and founded its Contemporary Chamber Players that year, directing the ensemble for three decades. His catalogue contains more than 200 works, including commissions from the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and major American music foundations. His honors included a MacArthur Fellowship and a Friedheim Award. He retired from teaching in 1991 but continued composing until shortly before his death in 2002.
After very many years (73) I've come to dislike 'program notes.' It seems to me that they are usually excuses and rationalizations for the piece. I firmly believe that music is an auditory art, not a bunch of theories, or even descriptions. Detailed 'program notes," I believe, actually get in the way of the music; like most conductors get in the way of the music they are conducting.
So instead of program notes I send only my credo:
In lectures to audiences over the years, I have stated: "Bring your brains, your humanity to a concert and leave your prejudices at home!