Augusta Read Thomas - Composer



Chamber Music For works carrying this icon, more information, and audio excerpts, are available on the Recordings page. Click on the icon to be taken to the relevant listing. Where "AUDIO" is listed next to the work, an excerpt from a source other than a commercial recording is provided. Return to main Works page ...a circle around the sun..., for piano trio (2000)PROGRAM NOTES AUDIO Commissioned for the Amelia Trio by The Children's Memorial Foundation of Children's Hospital, Chicago, in honor of George D. Kennedy Premiered by the Amelia Trio, at a private party in Folsom, California, 4 November 2001 Duration 4 minutes among dawn flowers, for soprano and piano (2001)PROGRAM NOTES Text by Basho Commissioned by The Arts Association Premiered by Barbara Ann Martin in Fredericia, Denmark, 13 January 2001 Duration 4 minutes Around Midnight Variation, for solo piano (2001) Bells Ring Summer, for solo cello (2000)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO Commissioned by Joan and Irwin Jacobs for the La Jolla Chamber Music Society's SummerFest Premiered by David Finckel Duration 3 1/2 minutes Bubble: Rainbow (spirit level), for soprano and ensemble (2003)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO soprano, flute, oboe, violin, cello, piano, percussionist (playing only vibraphone/motor off, 2 crotales/Eb and D, and 2 bongos) Texts by Elizabeth Bishop and Emily Dickinson World premiere by the Ensemble Sospeso, Rand Steiger, conductor, Lucy Shelton, soprano, on 9 January 2005 Duration 4 1/2 minutes Cantos for Slava, for cello and piano (2007)PROGRAM NOTES In Celebration Mstislav Rostropovich First performance by Matt Haimovitz, cello, and Geoffrey Burleson, piano. Venue TBD, Spring 2008 Duration 12 minutes Caprice, for solo violin (2005)PROGRAM NOTES Premiere by Rachel Barton Pine, Supreme Court Concert, Washington, DC, 18 May 2005 Duration 5 minutes Carillon Sky, for solo violin and small ensemble (2005)PRESS & PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO solo violin, 1(dbl.Pic).1.1.0/0.1.1.0/2 perc/Pno/hp/4 strings 11110 or 11020 Premiere by MusicNow Ensemble, Chicago Symphony, Oliver Knussen conducting, 3 April 2006 Duration 8 minutes Chant, for cello and piano (1991; revised 2002)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO Premiered by the Fischer Duo (Norman Fischer, cello; Jeanne Kierman, piano) at Rice University, Houston, Texas, 21 January 1992 Revised version premiered by Kate Dillingham, cello, and Blair McMillen, piano, at Merkin Hall, New York, New York, 16 April 2002 Duration 10 minutes Dancing Helix Rituals, for violin, clarinet, and piano (2007)PRESS & PROGRAM NOTES Premiered by The Verdehr Trio, Washington, DC, 21 October 2007 Duration 9 minutes D(i)agon(als), for solo clarinet (2005)PROGRAM NOTES Premiered by J. Lawrie Bloom, Chicago, IL, 5 May 2005 Duration 5 minutes Eagle at Sunrise, for string quartet (2001)PROGRAM NOTES Commissioned by The Koussivetzky Foundation Premiered by The Ying Quartet in Winter, 2002 May also be performed as part of the grouping Sun Threads Duration 7-8 minutes Final Soliloquy of the Interior Paramour, for small ensemble and mezzo-soprano and counter-tenor (2004)PROGRAM NOTES See also Works for Chorus Text by Wallace Stevens (NOTE: A small amount of humming and vocalizing is required from 50% of the players. These vocal parts require only an amateur level voice and singing skills.) Commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University Premiered by Alarm Will Sound at Columbia University, 7 April 2005 Duration 8 minutes Fugitive Star, for string quartet (1999-2000)PROGRAM NOTES Commissioned by The Caramoor Music Festival Premiered by The Avalon Quartet in July, 2000 May also be performed as part of the grouping Sun Threads Duration 9 minutes Incantation, for solo violin (1995) (also a version for solo viola)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO Commissioned and premiered by Catherine Tait in Rochester, NY in 1995 Viola version was premiered by Colin Belisle on 18 June 2006, at the New England Conservatory, Boston, MA Duration 5 minutes Invocations, for string quartet (2000)PRESS & PROGRAM NOTES Commissioned by The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival with funding from Chamber Music America Premiered by The Miami Quartet, 19 March 2000 May also be performed as part of the grouping Sun Threads Duration 9 minutes Love Twitters, for solo piano (2006) First public performance by Nicola Melville at Carleton College, Minnesota, 28 September 2007 Duration 5 minutes Lullaby: Bells and Prayers for Elliott, for solo piano (2008)PROGRAM NOTES First public performance by Stephen Gosling and Marilyn Nonken, February 29, 2008, New York City Duration 3 1/2 minutes Memory: Swells, for guitar duo (2005)PROGRAM NOTES Premiered by Laura Oltman and Michael Newman at the Raritan River Music Festival, Clinton, NJ, 28 May 2005 Duration 7 1/2 minutes Moon Jig, for violin, cello, and piano (2005)PROGRAM NOTES Premiered by The Lincoln Trio, Chicago, IL, 5 May 2005 Duration 5 minutes Murmurs in the Mist of Memory, for 11 solo strings (2001)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO Commissioned by The International Sejong Soloists Premiered by The ISS at the Aspen Music Festival, June 2001 Duration 10 minutes Passion Prayers, for solo cello and 6 instruments (1999)PRESS & PROGRAM NOTES cello, flute, clarinet, violin, piano, harp, percussion Commissioned by The Network for New Music Premiered by The Network for New Music, Jan Kryzwicki, conductor Scott Kluksdahl, solo cellist, on 11 April 1999 Duration 9 minutes Piano Etudes, for solo piano PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO Etudes #1 and #2 (1996) Commissioned and premiered by Judy Seibert, Brock University, St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada, 20 March 1997 Duration 5 minutes Etudes #3 and #4 (2003) Commissioned by the American Pianists Association, through the Christel Award, for 1995 Classical Fellow James Giles Premiered by James Giles, Indianapolis, Indiana, 20 April 2003; London's Wigmore Hall on 16 April; and Helsinki's Sibelius Academy on 19 April Duration 6 minutes Etudes #5 and #6 (2005) Co-premiered by Amy Dissanayake on 3 March 2006, at Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, and by Stephen Gosling on 23 March 2006 at Merkin Hall, New York, New York Duration 5 minutes Prairie Sketches I: Diamonds on Orchid Velvet, for soprano and ensemble (2004)PRESS & PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO solo soprano (light lyric, slightly coloratura) fl, ob, cl, hp, vl, vc, 1 perc., 3 famale voices or a small children's chorus Premiered by the Callisto Ensemble, Cliff Colnot, conductor, Tony Arnold, soprano, on 9 January 2005 Poem by Suzann Zimmerman Duration 15 minutes Prayer and Celebration for very small orchestra (2006)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO See also Orchestral Works Commissioned and premiered by Saint Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire, 3 June 2006 David Seaton, conducting 1111/0000/opt. perc./strings (ensemble members double: bells, triangles, finger cymbals, crotales, etc., or optional extra pecussion players can be used instead.) Duration 7 minutes Pulsar, for solo violin (2003)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO Commissioned by the BBC jointly with the Royal Philharmonic Society Premiered by Ilya Gringolts on 17 March 2003 at Wigmore Hall, London American premiere by Movses Pogossian on 10 February 2004, Buffalo, NY Viola verson was premiered by Carol Rodland, 15 June 2006, Jordan Hall, Boston, MA Duration 6 minutes Rise Chanting for string quartet (2002)PRESS & PROGRAM NOTES Premiered by the Alexander String Quartet at the Krannert Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 18 April 2002 May also be performed as part of the grouping Sun Threads Duration 13 minutes Rumi Settings for violin and viola (2001)PROGRAM NOTESAUDIO Commissioned by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music Premiered by Ani Kavafian, violin, and Ida Kavafian, viola, at the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music in Tucson, Arizona, 5 March 2002 Duration 9 minutes Rush, for solo violin (2004)PROGRAM NOTES Premiere by Rachel Barton Pine on the Saint Paul Sunday Radio Show, 17 April 2005 Duration 2 minutes Scat (2007)PRESS For flute (or oboe), violin, viola, cello, piano (or harpsichord) First performance by the Walden Chamber Players, Northampton, MA, 9 November 2007 Duration 9 minutes Scherzi Musicali (2007)PROGRAM NOTES For 2 trumpets in C, horn, trombone Commissioned by Gail Williams First performance by Charles Geyer, Barbara Butler, Michael Mulcahy, and Gail Williams on the Chicago Chamber Musicians series, Chicago, IL, 21 October 2007 Duration 3 minutes and 30 seconds Silent Moon, for violin and viola (2006)PROGRAM NOTES For violin and viola (or violin and cello) Commissioned and to be premiered by Almita and Roland Vamos, Chicago, IL, 2006 Duration 8 minutes Silhouettes, for solo marimba (2004)PROGRAM NOTES Premiered by Nathaniel Bartlett, New Jersey, 16 June 2004 In Four Movements: I. Like Toru Takemitsu crossed with Bill Evans II. Like Stravinsky crossed with Thelonius Monk III. Like Boulez crossed with Oscar Peterson IV. Like Bartok crossed with Art Tatum Duration 8 minutes ...The Soul is Light... for oboe (or flute), violin and harp (2006) First performance at the Steiner Archive at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, November 28, 2006 American Premiere was by the New World Symphony, Marguerite Lynn Williams, harp; Katie Young, oboe; Katherine Bormann, violin, at the Lincoln Theatre, Miami Beach, FL, on Friday, January 26, 2007 Duration 8 minutes Spring Song for solo cello (1995)PROGRAM NOTES Commissioned, premiered and recorded by Scott Kluksdahl Duration 5 minutes Sun Songs for solo soprano and three percussion (2004)PROGRAM NOTES Texts by Emily Dickinson First performance by The Percussion Plus Project, Chicago, Illinois, 26 February 2006 Duration 10 minutes Sun Threads for string quartet (1999-2002)PROGRAM NOTES Grouping of four string quartets: Eagle at Sunrise Invocations Fugitive Star Rise Chanting Duration 39 minutes Toft Serenade, for violin and piano (2006) (also a version for viola and piano) Commissioned by Christopher and Douglas Toft for their parents, Richard and Marietta, in honor of their respective 70th and 65th birthdays Premiered by Rachel Barton Pine, violin; Matthew Hagle, piano; Chicago, IL, 28 October 2006 Duration 10 minutes Traces, for solo piano (2005)PROGRAM NOTES AUDIO Commissioned by the Montalvo Festival for Llang Llang Duration 16 minutes Return to main Works page To obtain examination or performance material for any of Augusta Read Thomas's works, please contact G. 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