Joseph Schwanter

Title: Music of Amber
Commission: 1979
Completed: 1980
Instrumentation: chamber ensemble
Premiere Location: Alice Tully Hall, New York, NY
Premiere Ensemble: Da Capo Chamber Players
Notes: Only the first movement, “Wind, Willow, Whisper,” was completed for the commission and appeared on the premiere. The piece was later expanded and the full title changed. Dedicated to Paul Fromm.

Joseph Schwantner, known for his dramatic and unique style and as a gifted orchestral colorist, is one of the most prominent American composers today. He holds degrees from the Chicago Conservatory and Northwestern University and previously served on the Juilliard, Eastman and Yale faculties. Schwantner is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Schwantner’s compositional career has been marked by many awards, grants, and fellowships, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for his orchestral composition Aftertones of Infinity and several Grammy nominations. Among his many commissions is his Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, commissioned for the 150th anniversary season of the New York Philharmonic, is one of the most performed concert works of the past several decades. Christopher Lamb, soloist in the recent Naxos recording of Schwantner’s music by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra received a 2012 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo with Schwantner’s Percussion Concerto.

Schwantner’s music is published by Schott Helicon, Edition-Peters, and recorded on a variety of labels including: Hyperion, BMG\RCA Red Label, Hyperion, Naxos, Innova, Koch International Classics, Boston Records, Albany Records, EMI/Virgin Records, New World Records, Klavier Records, Summit Records, Nonesuch, Mercury, CRI, GM Recordings, Delos, Laurel, Crest, DAD Records, Artworks Records, the Smithsonian Collection of Recordings and Sony Classical CD.