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PODCAST

Hearing The Pulitzers

hearingthepulitzers

Hearing the Pulitzers: A piece-by-piece, episode-by-episode exploration of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Music with hosts Andrew Granade and David Thurmaier.

music music history

All Episodes

24:22

Bonus: An Interview with William Bolcom

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/12/08

In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with 1988 Pulitzer Prize Winner William Bolcom. What is the difference between the Etudes and the New Etudes? What impact did John Cage have on his career? And who is answering the phone? We hope you enjoy hearing from him about these insights and many more!

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32:26

Episode 46 - 1988: William Bolcom, Twelve New Etudes

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/11/16

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first solo piano work to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. And they try to answer the question–if these are "new" etudes, what are the "old" etudes? They also examine how Bolcom incorporates various styles and techniques into the etudes, and ponder the set's historical place among other etude collections. If you'd like more information about William Bolcom, we recommend: Henry S. Jones's dissertation "William Bolcom's Twelve New Etudes for Piano" (Louisiana

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28:46

Bonus: An Interview with John Harbison

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/09/24

In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with Pulitzer Winner John Harbison. Why did he decide to play the tuba? What was it like to study composition with two-time winner Walter Piston? What was the impetus for looking at the darker side of Christmas in The Flight Into Egypt? We hope you enjoy hearing from him about these insights and many more!

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29:14

Episode 45 - 1987: John Harbison, The Flight Into Egypt

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/08/30

In this episode Dave and Andrew discuss a composer known for his eclecticism, who writes music that features the influence of jazz, Stravinskian neoclassicism, Schoenbergian serialism, and a variety of popular idioms. But will that mixture of styles win them over when applied to a Biblical text about the "dark side" of Christmas? If you'd like more information about Harbison, we recommend: Brian Galante's dissertation "John Harbison's The Flight into Egypt: An Analysis for Performance," University

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22:46

Episode 44 - 1986: George Perle, Wind Quintet IV

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/06/27

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss someone they know primarily as a music theorist. George Perle is celebrated for his theoretical work on twelve-tone theory and Alban Berg's music, but how does he stack up as a composer? And what do they think of the first woodwind quintet to win a Pulitzer? For more information about George Perle, we recommend: George Perle, Twelve-Tone Tonality, 2nd edition (University of California Press, 1996). George Perle, The Operas of Alban Berg, Vol I and Vol II

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27:44

Episode 43 -1985: Stephen Albert, Symphony RiverRun

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/06/07

In this episode, Dave and Andrew continue discussing the streak of Neo-Romantic winners of the Pulitzer Prize in music with Stephen Albert's Symphony RiverRun. But will this symphony win them over? For more information about Stephen Albert, we recommend: Ron Petrides's dissertation "Pitch Organization in Stephen Albert's Symphony RiverRun: A Study in Modal Combinations and Tonal Centricity" PhD Diss, NYU, 2008. Holly Watkins's article "The Pastoral After Environmentalism: Nature and Culture in

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28:08

Episode 42 - 1984: Bernard Rands, Canti del Sole

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/05/12

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer associated with New Romanticism. But is that label reductive or does it accurately describe Bernard Rands's music? How about this song cycle based on poems about the sun? If you'd like more information about Rands, we recommend: Will Robin's article "Horizons ’83, Meet the Composer, and New Romanticism’s New Marketplace" in Musical Quarterly, Vol. 102, nos. 2-3 (2019): 158–99. Benjamin Rivera's thesis "An Introduction to the Musical Language of

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31:28

Bonus: An Interview with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/02/25

In this special bonus episode, Dave and Andrew talk with Pulitzer Winner Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. What did she learn studying at Florida State University and with former Pulitzer winners Roger Sessions and Elliott Carter? And why does she have a framed "Peanuts" cartoon in her studio? We hope you enjoy hearing from her about these insights and more!

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24:56

Episode 41 - 1983: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Symphony...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/02/10

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the first female Pulitzer Prize winner, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who wrote a symphony of all things. What will they think about the first symphony to win the prize since Walter Piston's Symphony No. 7 back in 1961? As promised in the episode, here's Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's appearance in Peanuts. If you'd like more information about Zwilich, we recommend: Julie Schnepel's article "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Symphony No. 1: Developing Variation in the 1980s" in

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27:37

Episode 40 - 1982: Roger Sessions, Concerto for...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2023/01/16

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss the third winner of the Pulitzer Prize to study with Horatio Parker at Yale, Roger Sessions, for his Concerto for Orchestra. Since the other two winners were Charles Ives and Quincy Porter, it isn't a shock that Sessions was 85 years old when he won. What will they think about this blast from the past? If you'd like to learn more about Roger Sessions, we recommend: Roger Sessions on Music: Collected Essays, edited by Edward T. Cone (Princeton University

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24:13

Episode 39 - 1981: No Winner

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/12/22

In this episode, Dave and Andrew cover the fourth and final time (so far) that the Pulitzer Board decided not to award a music prize. Unlike 1965, which was the last year they didn't award the prize, 1981 wasn't mired in controversy. So why did the Pulitzer Board not award a prize and what should have won? As a bonus, Dave and Andrew also discuss lessons learned after covering 40 years of the Pulitzer Prize and make predictions for what's to come!

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33:33

Episode 38 - 1980: David Del Tredici, In Memory of a...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/11/18

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer Aaron Copland called a "rare find among composers — a creator with a truly original gift." Will they agree with Copland about David Del Tredici's In Memory of a Summer Day? If you'd like more information about David Del Tredici, we recommend: Contemporary Music Review's issue on New Tonality, volume 6, issue 2 (1992), including Paul Moravec's interview with Del Tredici. J. D. Dolan's article on Del Tredici in BOMB, No. 60 (Summer 1997):

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25:55

Episode 37 - 1979: Joseph Schwantner, Aftertones of...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/10/21

In this episode, Andrew and Dave explore a composer they first encountered with his music for wind band. In his Pulitzer-winning work, Schwantner fashioned a composition critics have described as creating a "poetic illusion—but only an illusion— of movement." Will this illusion win them over? If you'd like more information about Schwantner we recommend: James Chute's dissertation "The reemergence of tonality in contemporary music as shown in the works of David Del Tredici, Joseph Schwantner, and

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26:47

Episode 36 - 1978: Michael Colgrass, Déjà Vu

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/09/26

In this episode, Dave and Andrew record their first live podcast event! In front of the Kansas City Conducting Symposium, they discuss an unusual work for the Pulitzers in that Michael Colgrass featured the percussion section of the orchestra. Will they enjoy this departure from standard orchestration? If you'd like more information about Colgrass, we recommend: Colgrass's autobiographies Adventures of an American Composer and My Lessons with Kumi James Donald Broadhurst's dissertation "The

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27:07

Episode 35 - 1977: Richard Wernick, Visions of Terror...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/09/07

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a Pulitzer winner that has so fallen out of the repertoire that there is no commercially available recording. But that doesn't mean there aren't interesting things to learn about the state of music in the late 1970s! For example, why was there an extra meeting of the jury, and did all the members participate in the deliberations? Listen to find out! If you'd like more information about Richard Wernick, we recommend: This interview with Wernick from 2021

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33:39

Episode 34 - 1976: Ned Rorem, Air Music

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/08/19

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore a composer better known for his songs who won for an orchestral work, Ned Rorem. They may enjoy The Nantucket Songs but what will they think about Air Music? And was Air Music actually supposed to win the Pulitzer Prize??? Tune in to find out. If you'd like to know more about Ned Rorem, we recommend: Ned Rorem, The Paris and the New York Diaries, 1951-1961, Open Road Media J.D. McClatchy's 1999 interview with Ned Rorem in The Paris Review, Issue 150 A Ned

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25:33

Episode 33 - 1975: Dominick Argento, From the Diary...

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/08/01

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the first song cycle to ever win the Pulitzer Prize, Dominick Argento's From the Diary of Virginia Woolf. Argento always remarked that his music balanced between his desire for fantasy and his need for control. Do Dave and Andrew think this work has that balance? If you'd like more information about Dominick Argento, we recommend: Jacquelyn Matava's dissertation "Dominick Argento's From the Diary of Virginia Woolf: A Preparation Guide for Performers"

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32:31

Episode 32 - 1974: Donald Martino, Notturno

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/07/16

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss a composer who is usually considered a 12-tone composer, but who also rejected labels. He famously told the New York Times in 1997 that "If anyone writes program notes and says I am a Serial or a 12-tone composer, I am infuriated." How do Dave and Andrew label Martino's music? How does Notturno fit into the style of other winners in the early 1970s? If you'd like more information about Donald Martino and Notturno, we recommend: James Praznik's 2022

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30:13

Episode 31 - 1973: Elliott Carter, String Quartet No. 3

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/06/28

In this episode, Dave and Andrew revisit Elliott Carter, who won his first Pulitzer in 1960. They awarded his String Quartet No. 2 two big thumbs up. Will they be as enthusiastic about Carter's String Quartet No. 3? If you'd like more information about Elliott Carter and his String Quartet No. 3, we recommend: This performance of the String Quartet No. 3 by the Jack Quartet. Andrew W. Mead's article "Pitch Structure in Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 3" in Perspectives of New Music, vol. 22,

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25:51

Episode 30 - 1972: Jacob Druckman, Windows

Hearing The Pulitzers ·

2022/06/05

In this episode, Dave and Andrew look through Windows at Jacob Druckman's compositional style and legacy in American music. Druckman taught at Yale and the Aspen Music Festival for years, shaping generations of young composers, and coined the term "New Romanticism" when he curated the Horizons Festivals at the NY Philharmonic in the mid-1980s. Yet today, his attempts to merge modernist techniques with audience-friendly sounds are largely forgotten. Should they be? If you'd like to know more about

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