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Michael Torke

2025-10-14T00:32:06Z

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{{Short description|American composer (born 1961)}}
'''Michael Torke''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɔr|k|i}};<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4BxABhQNOw|title=Composer Michael Torke talks about his history with SPAC!|work=YouTube|date=August 24, 2015|accessdate=18 October 2022}}</ref> born September 22, 1961) is an American [[composer]] who writes music influenced by [[jazz]] and [[minimalism]].

Torke was born in [[Milwaukee|Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], where he attended Wilson Elementary School, graduated from [[Wauwatosa East High School]], and studied at the [[Eastman School of Music]] with [[Joseph Schwantner]] and [[Christopher Rouse (composer)|Christopher Rouse]], and at [[Yale University]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 May 2020 |title=Composer and Yale alumnus Anthony Davis wins Pulitzer Prize in music |url=https://music.yale.edu/news/composer-and-yale-alumnus-anthony-davis-wins-pulitzer-prize-music |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=music.yale.edu |language=en}}</ref>

==Works==
{{Main|List of compositions by Michael Torke}}
Sometimes described as a [[postminimalism|post-minimalist]],<ref name=Decca>{{cite book|last1=Simeone|first1=Nigel|title=Colourful Exuberance (Liner Notes in Michael Torke - Color Music 4784580)|date=2012|publisher=Decca Music Group Limited|location=London, England|page=5}}</ref> his most characteristically postminimal piece is ''Four Proverbs'', in which the syllable for each pitch is fixed and variations in the melody produce streams of nonsense words. Other works in this style include ''Book of Proverbs'' and ''Song of Isaiah''. An early piece where he first used a certain post-minimalist style was ''[[Vanada]]'', made in 1984. His best-known work is probably ''[[Javelin (Torke)|Javelin]]'', which he composed in 1994, [[commission (art)|commissioned]] by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in celebration of the [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra]]'s 50th anniversary season, in conjunction with the [[1996 Summer Olympics]]. Commissioned by [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] and [[Michael Eisner]] for the [[New York Philharmonic]]'s Millennium Celebration, he wrote ''Four Seasons,'' an [[oratorio]] for chorus and orchestra celebrating various aspects of the months. He wrote a ballet in 2002, ''The Contract,'' with choreography by [[James Kudelka]]. Torke was also commissioned to help Chicago celebrate the centennial of [[Daniel Burnham]]'s [[1909 Plan of Chicago]] and produced a work entitled ''Plans'' that was performed at the [[Grant Park Music Festival]] in June 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grantparkmusicfestival.com/2009-season/burnhams-plan-and-rachmaninoffs-3rd|title=From 1909: Burnham's Plan and Rachmaninoff's 3rd|accessdate=2010-05-10|publisher=[[Grant Park Music Festival]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2009/06/with-unplanned-weather-torkes-plans-receives-ardent-if-soggy-premiere/|title=With unplanned weather, Torke's "Plans" receives ardent if soggy premiere|accessdate=2010-05-10|date=2009-06-20|author=Johnson, Lawrence A.|work=Chicago Classical Review}}</ref>

A [[synesthesia|synesthete]],<ref name=OrangeTorke>{{cite web|last1=Torke|first1=Michael|title=Ecstatic Orange for orchestra (1985)|url=http://www.michaeltorke.com/detail.php?compid=60|website=michaeltorke.com|publisher=Michael Torke|accessdate=12 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212203441/http://www.michaeltorke.com/detail.php?compid=60|archive-date=12 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> he is the composer of numerous pieces that include colors in the titles (''Bright Blue Music'', ''Ecstatic Orange''), later made into the suite ''[[Color Music (Torke)|Color Music]]'' (1991). Other pieces include the opera ''The Directions'' (1986), ''Rust'' (1989), influenced by rap and disco, ''Telephone Book'' (1985, 1995), ''[[Adjustable Wrench (Torke)|Adjustable Wrench]]'', and ''Ash'' (1989) and ''Mass'' (1990), which received criticism for an attempt at the style of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] and [[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]].

In 2003, he created his own record label, Ecstatic Records, on which he re-released a set of six 1990s CDs that were deleted by the now out-of-business [[Argo Records (UK)|Argo Records]], which was a subsidiary of [[Decca Records]].

His opera ''Pop'pea'', a [[rock opera]] version of Monteverdi's ''[[L'incoronazione di Poppea]]'', was commissioned by the [[Théâtre du Châtelet]] in Paris and premiered there on May 29, 2012.<ref>[http://www.parisetudiant.com/etudiant/sortie/pop-pea-monteverdi-version-video-pop-paris-01.html "''Pop'pea'' - Monteverdi version vidéo-pop"], ''[[Le Parisien]]'', {{in lang|fr}}<br />[http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2012/8/Reviews/PARIS__Pop_pea.html ''Pop'pea'' (31 May 2012) review] by Stephen J. Mudge, ''[[Opera News]]'', August 2012, vol. 77, no. 2</ref>

{{see also|Category:Ballets by Michael Torke}}

==Awards==
*Independent Music Awards 2012: ''Tahiti'' – Best Instrumental Album<ref>[http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima/2012/11th-annual-independent-music-awards-winners-announced/ "11th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced!"] Independent Music Awards, 2 May 2012. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.</ref>
*Finalist Pulitzer Prize 2020: Sky—Concerto for Violin<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2020 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Music |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/anthony-davis }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.michaeltorke.com/ Michael Torke Official Site]
*[http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/acc/torke.html Classical Net: Michael Torke]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060324042435/http://www.nycopera.com/learning/resource/biographies/torke_michael.aspx New York City Opera: Learning Center: Resources Center: Biographies: Michael Torke]
*[https://www.billholabmusic.com/ Publisher]

===Listening===
*[http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/sample.asp?composerid=2845 Boosey & Hawkes: Michael Torke Sound Samples]
{{Michael Torke}}
{{Portal bar|Classical music|Opera|Biography|Music}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Composers for carillon]]
[[Category:Eastman School of Music alumni]]
[[Category:Jazz-influenced classical composers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pupils of Christopher Rouse (composer)]]

James Scott (composer)

2025-10-12T20:52:23Z

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{{Short description|American ragtime composer and pianist (1885–1938)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = James Scott
| image = James_Scott_(composer)_c._1904.jpg
| caption = Scott, {{c.}} 1904
| image_size =
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = James Sylvester Scott
| alias = The Little Professor<ref name="piano society">{{cite web|title=James Scott (1885 - 1938)| url=http://www.pianosociety.com/cms/source_selector.php?section=1393|publisher=Piano Society|access-date=September 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026074259/http://www.pianosociety.com/cms/source_selector.php?section=1393|archive-date=October 26, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
| birth_date = February 12, 1885
| birth_place = [[Neosho, Missouri|Neosho]], [[Missouri]], United States
| death_date = August 30, 1938 (aged 53)
| death_place = {{nowrap|[[Kansas City, Kansas|Kansas City]], [[Kansas]], United States}}
| origin =
| instrument = Piano, organ
| genre = {{hlist|[[Ragtime]]|[[March (music)|march]]|[[waltz]]}}
| occupation = Composer, pianist, music teacher, band leader, arranger
| years_active = 1901–1938
| label =
| associated_acts =
| current_members =
| past_members =
}}

'''James Sylvester Scott''' (February 12, 1885 – August 30, 1938) was an American [[ragtime]] [[composer]] and pianist. He is regarded as one of the "Big Three" composers of [[Classic rag|classical ragtime]] along with [[Scott Joplin]] and [[Joseph Lamb (composer)|Joseph Lamb]].<ref name="Jasen and Tichenor">Jasen David A. and Trebor Jay Tichenor (1978) ''Rags and Ragtime'', Dover.</ref>

==Early life and education==
Scott was born in [[Neosho, Missouri]], to James Scott Sr. and Molly Thomas Scott, both former slaves.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Scott, 1885-1938|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035819/|access-date=2023-12-04|website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> In 1901, his family moved to [[Carthage, Missouri]], where he attended Lincoln High School. He was given a piano after taking music lessons.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Scott, 1885-1938|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035819/|access-date=2023-12-04|website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> In 1902, he began working at the music store of Charles L. Dumars, first washing windows, then demonstrating music at the piano as a [[song plugger]], including his own pieces. Demand for his music convinced Dumars to print the first of Scott's published compositions, "A Summer Breeze - March and Two Step", in 1903.<ref name="Jasen and Tichenor"/> By 1904, two more compositions by Scott, "Fascinator March" and "On the Pike March" were published and sold well, but not enough to keep Dumars in business and soon the company ceased publishing.<ref name="HASKINS">{{cite book|title=Scott Joplin - The Man Who Made Ragtime|author=James Haskins|isbn=0-8128-6066-7|year=1978|page=145|publisher=Stein and Day}}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:On the Pike 1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|James Scott's 1904 "On the Pike", which refers to the midway of the [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition|St. Louis World's Fair of 1904]].]]

Ragtime Historians Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis recount that Scott went to [[St. Louis, Missouri]], in search of his idol Scott Joplin in 1905.<ref>[[#Berlin|Berlin (1994)]] pp. 146.</ref> He located Joplin and asked if he would listen to one of his ragtime compositions. Upon hearing the rag, Joplin introduced him to his own publisher, [[John Stillwell Stark]], and recommended he publish the work. Stark published the rag a year later as "[[Frog Legs Rag]]". It quickly became a hit and was second in sales in the Stark catalogue only to that of Joplin's own "[[Maple Leaf Rag]]".<ref name="Berlin">{{cite book|title=King of Ragtime - Scott Joplin and His Era|url=https://archive.org/details/kingofragtimesco00berl|url-access=registration|author=Edward Berlin|isbn=0-19-508739-9|year=1994|page=[https://archive.org/details/kingofragtimesco00berl/page/58 58]|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Scott became a regular contributor to the Stark catalogue until 1922.

In 1914, Scott moved to [[Kansas City, Missouri]], where he married Nora Johnson, taught music, and accompanied silent movies as an organist and arranger at the Panama Theater.<ref name="Jasen and Tichenor"/><ref name="Blesh">{{cite book|title=They All Played Ragtime|last1=Blesh|first1=Rudi|last2=Janis|first2=Harriet|isbn=0-8256-0091-X|year=1950|page=[https://archive.org/details/theyallplayedrag00bles/page/114 114]|publisher=Oak Publications|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/theyallplayedrag00bles/page/114}}</ref><ref name="Jasen2007">{{cite book|title=Ragtime: An Encyclopedia, Discography, and Sheetography|url=https://archive.org/details/ragtimeencyclope00jase|url-access=limited|author=David A. Jasen|isbn=978-0-415-97862-0|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ragtimeencyclope00jase/page/n247 227]| publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> Those that knew him recall that theater work was a large part of his activity. His cousin Patsy Thomas remembers, "Everybody called him 'Little Professor' He always walked rapidly, looking at the ground - would pass you on the street and never see you - seemed always deep in thought."<ref>[[#Blesh|Blesh (1950)]] pp. 115.</ref>

In the last years of his life, Scott busied himself with teaching, composing and leading an eight-piece band that played for various beer parks and movie theaters in the area. With the arrival of sound movies, however, his fortunes declined. He lost his theater work, his wife died without child, and his health deteriorated.<ref name="Jasen2007"/> He moved in with his cousin Ruth Callahan in [[Kansas City, Kansas]], and even though was suffering from chronic [[dropsy]], he continued to compose and play piano. He also worked as an accompanist for dances.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Scott, 1885-1938|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035819/|access-date=2023-12-04|website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> Scott died at Douglas Hospital on August 30, 1938, at age 52 and was laid beside his wife in Westlawn Cemetery.<ref>[[#Blesh|Blesh (1950)]] pp. 119.</ref>

Scott's best-known compositions include "Climax Rag", '"[[Frog Legs Rag]]", "[[Grace and Beauty]]", "Ophelia Rag", and "The Ragtime Oriole".{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

Scott was a cousin of [[blues]] singer [[Ada Brown (singer)|Ada Brown]].<ref name="Jasen and Tichenor"/>

{|
|{{Listen|filename=Frog Legs Rag 3.ogg|title=Frog Legs Rag|description=Scott's first hit, "[[Frog Legs Rag]]" (1906)}}
|{{Listen|filename=James Scott, Grace and Beauty 2.ogg|title=Grace and Beauty|description="[[Grace and Beauty]]" (1909)}}
|}

==In popular culture==
In the third season of the [[HBO]] series ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'', Scott is portrayed by an uncredited actor in the episode "Spaghetti and Coffee".

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Music}}
* [[List of compositions by James Scott]]
* [[List of ragtime composers]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* DeVeaux, Scott and William Howland Kenney (1992) ''The Music of James Scott'', Smithsonian Institution Press.

==External links==
{{wikisource|Author:James Scott|James Scott}}
{{Commons category|James Scott}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165917/http://www.umkc.edu/orgs/kcjazz/jazzfolk/scotj_00.htm James Scott] on the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170702081748/http://www.umkc.edu/orgs/kcjazz/ Kansas City Jazz site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100814021226/http://www.perfessorbill.com/pbmidi2.shtml "Perfessor" Bill Edwards plays Scott compositions and provides background on many of his works]
* {{Find a Grave|7434592}}
* [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yyBka6R3IDWKUmOuZgWLISXtuYBMunRLTpSgrkRs2es/edit?usp=sharing James Scott: Innovative American Composer]

===Sheet music===
* {{Cantorion|composers/513/James-Sylvester-Scott|James Scott}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Scott, James}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James}}
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