Frederic Rzewski

Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist. He was considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. which has been called "a modern classic".

Early life and education Rzewski was born on April 13, 1938, in Westfield, Massachusetts, to Polish-American parents, and raised Catholic. He began playing piano at age 5 and attended Phillips Academy, Harvard University, and Princeton University, where his teachers included Randall Thompson, Roger Sessions, Walter Piston, and Milton Babbitt. In 1960, he went to Italy on a Fulbright grant, a trip which was formative in his future musical development. In addition to studying composition with Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence, he began a career as a performer of new piano music, often with an improvisatory element.

In 1977, Rzewski became Professor of Composition at the Royal Conservatory of Liège in Belgium, then directed by Henri Pousseur. He taught for short periods at other schools and universities throughout the US and Europe, including Yale University, the University of Cincinnati, the California Institute of the Arts, the University of California, San Diego, the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and Trinity College of Music in London. Rzewski's later compositions include Nanosonatas (2006–2010) and Cadenza con o senza Beethoven (2003). Rzewski played the solo part in the world premiere of his piano concerto at the 2013 BBC Proms.

Personal life and death In 1963, Rzewski married Nicole Abbeloos; they had five children. While Rzewski never divorced Abbeloos, his companion for about the last 20 years of his life was Françoise Walot, with whom he had two children. He also had five grandchildren. on June 26, 2021, aged 83.

Appraisal Nicolas Slonimsky called Rzewski "a granitically overpowering piano technician, capable of depositing huge boulders of sonoristic material across the keyboard without actually wrecking the instrument." In 2018, Michael Schell deemed him "the most important living composer of piano music, and surely one of the dozen or so most important living American composers".

Selected discography As composer Four North American Ballads, played by Paul Jacobs (Nonesuch Records on Paul Jacobs Plays Blues, Ballads & Rags D-79006 (LP) & 79006-2 (CD re-issue ) 1980(LP) 1993 (CD) The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues played by Michael Noble on American Dissident (198004840682) 2022. The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, played by Stephen Drury (New Albion NA 063) 1994 The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, played by Marc-André Hamelin (Hyperion Records CDA67077) 1998 The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, played by Corey Hamm (Redshift Records TK431) 2014 De Profundis, 4 North American Ballads, played by Lisa Moore (Cantaloupe Music 21014) 2003 Main Drag played by Alter Ego (Stradivarius STR33631SD) 2003 Fred – Music of Frederic Rzewski played by Eighth Blackbird (Cedille CDR90000-084) 2005 Rzewski & Adams: Piano Works played by Emanuele Arciuli (Stradivarius STR33735) 2006 The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, played by Ralph van Raat (Naxos 8.559360) 2008 The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, played by Christopher Hinterhuber (Paladino PMR0037) 2012 Four Pieces, Hard Cuts and The Housewife's Lament played by Ralph van Raat et al. (Naxos 8.559759) 2014 The People United Will Never Be Defeated! and Four Hands played by Ursula Oppens and Jerome Lowenthal (Cedille CDR90000-158) 2015 The People United Will Never Be Defeated!, played by Igor Levit on Igor Levit plays Bach, Beethoven, Rzewski (Sony Classical 88875060962) 2015 Songs of Insurrection, played by Thomas Kotcheff (Coviello Contemporary COV 92021) 2020 Sometimes, played by Imani Winds on Bruits (Bright Shiny Things). 2021. Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues, played by Christina Petrowska-Quilico on Retro Americana (Navona Records NAV6361) 2021. The Turtle and the Crane, played by Christina Petrowska-Quilico on Vintage Americana (Navona Records NAV6384) 2021. Speaking Rzewski, played by Stephane Ginsburgh on (Sub Rosa SR523) 2021.

As pianist Anthony Braxton – Creative Orchestra Music 1976 (Arista, 1976) Anthony Braxton – For Two Pianos (Arista, 1980 ) Marc-Henri Cykiert — Capriccio Hassidico (Igloo Records IGL095) 1991 Cornelius Cardew – We Sing For The Future! 2001 Tom Johnson – An Hour for Piano (1985) Henri Pousseur – Aquarius-Memorial (2001) Henri Pousseur – La Guirlande de Pierre (1995) Karlheinz Stockhausen – Kontra-Punkte (RCA Victrola, 1967) Karlheinz Stockhausen – Klavierstück X (Wergo) 2014 CD re-issue Rzewski Plays Rzewski: Piano Works 1975–1999 (7-CD box set, Nonesuch, 2002)

Literature Rzewski, Frederic. Nonsequiturs—Writings & Lectures on Improvisation, Composition, and Interpretation (Unlogische Folgerungen—Schriften und Vorträge zu Improvisation, Komposition und Interpretation). Edition Musiktexte, Cologne, 2007. . Петров, Владислав Олегович. Фредерик Ржевски: путь обновления традиций. Astrakhan: AIPKP, 2011, p. 100. Petrov, Vladislav O. Frederic Rzewski: upgrade path traditions. Astrakhan: AIPKP, 2011, p. 100.