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Fish Creek Music Harold Schiffman


	Harold Schiffman
Harold Schiffman (b. 1928; Greensboro, North Carolina) has composed in virtually all media. His commissions include those from such diverse groups as the Tallahassee Symphony, the International Trombone Association, the Apple Trio, the Concertino String Quartet, the Mallarmé Chamber Players, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music, as well as from a number of individuals including conductor Richard Burgin, flutist Albert Tipton, soprano Janice Harsanyi, pianist Jane Perry-Camp, and pianist/conductor Max Lifchitz (for North/South Consonance). The North Carolina Symphony and the ARTEA Chamber Orchestra of San Francisco, among others, have premièred his music. In January 1981, New York's Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, was the site of a twenty-five year retrospective of Mr. Schiffman's compositions, with the performance of both solo and chamber works there. Then in November 1992, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, honored him with an all–Schiffman concert of performances ranging from large ensemble to solo. North/South Consonance celebrated Schiffman’s seventieth birthday with a 1998 New York performance of excerpts from *Spectrum, My Ladye Jane’s Booke,* his seventy-fifth in 2003 with a program of his music in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and his eightieth in 2008 with a program of his works at The Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. In the same year, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro School of Music presented a program of Schiffman's music featuring the North Carolina première of Alma (2002), a cantata for mixed chorus, mezzo-soprano solo, and orchestra. [also] Alma received its international première October 16, 2008, in Győr, Hungary, by the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hungarian National Choir, and mezzo soprano Katalin Halmai, with Mátyás Antal conducting. In conjunction with that première the City of Győr honored Harold Schiffman with its silver medal and a certificate from the Mayor in appreciation of the composer’s contributions to the cultural life of the City. In June, 2000, *Extravaganza (1998)* for three pianos, twelve hands, was the featured work at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Focus on Piano Literature 2000. In addition to performances in the United States, Mr. Schiffman's music has been presented in Europe, Latin America, and the Far East. His publishers include Associated/G. Schirmer, New York; Robert King (Alphonse Leduc, Paris); Southern Music Co., San Antonio; Columbia Music Co., Chapel Hill; and Andres Editions, Tallahassee. Mr. Schiffman received his education at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The University of California at Berkeley, and The Florida State University, Tallahassee. His principal composition teacher was Roger Sessions with whom he studied at the University of California, as well as privately in Berkeley and again later in Princeton, New Jersey, following three years service (1951‑54) in the U. S. Army. In Tallahassee, a further influential mentor was Ernst von Dohnányi. Appointed to the faculty of the Florida State University School of Music in 1959, Harold Schiffman retired from the position of Professor of Composition in 1983 and was designated Professor Emeritus in 1985. He was founding director of the Florida State University Festival of New Music in 1981. Excerpt from review in Fanfare Magazine’s Robert Schulslaper: “Schiffman is a versatile composer whose talent is apparent in whatever idiom he chooses to express his very musical personality. Definitely worth hearing." Harold Schiffman's recordings include: *Harold Schiffman: Three Concerti North/South Recordings N/S R1047* Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, Mátyás Antal conducting Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2006) Rebekah Binford, violin Double Concerto for Horn, Bassoon and String Orchestra (1992) Tamás Zempléni, horn, Pál Bokor, bassoon Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1979) Ákos Takács, violoncello Harold Schiffman: *Orchestral Works* North/South Recordings N/S R1050 Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, Mátyás Antal conducting Symphony No. 2: Music for Győr (2008) Ninnerella Variata (1956) Variations on “Branchwater” (1987) Katalin Koltai, guitar Blood Mountain Suite (2008) Overture to a Comedy (1983) Harold Schiffman at 80!: Music from His 80^th Birthday Concert North/South Recordings N/R1053 Duo Concertante (1993) Richard Goldsmith, clarinet; Aaron Boyd, violin Fantasy-Suite (1980) Ah Ling Neu, viola Blood Mountain: A Song Cycle (2007) Gayle Seaton, soprano, Jane Perry-Camp, piano Seven Bagatelles (1983) Lisa Hansen, flute; Gary Hamme, oboe Sonata No. 1 for Piano (1951) Max Lifchitz, piano String Quartets 1(1951) and *2 (1981), and Capriccio (1959): North/South Recordings N/S R1039 recorded by the Auer Quartet Concertino for Oboe and Chamber Orchestra (1977): North/South Recordings N/S R1037 William Meredith, oboist and Max Lifchitz conducting the North/South Chamber Orchestra Alma: North/South Recordings N/S R1035 mezzo soprano Mária Horváth, The Budafok Chamber Choir, The Győr Philharmonic Orchestra and Mátyás Antal, conductor Prelude and Variations: North/South Recordings N/S R1035 Hungarian Symphony Orchestra, Mátyás Antal, conductor Chamber Concerto No. 2: In Memoriam Edward Kilenyi (2000):N/S R1035 Jane Perry-Camp, pianist, with the Accord Wind Quintet and Akadémia String, Mátyás Antal, conductor Harold Schiffman: Symphony & Concerti: North/South Recordings N/S R1021, Symphony (1961)* Győr Philharmonic, Mátyás Antal conducting Concerto for Oboe d’Amore & Strings (1988) Giacobassi and the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1982) Jane Perry-Camp, pianist, and the HSO Nine Piano Pieces (1975) and *Six Bagatelles (1954): North/South Recordings N/S R1001 Max Lifchitz, pianist Spectrum, My Ladye Jane’s Booke: Eighteen Fugues and Postludes for Piano (1992)* Jane Perry-Camp,, pianist: North/South Recordings N/S R1009 *Sestetto Concertato (1993): North/South Recordings N/S R1013 Max Lifchitz, pianist, and the North/South Consonance Ensemble Rhapsody for Guitar (1982)* on *The American Record*, Centaur Records, CRC 2204 Stephen Robinson, guitarist Other works have appeared in the United States on the Amoris Edition, CRS, Garnet, and Orion labels and in Japan on King, Ltd. Harold Schiffman 2304 Don Andres Ave Tallahassee, FL 32304 email: harolds@graham.main.nc.us web site: www.haroldschiffman-composer.com