NEWS
Tobias Picker Elected to American Academy of Arts and LettersMany congratulations to Tobias Picker on his election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The composer joins an esteemed list of musicians in the Academy that includes John Adams, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Charles Wuorinen, Stephen Sondheim, Elliott Carter and Schott composers Bernard Rands, Robert Beaser, Fred Lerdahl, Joseph Schwantner and Christopher Rouse. The Academy is the foremost honor society of architects, composers, artists and writers in the United States. The honor of election is a lifetime appointment and is considered the highest formal recognition of artistic merit in the country. The Academy's purpose is to foster and sustain an interest in Literature, Music, and the Fine Arts by identifying and encouraging individual artists through administering awards and prizes, exhibiting art and manuscripts, funding stage readings and performances of new works, and purchasing works of art to be donated to museums. The Academy will hold its annual award ceremony in May where Tobias Picker will be inducted into the 250-person organization alongside 9 additional members from the Art, Architecture and Literature fields. Fellow 2012 inductees include composer Stephen Jaffe, artists Lynda Benglis, Robert Gober, Kara Walker, architects Elizabeth Diller and Kenneth Frampton and writers Jonathan Franzen, Michael Chabon and Jhumpa Lahiri. Tobias Picker is currently completing his fifth opera, Dolores Claiborne, with a libretto by J.D. McClatchy commissioned by San Francisco Opera. Presented by arrangement with British theatrical producer Andrew Welch, Dolores Claiborne will see its world premiere at the San Francisco Opera on September 15, 2013, starring mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick in the title role, conducted by George Manahan and directed by James Robinson. Described by BBC Music Magazine as "displaying a distinctively soulful style that is one of the glories of the current musical scene," Tobias Picker has had works commissioned and performed by the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic and the Helsinki Philharmonic. His first opera, Emmeline, saw its premiere at the Santa Fe Opera in 1996, and his fourth opera, An American Tragedy, was commissioned by and premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005. His adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox was commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Opera in 1998, and his Thérèse Raquin was commissioned by The Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, and Opera de Montreal in 1999. His piano concerto Keys to the City was commissioned by the City of New York in honor of the centenary of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1982. London's Rambert Dance Company completed a season-long tour throughout the UK of Picker's Awakenings in Spring of 2011, and New York City's Miller Theatre honored the composer with a portrait concert in October, 2011. Read the American Academy of Arts and Letters press release on the newly elected members at www.artsandletters.org. San Francisco Opera Commissions Tobias Picker’s Dolores ClaiborneThe venerable San Francisco Opera has announced the commission of Tobias Picker’s next opera, Dolores Claiborne, with a libretto by J.D. McClatchy. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by award-winning author Stephen King and presented by arrangement with British theatrical producer Andrew Welch, Dolores Claiborne will debut at the San Francisco Opera on September 15, 2013, starring mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick in the title role. In his company debut, George Manahan conducts the world premiere run and James Robinson, whose previous engagements at the War Memorial Opera House include the 2009 season productions of Il Trittico and Salome, will direct. The new production also features the work of scenic designer Allen Moyer, costume designer James Schutte, lighting designer Chris Ackerlind and projection designer Greg Emetaz. San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley comments:
Tobias Picker adds:
Visit www.sfopera.com for more information on San Francisco Opera and Dolores Claiborne. Fantastic Mr. Fox to Become Permanent Fixture at London’s Holland ParkFollowing the critically acclaimed production and world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox in its chamber orchestration at London’s Opera Holland Park in the summer for 2010, Holland Park is embarking on another sold-out run of the composer’s spirited adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic. The 2011 Holland Park run of Fantastic Mr. Foxcommenced on June 14 and runs through August 13 with 10 performances in all. The audience and critical reaction to the opera at Holland Park has been overwhelming, James Clutton of Opera Holland Park remarks: Following two successive years of “sold out” performances, an unprecedented demand for tickets and continued audience enthusiasm for the production we are delighted to look towards 2012 and beyond with our presentations of Fantastic Mr Fox. For years Midsummer Night’s Dream was performed every summer at Regents Park Open Air Theatre and it became an annual fixture. I want that sort of continuity with OHP and Mr. Fox – but I also want to make it as much of a fixture of the summer calendar as Wimbledon, Ascot and Henley. An ideal introduction for children to opera using a source material that many of them know and love, Fantastic Mr. Fox can no less be savored by opera lovers of every ilk. Picker’s revered lyric gift and natural sense of dramatic arc animates the story of the wily Mr. Fox and his bid to outwit his farmer neighbors. The production is conducted by Carl Penlington-Williams and directed by Stephen Barlow. On the heels of Holland Park, the curtain rises on another production of Fantastic Mr. Fox in the US, at Pittsburgh’s Microscopic Opera Company with four performances beginning on September 15. Learn more on Tobias Picker by visiting www.schott-music.com.More on Fantastic Mr. Fox, here. Miller Theatre Opens 2011/12 Composer Portrait Series with Tobias PickerOn October 6 Columbia University’s Miller Theatre presents a Composer Portrait of Tobias Picker, marking the first concert of the 2011/12 Portrait Series at Miller. The performance presents chamber music from various phases of Picker’s illustrious career, including Rhapsody (1978) for violin and piano, Keys to the City (1987), Picker’s piano concerto in its chamber ensemble version, and the New York Premiere of his new Piano Quintet, along with select arias from his operas An American Tragedy (2004), Therese Raquin (1999/2000), Fantastic Mr. Fox (1998) and Emmeline (1995). More from the composer on the Piano Quintet: We all grew up on the monumental piano quintets of the past – such thrilling music. But as I began to write a piano quintet myself, ‘the way in’ eluded me. I kept thinking, a piano and a string quartet need each other like a hole in the head. Why combine them anyway? I looked to the masters for inspiration and along the way became convinced that even they had grappled with this question. Perhaps it was no coincidence that Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, Franck, Elgar, Shostakovich and Carter had each written only one. Finding my own answer was difficult and took a long time. When the answer finally came - it gave me great joy. My Piano Quintet reflects that joy as no other piece I’ve ever written has done. More information on the life and music of Tobias Picker can be found at www.schott-music.com. Tobias Picker Featured at Tanglewood’s 2011 Festival of Contemporary MusicConcert music is starting once again to fill the air in the Berkshire Mountains as the Boston Symphony Orchestra retreats to its summer residence at Tanglewood. This year’s Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, directed by Charles Wuorinen, features chamber music from Tobias Picker as Brad Lubman leads the Signal Ensemble in Tobias Picker’s Sextet No. 2 (1976)at Seiji Ozawa Hall on August 4 and Ursula Oppens performs Picker’s Four Etudes for Ursula (1996) on August 7. Oppens’ performance is only the most recent of a rich history of performances of Picker’s music, the result of a life-long friendship the two artist share. Recent Picker performances by Oppens include the premiere of his Three Nocturnes for Ursula in New York City in 2009 and her tour de force performance of the collected solo piano works of Tobias Picker on the Wergo recording Tobias Picker-Keys to the City also available in the Edition Schott imprint. Picker writes on his Four Etudes for Ursula: The first Etude is a study in lyric and mechanistic playing; the second a study in polyrhythm, fast repeated notes and jazz; the third takes a detour down another road I'd sometimes traveled, the road that had brought me to Old and Lost Rivers and Where the Rivers Go to a place deep within me - a place that gave me the strength to share raw emotion through music and enabled me to write opera. The fourth and final Etude studies the difficulties of polyrhythm, simultaneous melodic lines and expansive chords in the context of sheer bravura and pianistic force. For more on the music of Tobias Picker visit www.schott-music.com. Purchase the Wergo recording Tobias Picker-Keys to the City here. Buy your copy of the Edition Schott volume of Tobias Picker’s Collected Works for solo piano of here. Tobias Picker's New Ballet, Awakenings, Set for World Premiere and 2010/11 UK Tour With Rambert Dance CompanyTobias Picker's new ballet, Awakenings, with choreography by Aletta Collins and inspired by the Oliver Sacks book, sees its world premiere with Rambert Dance Company on September 22, 2010 at The Lowry in Salford, UK. The premiere performance marks the beginning of a season long tour for the new ballet throughout the UK in 2010/11. Rambert presents the London premiere of Awakenings at Sadler's Wells on November 9 in addition to 24 more performances at eight different venues in the UK as part of the fall tour. The spring tour, with dates and venues to be announced, continues in 2011. More information about the premiere and tour of Awakenings can be found at www.rambert.org.uk.
Showing at these venues: Praise for Emmeline in Sonoma"The Cinnabar Theater has once again raised the musical and theatrical bar in their terrific production of Tobias Picker's 1996 opera Emmeline that opened a West Coast premiere May 28 to a boisterous full house in their Petaluma theater. Mr. Picker's score is balanced dramatically and musically... and clearly reflects the opposing dissonance and rare harmony of Emmeline's life, and occasionally combining the two in a fashion completely true to the action and story. A testament to Mr. Picker's score is that it is lush and romantic when necessary, even in this condensed orchestration, yet pointed and intricate when the story calls for that support. So often composers simply miss that all-important link to the complexities of the stage. Tobias Picker does not." "Emmeline more than deserves the enthusiasm of opera-goers and performers, and should receive a permanent place in the repertoire. Catch it while you can." Emmeline and An American Tragedy in West Coast Premieres; Fantastic Mr. Fox at Opera Holland Park, UKThe music of Tobias Picker travels the world's opera stages this Spring as Emmeline and An American Tragedy see their west coast premieres in California and Fantastic Mr. Fox debuts in its new chamber orchestration at Opera Holland Park in the UK. Read on for a complete breakdown of what is happening and where, below: Emmeline, Cinnabar Theater, Petaluma, CA, First Night: May 28
An American Tragedy, The Broad Stage at Santa Monica College, CA; First Night: May 8
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Opera Holland Park, UK, First Night: July 26 The reduced orchestration for 15 players of Fantastic Mr. Fox sees more performances in the UK next Fall, as the English Touring Opera presents performances around the UK during their 2010/11 season.
Ursula Oppens Performs World Premiere of Tobias Picker's Three Nocturnes for UrsulaRenowned pianist Ursula Oppens performs the world premiere of Tobias Picker's Three Nocturnes for Ursula this month at City University of New York's Elebash Recital Hall in Manhattan. A longtime Picker collaborator and close friend, Oppens will also engage in a discussion with the composers featured on the program as part of the concert proceedings. Picker elaborates on the piece's inception:
Three Nocturnes for Ursula also exists in versions for alto flute, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola and cello all accompanied by piano. In these versions the solo instrument plays the inner melody and the pianist, in the composer's words, "has a much easier time of it!" The concert takes place on Wednesday, November 11 at 7PM. On November 15, Tobias Picker's opera Emmeline sees its European Premiere in its new chamber orchestration, which just had its world premiere at Dicapo Opera Theatre in September. The European premiere takes place at Hungary's National Theatre and will be broadcast to over 40 countries on Mezzo Television. Tobias Picker's Emmeline Receives World Premiere in New Chamber OrchestrationEmmeline Returns to the New York Stage at Dicapo Opera Theatre on Thursday, September 10 at 7:30 PM; Friday, September 11 at 8 PM;
"Emmeline is fine theatre carried along by imaginative melodic music." Conducted by Samuel Bill and directed by Robert Alföldi, Artistic Director of Hungary's National Theatre, and featuring soprano Kristin Sampson in the title role, Dicapo's production of Emmeline travels to Szezged, Hungary for its European premiere on November 15 and 16 where it will be telecast to over 40 countries by Mezzo TV. Tobias Picker's Emmeline in New Chamber OrchestrationEmmeline completed its four-night run at New York's Dicapo Opera Theatre on Sunday, September 13, in a new chamber orchestration. The opera and Dicapo's production garnered critical acclaim. The New York Times' Steve Smith comments:
Conducted by Samuel Bill and directed by Robert Alföldi, Artistic Director of Hungary's National Theatre, and featuring soprano Kristin Sampson in the title role, Dicapo's production of Emmeline travels to Szeged, Hungary for its European premiere on November 15 and 16 where it will be telecast to over 40 countries by Mezzo TV. Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin in Production at Opera Institute of Boston UniversityBoston University's Opera Institute presents four performances this month of the chamber version of Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin. With a libretto by Gene Scheer based on the novel by Émile Zola, Picker's opera is a gritty tale of adulterous love and tragedy set in Paris in the late 1800s. The chamber version of Thérèse Raquin premiered in March of 2006 at the Linbury Studio of the Royal Opera House followed by its US premiere one year later at New York's Dicapo Opera Theatre. The work garnered strong reviews along the way, as Anne Midgette wrote in the New York Times:
The New York Post added: Conducted by William Lumpkin and directed by Jim Petosa, the performances take place on February 19, 20, 21 and 22 at the Boston University Theatre. World Premiere of Tobias Picker's String Quartet No. 2 in New YorkThe American String Quartet performs the world premiere of Tobias Picker's String Quartet No. 2 on January 17 at Merkin Concert Hall of New York City's Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts, presented by the Manhattan School of Music. The composer elaborates on the piece's inception:
The American String Quartet performs String Quartet No. 2 in two follow up performances at Brooklyn's Bargemusic on January 24 and 25. Complete Piano Works of Tobias Picker Now Available on New Wergo Recording
Tobias Picker - Keys to the City * First Recordings To order your copy of Tobias Picker - Keys to the City, go to www.wergo.de or purchase at your favorite online retailer after September 1, 2008. Tobias Picker's Suite for Cello and Piano in World Choreographic PremiereTobias Picker's Suite for Cello and Piano receives its choreographic premiere on April 26 and 27, 2008 at New York's Dicapo Opera Theatre. The new Ballet, entitled Seguiti (Moving On), features choreography by rising choreographer Dario Vaccaro who remarks, "Seguiti reveals the moments when change becomes a necessity. The dancers disengage themselves from reality to unveil the lonely truth of desire." The music to the suite will be performed by cellist Caroline Stinson and pianist Simon Mulligan. Commissioned for Lynn Harrell by a consortium including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Ravinia Festival and San Francisco Performances, the Suite for Cello and Piano received its world premiere by Lynn Harrell and Simon Mulligan at San Francisco's Herbst Theater as part of the music series San Francisco Performances in 1998. Picker then adapted the music from the suite for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, commissioned by the BBC Proms and premiered at Royal Albert Hall in 2001 by the conductor David Robertson with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and cellist Paul Watkins. The Suite for Cello and Piano will be available at music stores everywhere this summer in a new Edition Schott version, edited by Lynn Harrell and Simon Mulligan (ED 30004). Dicapo Opera Theatre Presents "The Music of Tobias Picker"On Saturday, February 2, Dicapo Opera Theatre will present "The Music of Tobias Picker," a concert of scenes and arias from all four of the composer's operas, Emmeline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Thérèse Raquin, and An American Tragedy. This is the first presentation of Mr. Picker's music at Dicapo since he joined the company as Artistic Advisor last season, following Dicapo's widely praised production of Thérèse Raquin in the opera's New York premiere. The scenes and arias will be performed by the young singers in Dicapo's Resident Artists program. In addition to his counsel on repertoire and artistic planning, Mr. Picker has been working with the Resident Artists in developing their craft. For the February 2 program, Mr. Picker selected each of the singers and is personally coaching them for this performance. Accompanying the singers on February 2 will be British pianist/composer Simon Mulligan. "The Music of Tobias Picker" will take place at Dicapo Opera Theatre located on the lower level of St. Jean Baptiste Church at 184 East 76th Street at Lexington Avenue. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Dicapo Opera Theatre box office or by calling 212-288-9438, Ext. 10. Tobias Picker Featured in Musicophilia by Oliver SacksIn his new book Musicophilia, renowned neurologist and author Oliver Sacks provides detailed accounts of people with peculiar aural afflictions in an effort to contribute to our understanding of music and further illustrate the workings of the human mind. One such case he uses to illustrate this purpose involves our own Tobias Picker. Though he lives with Tourette's Syndrome, Dr. Sacks notes that Mr. Picker can still write in every mode, and can shift between compositional styles with consummate ease. Mr. Picker tells Dr. Sacks that the syndrome has shaped his imagination, "I live my life controlled by Tourette's but use music to control it. I have harnessed its energy - I play with it, manipulate it, trick it, mimic it, taunt it, explore it, exploit it, in every possible way." Please visit www.nytimes.com to read Michiko Kakutani's review of Musicophilia. Please check back here for further details, as they become available. Ursula Oppens Records Tobias Picker's Complete Works for PianoTobias Picker and Ursula Oppens have been at work on another collaboration in which Oppens performs the composer's complete works for solo piano on a recording for the Wergo label, set for release in spring of 2008. A new publication from Schott of the composer's complete solo piano music will be available at the same time. Please check back here for further details, as they become available. Tobias Picker and Ursula Oppens Give NY Premiere of Keys to the City Two-Piano VersionTobias Picker joins pianist Ursula Oppens on stage this month as the duo perform the New York premiere of Picker's Keys to the City in its two piano version. Originally composed for piano and orchestra in 1983, Keys to the City was commissioned by the City of New York in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. Picker performed as the pianist with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at its festive world premiere after which the New York Times remarked that, "Keys to the City is an exuberant, celebratory evocation... eighteen minutes of irrepressible energy and cosmopolitan eclecticism." The performance is part of Ms. Oppens' recital at Steinway Hall which also includes works of Milhaud and Mozart. The New York Premiere of the two-piano version of Keys to the City will take place in New York's Steinway Hall, on October 15, 2007 at 6:30 PM. Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy on Sirius Satellite RadioThe Metropolitan Opera's performance of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy is broadcast on Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio this week on Friday September 28 and Saturday September 29, 2007 at 6:00 am and 6:00 pm, respectively. The broadcast will be of the December 24, 2005 performance during its world premiere run at the Met. James Conlon conducts, as Patricia Racette, Susan Graham and Nathan Gunn star in this story of love, money and murder. Sirius Satellite Radio is broadcast throughout the United States and Canada. Keep an eye on the Metropolitan Opera Radio for future broadcasts of An American Tragedy. The Schedule for Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio can be found here. Tobias Picker Named Artistic Advisor to Dicapo Opera TheatreDicapo Opera Theatre has announced the appointment of composer Tobias Picker to the position of Artistic Advisor, beginning in the 2007-08 season. Mr. Picker enjoyed a successful collaboration with Dicapo last season as the theatre premiered the chamber version of his opera Thérèse Raquin to critical acclaim. As Artistic Advisor to Dicapo, Mr. Picker will provide direction on repertoire expansion and commissions in addition to overall artistic planning. Michael Capasso, Dicapo's General Director, comments on the appointment: "In the past several years, we have been adding more contemporary music to our schedule and had an especially positive response to this season's Thérèse Raquin performances, so we are delighted that Tobias Picker is joining us here at Dicapo." Among Dicapo's offerings this season will be two concerts of the music of Tobias Picker. The first, which will take place on Saturday, February 2, 2008, will be a program of scenes and arias from Picker's operas Emmeline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Thérèse Raquin and An American Tragedy and will also include the world premiere of a new work. The second concert on Thursday, May 1, 2008, will feature acclaimed Metropolitan Opera Mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chavez presenting songs and arias by Tobias Picker in a preview of her upcoming recording for Koch Classics. In future seasons, Dicapo Opera Theatre will present a cycle of all of Mr. Picker's operas. The composer had this to say on his appointment: "I am very excited to be working with Michael Capasso in helping to make New York City's third full-time opera company into a world-class operation and looking forward to a future when Dicapo Opera Theatre becomes noted for being at the cutting edge of presenting major New York and U.S. world premieres." To learn more about Dicapo Opera Theatre, please go to www.dicapo.com. Tobias Picker's Piano Works Featured in Ursula Oppens RecitalFrom Allan's Kozinn's Review An Energetic Pianistic Program With Wine as Accompaniment in the New York Times:Read the full article here. Tobias Picker Highlighted in Cutting Edge Concert at Symphony SpaceOn April 30 Tobias Picker’s music features in the closing concert of Cutting Edge Concerts' 2007 season. Responsible for the conception of the series, composer and conductor Victoria Bond comments: “This year's Cutting Edge Concerts focus on the relationship between composers and weavers and is called 'A Tapestry of Sound.' There are many similarities between these two art forms, and in addition to color, texture and design, composers, like weavers, thread musical motives from one work to another. Tobias Picker's music, as represented on the April 23rd program, exemplifies the transformation of an idea from one form to another. The seminal work here is his Suite for Cello and Piano, which generated three arias for his opera Thérèse Raquin, as well as a set of piano etudes. On the April 23rd concert, Tobias and I will be discussing the relationship between the Suite for Cello and Piano and the works it generated, and first listen to a movement from the suite and then the corresponding music of the arias and the etude, alternating back and forth from one into the other. “As Tobias is primarily known for his operatic output, it is significant to bring attention to his chamber music, especially as it has served as such an important source of ideas. We are also particularly honored to have pianist Ken Noda on the program, performing Pickers' Old and Lost Rivers. The tapestries of weavers Susan Martin Maffei and Archie Brennan will be projected during the performances.” For more information about Tobias Picker, please visit www.schott-music.com or www.tobiaspicker.com. For more details about Cutting Edge Concerts at Symphony Space, please visit www.symphonyspace.org.
New York Premiere of Thérèse Raquin at Dicapo Opera TheatreThe Dicapo Opera Theatre will present the New York premiere of Tobias Picker's opera, Thérèse Raquin, in a new production on February 16 through 25, 2007. This production marks the fifth production the opera has received since it was premiered by the Dallas Opera in 2001. It features the chamber orchestra version created by the composer for the European Premiere at the Royal Opera House Linbury Theatre in March 2006. For further information on the opera itself, click here. The production is under Steven Osgood's baton, and performers include Audrey Babcock, Beverly O'Regan Thiele, David Adam Moore, Zeffin Quinn Hollis, Brian Stucki, and Peter Furlong. For more information about the production, or to order tickets, click here.
Bridge Records Releases Songs and Encores Featuring Songs of Tobias Picker
Ms. Bettina, accompanied on this recording by her husband, pianist James Goldsworthy, comments, "these songs have been a journey; a journey that I have been honored to be part of. Each song is a landscape of longing and love that touch the heart." For a link to excerpts, and to purchase the recording, visit our Recordings page.
Concert version of "The Letter Aria" from An American Tragedy premieres in San FranciscoThe world premiere performance of the concert version of An American Tragedy's The Letter Aria will take place in San Francisco on June 22, 2006, as part of the San Francisco Opera Three Divas concert. Soprano Patricia Racette will perform, with Donald Runnicles conducting. The concert is open to donors only.
Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin in London DebutTobias Picker's new chamber opera version of Thérèse Raquin saw its world premiere in March at the Linbury Studio of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Based on the Émile Zola novel of the same name, the high drama was accentuated by Picker's searing musical score. The Evening Standard noted "music of real tension and variety," with which Picker "declare[d] his full and effective compositional hand." Lee Blakeley directed a first-rate ensemble cast in the debut performances of his new opera company, Opera Theatre Europe. Tim Redmond conducted. A tour is planned with dates and venues to be announced.
Tobias Picker Signs Exclusive Contract with Schott Helicon Music Corporation (BMI)Complete Catalogue of Composer's Works Now Available through SchottFor Immediate Release
Tobias Picker has composed a great range of music in all genres and consistently draws performances by the world's leading conductors, soloists, orchestras, and opera houses. Schott Helicon Music Corporation (BMI) is the American arm of Schott Musik International, one of the world's oldest and most distinguished music publishing houses. Founded in 1770 in Mainz, Germany, the company's early history was highlighted by its publications of the piano scores and first editions of Mozart's Don Giovanni and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. These were soon followed by the major late works of Ludwig van Beethoven, including the Ninth Symphony, the Missa Solemnis and the last two string quartets and the first publications of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the complete Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal. For more information about Tobias Picker at Schott Helicon Music Corporation (BMI), click here.
In North America, rental and licensing inquiries for Schott works should be directed to:
Schott Helicon Music Corporation (BMI), 35 East 21st Street, Floor 8, New York, NY, 10010, ny@schott-music.com. Schott sales publications are distributed exclusively by The Hal Leonard Corporation, 7777 W. Bluemound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53213.
First Annual Opera News Awards
Tickets Now on Sale for Metropolitan Opera World Premiere of An American TragedyWith the December 2 world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, fast approaching, you may visit the Met's An American Tragedy website for photos and details about the story behind the opera, the cast, the creative team, and the production. To see the schedule of performance dates and to buy tickets, click here.
For more information and press quotes about An American Tragedy, click here.
Opera News Features Tobias Picker in Cover ArticleTobias Picker appears on the cover of Opera News' August 2005 issue, and is featured in a full-length article inside the magazine. The article is a portrait of how the composer came to the genre of opera, and includes an overview of previous projects, including his works Emmeline, Thérèse Raquin, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Brian Kellow writes, "In all his operas, Picker shows a keen dramatic sense...Picker did not write his first song until 1984...He was thirty then, a long way from being ready to write his first opera. To him, the world of opera was "a distant mountain."...A little more than a decade later, he took the plunge, and he has been immersed in the world of opera ever since..."
To read the entire article, visit the Opera News website, or your local book and magazine dealer.
Home | Biography | Works | Recordings | Contact | Photo Gallery |
Wergo Records is proud to announce the release this month of Tobias Picker - Keys to the City: the complete solo piano music of Tobias Picker. Featuring the pianist Ursula Oppens, this comprehensive recording traces an evolution in the composer's writing for piano from the virtuosic challenges of his Four Etudes for Ursula and the jazzy, urbane landscape of Keys to the City to the lyrical simplicity of Old and Lost Rivers, ... when soft voices die ..., and The Blue Hula. Listeners will also have a rare opportunity to hear the composer performing in the two piano version of Keys to the City.
Bridge Records has released "Songs and Encores" featuring several songs of Tobias Picker sung by soprano Judith Bettina. The Picker selections included on the new disc are Native Trees and To The Insects, on texts of W. S. Merwin; Half a Year Together on a text by Richard Howard; When We Meet Again, a setting of Edna St. Vincent Millay; and not even the rain on a text of e. e. cummings.
Schott Helicon Music Corporation (BMI), the U.S. publishing affiliate of the Schott Music International group is proud to announce the signing of Tobias Picker to its composer roster. Mr. Picker is the first American composer to be signed by Schott following the establishment of its New York publishing office earlier this year. In an already momentous season for the composer, Tobias Picker's complete catalogue of works will now be available for the first time throughout the world exclusively from Schott Music International. Called "our finest composer for the lyric stage" by the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Picker is universally renowned as one of the great figures of contemporary music and his recent works have been praised as "glories of the musical scene" by BBC Music Magazine.
