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Tobias Picker Celebrates 60; An American Tragedy Opens at The Glimmerglass Festival

Jul. 09, 2014

Tobias Picker Celebrates 60; <em>An American Tragedy</em> Opens at The Glimmerglass Festival

We send our warmest wishes to our own Tobias Picker on the occasion of his 60th birthday on July 18. In honor of the occasion, The Glimmerglass Festival debuts its new production of Picker’s An American Tragedy on July 20, which also marks the world premiere of the revised version of the work. Conducted by George Manahan and directed by Peter Kazaras, the production runs through August 24. An American Tragedy, which was premiered to wide acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005, is based on the Theodore Dreiser novel of the same name, with a libretto by Gene Scheer.

In his review of the Metropolitan Opera premiere, Alex Ross wrote:

[An American Tragedy] hits the mark... Picker's harmony flirts with traditional tonality without falling prey to cliché, his orchestration achieves both transparency and power, and his crowd scenes skillfully set solo voices against a booming chorus and a churning orchestra. It's a pleasure to listen to him put one idea in front of another.

In celebration of Picker’s 60th birthday, Schott Music is thrilled to announce the publication of a new four-volume aria anthology, featuring arias for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone and bass from each of the composer’s operas. The set comprises a definitive collection of Picker's arias, many of which are now available for the first time.   

A Picker Portrait CD, Invisible Lilacs: Chamber Music 1976-2011, was also recently released on Tzadik Records. The album features new recordings of four major chamber works: Nova, Sextet No. 2, Invisible Lilacs and Piano Quintet “Live Oaks”, performed by several of New York’s most vital musicians from ensembles such as Talea, the JACK Quartet, and the Brentano String Quartet, among others. Additionally, the premiere recording of Picker’s Cuatro Sonetos de Amor, with mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chávez and pianist Paolo André Gualdi, is now available from IFO Classics.

For more information on Tobias Picker, please visit www.schott-music.com.

Visit glimmerglass.org for more information on An American Tragedy.

The Tobias Picker Aria Anthology is available now in four volumes:
Soprano | Mezzo-soprano | Tenor | Baritone/Bass 

Details on the new Tobias Picker CD's can be found at www.tzadik.com and www.ifo-classics.com. 

Tobias Picker
An American Tragedy (2005)
opera in two acts
libretto (Eng) by Gene Scheer
based on the book by Theodore Dreiser
for 3 sopranos, 3 mezzo-soprano, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, bass-baritone, and SATB chorus
2(2.pic)2(2.ca)2(2. cl in A, bcl)2-4.2.2.1-timp.perc-hp.pno-str
120' 

Nova (1979)
for piano quintet
vn.va.vc.db.pno
12’  

Sextet No. 2 “Halle’s Ravine” (1976)
for chamber ensemble
ob.cl-glsp(vib)-pno-vn.vc
12’ 

Invisible Lilacs (1991)
for violin and piano
20’ 

Piano Quintet “Live Oaks” (2010)
for piano quintet
25’ 

Cuatro Sonetos de Amor (1999)
for voice and piano
text (Sp) Pablo Neruda
15'

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