about

Biography
Chester Biscardi’s music has been performed throughout Asia, Europe, and North and South America. His catalog includes At the Still Point, for orchestra, Piano Concerto, Sailors & Dreamers, for voice and chamber ensemble, the opera Tight-Rope, Trasumanar, for twelve percussionists and piano, and works for piano, voice, chorus, and chamber ensembles, as well as incidental music for theatre, dance, and television. His work is published by C. F. Peters, Theodore Presser Company, and Biscardi Music Press. Recordings appear on the Albany, Bridge, CRI (New World Records), New Albion, and Steinway & Sons labels, among others, including a Naxos American Classics release entitled Chester Biscardi: In Time’s Unfolding. He is a recipient of the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Academy Award in Music from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and a commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress, among numerous other awards and fellowships.
Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1948, Biscardi studied English literature, Italian literature, and music composition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before receiving a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music. His principal composition teachers included Kryzsztof Penderecki, Toru Takemitsu, Les Thimmig, and Yehudi Wyner. He is Faculty Emeritus at Sarah Lawrence College where he taught from 1977-2020. He was Director of the Music Program from 1987-2017 and the first recipient of the William Schuman Chair in Music.
Since the 1970s, Biscardi has been interested in the ways language and literature influence musical idea and form. Often a single word or poetic phrase generates the central idea of a composition, although his works are seldom overtly programmatic. The Italian tenzone [dialogue] inspired Tenzone, for two flutes and piano (1975), while T.S. Eliot’s ‘Burnt Norton,’ with its interplay of form and time, evoked At the Still Point (1977). Timbral and spatial concerns also play an important role in his early works. Transparent textures, delicate nuances, sounds frozen in time and space, and the cyclical nature of existence resonate from his study of Japanese music. In the 1985 opera, Tight-Rope, and the song cycle, The Gift of Life (1990–93), Biscardi’s lyrical impulses, pervasive in his later works, are more pronounced. Resisting Stillness (1996), an intimate, strikingly spare work for two guitars, has autobiographical aspects, which are also a characteristic element of his mature music. His Piano Quintet (2004), written in memory of his father, uses elements from ‘The Odyssey’ and several of his own earlier works, all of which, in the composer’s words, “explore the passage of time, loss, recovery, and transcendence.”
Downloads
Curriculum Vitae
Awards & Grants
Awards & Grants
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- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant, 2017
- ArtsWestchester’s 50th Anniversary Initiative, “50 for 50” Prize, 2015
- Yale University alumniVentures Grant, 2009-2010
- Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University Grant, 2009
- Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress Commission, 2007
- Academy Award in Music, American Academy of Arts and Letters, 2007
- Bank of New York Teaching Excellence Award, Sarah Lawrence College, 2006
- Senior Lecturing/Research Fulbright Scholar Program Award Finalist, United Kingdom, Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), 2004
- Norton Island Residency Program Finalist (Eastern Frontier Educational Foundation), 2004
- ISCM, Miami, Honorable Mention, 2002, for Traverso, for flute and piano (1987)
- New Ariel Recordings Piano Composition Competition, 2001, First Prize, for In Time’s Unfolding, for piano (2000)
- Aaron Copland Award, Copland House (residency for summer of 2002), 2001
- Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard Commission, 1999-2002
- The Bogliasco Foundation’s Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities Fellowship, Villa Orbiana & Villa Rincon, Bogliasco, Italy, 1999 and 2005
- Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording Grant, 1999, and Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust Recording Grant, 1998, for Resisting Stillness, for two guitars (1996)
- Hewlett-Mellon Grant, 1998, for Academic Research
- 2nd Annual Gay/Lesbian American Music Awards (GLAMA), 1998, Best Instrumental Performance Category Nomination, for Incitation to Desire (Tango), for piano (1984), performed by Anthony de Mare on Gay American Composers (CRI CD 721)
- The 1997 Distinguished Alumni Award presented by the Board of Directors, GLB Alumni Council of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, in recognition of achievements as a composer and performer; first recipient who has distinguished him or her self in the arts
- The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Study and Conference Center Fellowship, Villa Serbelloni, Lago di Como, Italy, 1993
- New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships in Music Composition, 1990 & 1998
- Paul Revere Award, Music Publishers’ Association, 1990, for Piano Sonata (1986; revised 1987, published by C. F. Peters)
- The Japan Foundation Professional Fellowship, 1989-1990
- International New Music Composers Competition Finalist, Miami, 1989
- The Djerassi Foundation Music/Composition Fellowship (Ridge Vineyards), 1989
- Virgil Thomson Foundation Grant, 1988
- National Flute Association Newly Published Music Competition Finalist, 1988, for Traverso, for flute and piano (1987, published by Merion Music, Inc./ Theodore Presser Co.)
- Creative Artists Public Service Program (CAPS) Fellowship in Music, New York, 1983
- Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music, Inc. Grant, 1982
- Jerome Foundation Grant, 1982
- Meet the Composer Grants, 1981-1987, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998
- MacDowell Colony Fellowships, 1981 (Norlin Foundation Fellowship in honor of Aaron Copland), 1984, 1992, 1993, 1994-1995, 1998 (Frances and William Schuman Fellowship), 2000, and 2004
- National Orchestral Association’s New Music Orchestral Project, “Second Presentation,” Carnegie Hall, 1991, Finalist, for Piano Concerto, for piano and orchestra (1983)
- National Endowment for the Arts Composer/Librettist Fellowship Grants, 1977-1978 and 1980-1981
- American Composers Alliance Recording Award, 1981, for Mestiere, for piano (1979); Honorable Mention in 1979
- American Music Center Grant, 1980
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Music Composition, 1979-1980
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the Enrichment of the Humanities Grant, 1979
- Music chosen by UNESCO/International Music Council (administered by the American Music Center) to represent the United States at the Music Information Centers’ Conference, 1979, in Salzburg, and on Radio Salzburg, including broadcasts in the United States on NPR
- Brookline Library Music Association Prize, 24th Annual Prize Composition Contest, Massachusetts, 1977, for they had ceased to talk, for violin and viola, horn in F and piano (1975)
- Grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board, the state’s statutory arts agency, and the National Endowment of the Arts, with a matching grant from the University of Wisconsin, 1976
- Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome, 1976-1977; Visiting Artist, 1987
- Charles E. Ives Scholarship, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, 1975-1976
- Composers’ Conference Fellowships, Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont, 1974 & 1975
Education
Educational Background
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- B.A. 1970 – University of Wisconsin-Madison (English Literature); Study during 1969-1970 at the Università di Bologna and the Conservatorio di Musica “G.B. Martini”; Thesis of Distinction: Cesare Pavese and the New Generation of Italian Writers, 1970
- M.A. 1972 – University of Wisconsin-Madison (Italian Literature); Ford Foundation Fellowships, 1970-1972
- M.M. 1974 – School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Composition); Major compositional study with Les Thimmig; electronic music with Burt Levy
- Fellow 1974 & 1975 – Composers’ Conference, Johnson State College, Johnson, Vermont (summers); Compositional tutorials with Mario Davidovsky
- M.M.A. 1976 – School of Music, Yale University (Composition); Major compositional study with Robert Morris, Krzysztof Penderecki, Toru Takemitsu and Yehudi Wyner; conducting with Arthur Weisberg; Bradley-Keeler Memorial Scholarship of Yale University, 1975; Yale School of Music Alumni Association Prize, 1976
- 1979-1980 – Conducting with Jaques Monod
- D.M.A. 1980 – School of Music, Yale University (Composition)
Teaching
Private Composition Tutorials
2001-Present
All levels, including graduate students either completing MA degrees or preparing for entrance into Ph.D. or DMA programs.
Sarah Lawrence College
1977-Present
- Faculty Emeritus: 2020–Present
- Music Faculty (full-time tenure), 1977-2020
- Director, Music Program, 1987-2017
- William Schuman Chair in Music, 1995-2007 (First recipient; established in 1995)
- Margo C. Bogert Distinguished Service Chair, 2007-2010 (Established in 2004)
- Seminars in Theory and Composition, Music of the 20th Century, Music Software Lab, First-Year Studies in Music, Introduction to Music and Music History, Survey of Western Music, The Idea of a New Style; The Creative Process: Influence & Resonance
- Conference courses in Composition (undergraduate and graduate), Theory and Analysis, Piano, Violin, Orchestration, Conducting, and Chamber Music (Director)
- Developed International Programs in Music in Catania, Florence, Havana, Paris, at Oxford (Wadham College), and at the University of Leeds, and Exchange Programs in Music with CalArts, the Dartington College of Arts in Devon and Falmouth University in Cornwall, England
Yale Cross Campus Graduate & Professional Schools Mentorship
2021
1-1 mentorship with Yale graduate students in graduate and professional schools, including the performing arts & humanities.
Composition Seminars, Panels, Lectures, & Colloquia
1979-2022
- American Academy in Rome
- Arizona State University at Tempe
- Beijing Central Conservatory of Music
- The Bellagio Study and Conference Center
- Bloomingdale House of Music
- Bogliasco Foundation’s Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities
- Brandeis University
- California State University at Sacramento
- Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
- City University of New York Graduate Center
- Cornell University
- Dartington College of Arts
- The Djerassi Foundation, Stanford University
- Genoa Conservatory of Music “Niccolò Paganini”
- Harvard University
- Hoff-Barthelson Music School
- Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana
- Juilliard School of Music
- The MacDowell Colony
- The Music Library Association
- The National Flute Association
- National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts in Miami, Florida, and, regionally, in Madison, Wisconsin
- New School for Social Research
- The New York Flute Club
- Oberlin Conservatory of Music
- Oxford University
- Payap University in Chiang Mai
- The Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society & Institute, NY
- Shanghai Conservatory of Music
- Southern Methodist University
- Srinakharinwirot University in Bangkok
- Staunton Music Festival – Road Scholars
- State University of New York in Buffalo
- Tulane University
- TWIN Global Network
- University of Arizona at Tucson
- University of California in Los Angeles
- University of Colorado at Boulder
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music
- University of St. Thomas
- University of Wisconsin in Madison
- University of Wyoming at Laramie
- West Virginia Wesleyan College
- Yale University
Other Positions
1970-2016
- 2016 – Fordham University, Outside Tenure Reviewer
- 2014 – Resident Faculty Composer, New Music On The Point Festival, Vermont
- 2007 – present – Composer-in-Residence, Staunton Music Festival
- 2007 – Amherst College, Outside Tenure Reviewer
- 2005 – Composer-in-Residence, Dartington College of Arts, Totnes, Devon, UK
- 2004 – Visiting Guest Composer, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, Liberty High School, Ruskin High School
- 2003 – Principal For A Day, High School for Violin and Dance (Morris High School), Bronx, sponsored by PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement In Learning)
- 1999 – Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York Research Award Program, Review Panel
- 1994 – Columbia University, Doctoral Defense Committee
- 1990 – Composer-in-Residence, The Chamber Music Conference and Composers’ Forum of the East, Bennington, Vermont (summer)
- 1987 & 1994 – Visiting Professor, The University of Michigan Summer Program in Florence at the Villa Corsi-Salviati in Sesto Fiorentino; Seminars in American Music, and Florence: The Idea of a New Style
- 1985 – Composer-in-Residence, University of Wisconsin-Madison (summer)
- 1984-1987 – The Academic Year in New York City (ad hoc); Seminars in the History of Music
- 1978 – Seminar Instructor, Federal Correctional Institution at Oxford, Wisconsin (Summer Music Seminars); Six Lectures on American Music
- 1975-1976 – Teaching Fellow, School of Music, Yale University; Italian for Singers. Author of text — Italian for Singers – for this course. Language coach for a production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea.
- 1973-1974 – Teaching Assistant, School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Second Year Theory
- 1973-1974 – Ad Hoc Instructor, University Extension, University of Wisconsin- Madison; Department of French and Italian (summers); Italian for Reading Knowledge
- 1970-1973 – Teaching Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Department of French and Italian; Italian Language
Libraries & Archives
Institutions Housing Major Collections
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- Library of Congress
All works, including the original manuscript, sketches, audiocassette “sketches,” program notes, published manuscript, compact disc recordings, press clippings and other materials pertaining to Traverso located in the National Flute Association Archives housed in The Library of Congress (101 Independence Avenue at First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. 20540; 202/707-5000; Fax 202/707-5844). - New York Public Library
All works, including “The Chester Biscardi Papers” (full orchestral score with autograph corrections, vocal score, libretto, audio and video cassettes, programs, press clippings and other printed materials pertaining to Tight-Rope) located in The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library (Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, New York 10018). The actual material is kept at the Performing Arts Library (40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, New York 10023; 212/870-1630; Fax 212/496-5196) - Bavarian State Library (BSB, Munich) (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek)
- Columbia University
- Eastman School of Music
- Indiana University
- The Juilliard School
- Manhattan School of Music
- Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College Faculty Archives (Esther Raushenberg Library) and Music Library (Bronxville, New York 10708; 914/337-0700) - University of California-Los Angeles
- University of California-San Diego
- University of Southern California
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Yale University
Sites Archiving Website
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- Bavarian State Library (BSB, Munich) (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek)
- Contemporary Composers Web Archive (CCWA)
- Library of Congress Commissioned Composers Web Archive
Virtual International Authority File
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Reference Catalogs
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Affiliations
Professional Affiliations
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- Alliance for the Arts, The Estate Project for Artists with AIDS (Advisory Committee for the Music Archive, 2001)
- American Academy in Rome (Fine Arts Advisory Board and Music Jury for the Rome Prize, 1979 and 1980; Society of Fellows, 1980-)
- American Composers Alliance (Member 1978-1999; Committee Member – Admissions and ACA Recording Award Committees, 1978-1985; Board of Governors, 1983-1986)
- American Composers Forum (Member, 2011-)
- American Modern Ensemble (Artistic Advisory Board, 2006-2008)
- American Music Center (Member, 1977-2011)
- American Symphony Orchestra League (Composer Representative, 1981-1985)
- Associated Colleges of the South Composition Contest (Judge, 2004)
- The Bogliasco Foundation’s Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities, Bogliasco, Italy (Fellowship Advisory Committee [formerly Advisory Board], 2005-2007; Selection Committee in Music, 2005-2007; Fellowships Oversight Committee, 2007-2016; Chair, Partnerships/Affiliations Committee, 2014-2016; Board of Trustees, 2013-2016)
- Broadcast Music, Inc. (Final Judge, 1982 & 2012, and Preliminary Judge, 1993, 1996, 1998- 2002, 2004-2009, and 2011, for the Student Composers Awards; Final Judge, 2006, for Women’s Music Commission)
- The Century Association/The Century Club (Member, 1988-; Music Committee, 1991- 1994; Admissions Committee, 1996-1998/Co-Chairman, Subcommittee No. 1: Arts and Letters; with Lee Lorenz, 1996; with Randall Bourscheidt, 1997)
- Chamber Music America (Composer Representative, 1996 and 1997)
- Camerata Notturna (Artistic Advisory Board, 2008-)
- Civitella Ranieri Center (Nominator, Music Panel, 2001)
- Composers’ Guild for Performance (Board; Programming Committee, 1982-1983)
- Composers’ Guild of New Jersey (Member, 1998; CGNJ/Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra Composition Competition, Music Panel, 2006)
- Composers Now (Distinguished Members Council, 2021-)
- Composers Recordings, Inc. (Editorial Committee, 1990-2000/Chairman, 1996-2000; Product Development Committee, 1996-2000; Committee for Jazz Initiative, 1996-2000; Board of Trustees, 1996-2000; Executive Committee, 1996-2000)
- Concerts Atlantique/Global Music Network (Board of Advisors and Jury, 1986-1991)
- Connecticut Commission on the Arts (Composers’ Panel, Artist Grant Program, 1994)
- Cygnus Ensemble (Board of Directors, 1991-1997)
- Ed Di Lello Dance Group (Board of Directors, 1982-1985)
- Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard (Fromm Commission Jury, 2017)
- Furious Artisans (Advisory Board, 2008-)
- Greenwich House Music School/North River Music (Advisory Board, 2007-)
- Institute of International Education National Screening Committee, Composition (Fulbright and Foreign Grants, 1990-1993)
- International Horn Society (Composition Contest Judge, 1993)
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (Advisory Board/Music Jury [North American and Latin American panels], 1995-2010, 2016 and 2018)
- MacDowell Colony (Composers Admissions Panel, 1986-1990, and 1992; MacDowell Fellows Executive Committee, 1993-1994; Chairman, Edward MacDowell Medalist Selection Committee, 2000)
- Meet the Composer/JPMorganChase Regrant Program for Small Ensembles (Panelist, 2006)
- Music at the Anthology; Philip Glass, Executive Producer (Board, 1997-1998)
- Music International Grand Prix (Composition Jury, 2023-)
- Musical Elements (Advisory Board, 1986)
- National Flute Association (Composers’ Panel, 1996)
- National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (ARTS – Arts Recognition and Talent Search – National Panelist, including nomination of awardees to the White House Commission for designation as Presidential Scholars in the Arts, 1997-2002; Chairperson, ARTS 2000 National Panel in Music, 1999-2002; Regional Master Teacher, 2001)
- National Opera Association (Member, 1997)
- New York Youth Symphony (First Music Commissioning Series, Advisory Committee, 1986, 1992-1993)
- Opera Ebony (Board, 1994-)
- Pacific Contemporary Music Center (Member, 1996)
- Principal For A Day, High School for Violin and Dance (Morris High School), Bronx, sponsored by PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement In Learning), 2003
- Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music, Selection Panel, 2010-
- Staunton Music Festival (Director, Emerging Composers Program, 2008-; Composer-in-Residence, 2007-)
- The World Innovation Network (TWIN Global), formerly The Kellogg Innovation Network Global Summit, or KIN (Member & Panelist, 2021-)
- University of Missouri-Kansas City Chamber Music Composition Contest (Judge, 2006)
- Viola da Gamba Society of America (Judge for The Leo M. Traynor Competition for New Viol Music, 1991 and 1997)
- Yaddo, The Corporation of (Composers Admissions Panel, 1999)
Profiles
American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award in Music
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When Chester Biscardi was awarded (in 1975) a Charles Ives Scholarship by the Academy, it was for a body of compositions that was predominantly and singularly vocal, reflecting the composer’s study of and devotion to literature, particularly Italian Literature. The music has changed but the poetry remains, not only in the vocal music but in the chamber and orchestral music, as the composer himself asserts in one of his later works: The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice. One can forsee that, in the shapeliness of creative things to come, there will be even longer lyrical lines, illuminating other lines and speech lines in a developing succession and contextual counterpoint unprecedented and unparalleled.
—Milton Babbitt, May 16, 2007
Oral History of American Music
"Major Figures in American Music"
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
2000
“Timbral and spatial concerns play an important role in Biscardi’s early works. Often a single word or poetic phrase generates the central idea of a composition, though his works are seldom overtly programmatic. The Italian tenzone [dialogue] inspired Tenzone (1975), while T.S. Eliot’s ‘Burnt Norton’, with its interplay of form and time evoked At the Still Point (1977). In the 1985 opera Tight-Rope, and the song cycle The Gift of Life (1990–93) Biscardi’s lyrical impulses, pervasive in his later works, are more pronounced. Resisting Stillness (1996), an intimate, strikingly spare work, has autobiographical aspects, which are also a characteristic element of his mature music. His Piano Quintet (2004), written in memory of his father (who died when he was 12), uses elements from ‘The Odyssey,’ Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major, Op. 44, and several of his own earlier works, all of which, in the composer’s words, “explore the passage of time, loss, recovery, and transcendence.”
—James Chute
The New Grove Dictionary of Music in the United States
First Edition, 1985
Like the music of his most influential teacher, Takemitsu, Biscardi’s compositions are generally of a delicate nature, with transparent textures and understated events articulated by lengthy pauses; many of his instrumental pieces of the early 1980s include experimental playing techniques, but usually the nontraditional sounds are used only to create gentle resonances and purely sonic gestures.
—James Wierzbicki
American Academy in Rome
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Only one fellowship in music composition could be offered for the 1976–77 fellowship year. This was awarded to Chester Biscardi (Kenosha, WI, b. 1948). Biscardi had studied at the University of Wisconsin and the Yale School of Music, where he was teaching when he received the Rome Prize. While at the Academy, he composed a Trio for violin, cello, and piano (commissioned by the Cambium Trio under a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts/University of Wisconsin, premiered on the Spring Concert), and At the Still Point (premiered on the RAI/AAR orchestra concert given a year later in December 1977). He also completed an analytical article: “Pitch Relations in Stockhausen: Stop.” There was no composer-in-residence this year. For the next five years the Academy’s concerts took place without the Villa Aurelia’s gilt frame. Given the rental of the villa, they were transferred to the dining room of the McKim building. In the fall Biscardi gave a concert as pianist along with the violinist Clara Zahler, performing works by Dallapiccola, Webern, and his own Tartini (1972). He and Zahler presented a similar program at the American Consulate in Florence under the auspices of USIS (spring 1977). The Spring Concert featured Biscardi’s Tenzone for two flutes and piano, They Had Ceased to Talk for violin, viola, French horn, and piano, and Trio for violin, cello, and piano (premiere). The RAI/AAR orchestra concert, December 1976, presented Edward MacDowell’s Indian Suite and the Italian premieres of Roger Sessions’s Symphony no. 7 and Eugene O’Brien’s Dédales for soprano and chamber orchestra. At the completion of the year, Chester Biscardi returned to join the faculty of Sarah Lawrence College. He also received a National Endowment for the Arts Composer/Librettist Fellowship Grant, 1977–78. . . . The RAI/AAR concert, held earlier in December of 1977, featured premieres of both [Robert] Beaser’s Symphony for soprano and orchestra and Chester Biscardi’s At the Still Point as well as performances of Charles Ives’s Decoration Day and Central Park in the Dark.
—Martin Brody, ed.
Music and Musical Composition at the American Academy in Rome (2014)
Fellows | Music Scores
Biographical Listings
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Biographical listings first appear in the The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2000, the First Edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music in the United States, 1985, the First Edition of Who’s Who in American Music, 1983, the Second Edition of Contemporary American Composers, 1982, Composium, 1981, the Eighth Edition of the International Who’s Who in Music, 1986 (and related publications), the Thirty-Ninth Edition of Who’s Who in America (and related publications and including the 2018 Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award), 1976, the Third Edition of Who’s Who in American Education, 1992, and Vol. XVI of the Dictionary of International Biography, 1979.
Publishers & Distributers
All works registered with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)
Merion Music, Inc./Theodore Presser Co.
Works Published & Distributed by Merion Music or Theodore Presser
Works Published & Distributed by Merion Music, Inc./Theodore Presser Co.
Solo Piano
Mestiere, for piano (1979) No. 140-40044 ca. 5 minutes
Chamber
Tartini, for violin and piano (1972) No. 144-40324 ca. 7 minutes
Tenzone, for two flutes and piano (1975) No. 144-40066 ca. 9 minutes
Trio, for violin, violoncello and piano (1976) No. 144-40065 ca. 13 minutes
Traverso, for flute and piano (1987) No. 144-40149 ca. 7 minutes
Orchestra
At the Still Point, for orchestra (1977) (on rental) No. 446-41074 ca. 13 minutes
Four groups: Highs (2 Fls., 2 Cls., 2 Tpts., 8 Vns., Perc.);
Lows (Ob., E. Hn., 2 Bsns., 2 Trbs., Tuba, 4 Vcs., 2 Cbs., Perc.); Center (2 Hns., 4 Vlas., Perc., Pn.); Trio (Fl., Vn., Pn.)
Concerto
Piano Concerto, for piano and orchestra (1983) No. 446-41305 (on rental) ca. 20 minutes
2 Fls. (2nd also Picc.), 2 Obs. (2nd also E. Hn.), 2 Cls. (2nd also B. Cl.), 2 Bsns.; 4 Hns., 2 Tpts., 2 Trbs., Tuba; 4 Perc., Hp.; Solo Pn.; Strs.
Opera
Tight-Rope, a chamber opera in nine uninterrupted scenes (1985) No. 417-41028 (on rental) ca. 90 minutes
Text: Henry Butler
4 Sopranos: The Interviewer (Coloratura [B-flat3 — D5]); Sara (Lyric Mezzo [A#3 — A5]); Kathryn (Dramatic Mezzo [G3 — G5]); Luther’s Manager (Mezzo or Dramatic [B-flat3 – E-flat5]); 2 Tenors: The Actor [C#3 — B4]; Critic #1 [D3 — B4]; 1 Baritone: Luther Dane [B-flat2 — G4]; 1 Bass-Baritone: Willie [A2 – G#4]; 1 Bass: Critic #2 [A2 – F#4]; Fl. (also Picc.), E. Hn., Cl. (also B. Cl.), Bsn.; Sop. Sax. (also Ten. Sax.); 2 Hns., Tpt., Trb.; 3 Perc.; Hp.; Pn.; Strs. (at least 33322; reduced version 11111)
C. F. Peters Co.
Work Published & Distributed by C.F. Peters
Work Published & Distributed by C.F. Peters Co.
Solo Piano
Incitation to Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) Edition Peters No. P67596b ca. 4 minutes (originally published by Quadrivium Music Press as part of the International Tango Collection)
Piano Sonata (1986; revised 1987) Edition Peters No. P67200 ca. 10 minutes
Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman), for piano (1989/1991) Edition Peters No. P67493b ca. 7 minutes Feldman: Homages; and Encounters with Feldman
In Time’s Unfolding, for piano (2000) Edition Peters No. P68021 ca. 7 minutes
Guitar
Resisting Stillness, for two guitars (1996) Edition Peters No. P67693 ca. 4 minutes
Chamber
they had ceased to talk, for violin and viola, horn in F and piano (1975) Edition Peters No. P67102 ca. 11 minutes
Di Vivere, for clarinet in A and piano with flute, violin and violoncello (1981) Score: Edition Peters No. P66995; Set of Parts: Editions Peters No. P66995a ca. 8 minutes
Di Vivere, for clarinet in A and piano (1981) Edition Peters No. P66995 ca. 8 minutes
Incitation to Desire (Tango), for clarinet, horn (or viola), violin, violoncello, percussion and piano (1984/1993) Score: Edition Peters No. P67596a; Set of Parts: Edition Peters No. P67596aa ca. 4 minutes
Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman), for contrabass and piano (1989) Edition Peters No. P67493a ca. 7 minutes Feldman: Homages; and Encounters with Feldman
Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman), for viola and piano (1989/2016) Edition Peters No. P67493c ca. 7 minutes Feldman: Homages; and Encounters with Feldman
Vocal
The Gift of Life, for soprano and piano (1990-1993) [B3 — A5] Edition Peters No. P67595 ca. 10 minutes
Text: Emily Dickinson, Denise Levertov and Thornton Wilder
Percussion
Trasumanar, for twelve percussionists and piano (1980) Edition Peters No. P67492 ca. 15 minutes
Incitation to Desire (Tango), for marimba (1984/2006) Range: E1 — c4 Score: Edition Peters No. P67596c ca. 3 minutes
Biscardi Music Press
Works Published & Distributed by Biscardi Music Press
Solo Guitar
†Finding Beauty in Small Places, for solo guitar (2021) No. B48-21-1 ca. 6 minutes
Solo Piano
†Finding Beauty in Small Places, for piano (2023) No. B48-23-1 ca. 7 minutes
†Nel giardinetto della villa, for piano four hands (1994) No. B48-94-2 ca. 10 minutes
Piece (Peace!) for Peggy, for piano (2015) No. B48-15-2 ca. 1 minute
Tower Music, for piano (2022) No. B48-22-1 ca. 4 minutes
Solo Saxophone
†No Feeling is the Same as Before, for soprano saxophone in B-flat (1988) No. B48-88-1 ca. 8 minutes
Chamber
*Turning, for violin, soprano and string trio (1973) [B3 — C6] No. B48-73-1 ca. 6 minutes
Text by the composer
*Chartres, for solo piano and chamber ensemble (1973) No. B48-73-2 ca. 11 minutes
Ob., Cl. (also B. Cl.), Sop. Sax.; 2 Perc.; Solo Pn.; Vn., Vc.
*orpha, for string quartet, marimba and vibraphone (1974) No. B48-74-2 ca. 7 minutes
*Netori, for violin, oboe, horn; horn, clarinet, violoncello; piano (1990) No. B48-90-1 ca. 6 minutes
†Chamber Fanfare, for flute, horn, violin, violoncello, percussion and piano (1999); No. B48-99-2 1 minute
†Piano Quintet, for piano and violin, with violin, viola and violoncello (2004) No. B48-04-1 ca. 14 minutes
†The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice, for viola and piano (2005) No. B48-05-1 ca. 4 ½ minutes
†Footfalls (after Beckett), for flute, oboe, two guitars, tingsha, violin and violoncello (2012) No. B48-12-1 ca. 8 minutes
†Footfalls (after Beckett), for flute, oboe, piano, violin and violoncello (2012) No. B48-12-2 ca. 8 minutes
†Photo | Pier | Moonlight, for violin duo (2015; rev. 2016) No. B48-15-3 ca. 5 minutes
†Suddenly Cello, for violoncello and piano (2005/2020) No. B48-20-1 ca. 5 minutes
Brass
†*Music for an Occasion, for brass, piano and percussion (1992; rev. 2003) No. B48-92-1 ca. 3 minutes
4 Hns., 3 Tpts., 3 Trbs., Tuba; Pn.; 3 Perc.
Percussion
†*Music for Witch Dance, for two percussionists (1983) No. B48-83-1 ca. 6 minutes
Music for the dance by Annabelle Gamson (1983) based on Mary Wigman’s Heksedans (1926)
Concerto
†Recognition, for piano and violin with string orchestra (2004/2007) No. B48-07-2 ca. 15 minutes
Vocal
*“Trusting Lightness,” for soprano and piano (1975) [B3 —A5] No. B48-75-1 ca. 6 minutes
Text: Jess Anderson, from Requiescat in Pace (Poems 1970-1974)
“Chez Vous,” for soprano and piano (1983; rev. 2007) (Second Edition Revised, 2017) [C4 — G5] No. B48-83-2 ca. 3 minutes
Written for Composers Recordings, Inc. Gala Benefit 1983
Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick
†Sailors & Dreamers, for voice and piano, or for voice and chamber ensemble (2007-2010) [A3 – D#5] ca. 27 minutes
Lyrics: Shirley Kaplan
Version for voice and piano: No. B48-10-4;
Version for voice and chamber ensemble: No. B48-11-1
Fl. (Picc.), Cl (B. Cl.), Perc. [Chimes (C4 – G5), Mar. (C3 – C7), Glock., Sus. Cyms. (Sm., Med. & Lg.), Vib.], Voice, Pn, Vln I, Vln II, Vla, Vc, Cb
“You’ve Been On My Mind” (2007) [A3 – C#5] No. B48-07-1 ca. 2 minutes;
“Play Me a Song” (2008) [B3 – C5] No. B48-08-2 ca. 3 minutes;
“Seven O’Clock at the Cedar (Ode to Kline/de Kooning)” (2008) [B3 – D5] No. B48-08-1 ca. 4 minutes;
“Do you remember?” (2010) [D#4 – D5] B48-10-2 ca. 1 minute;
“I Dance the Tango” (2010) [C4 – D#5] No. B48-10-1 ca. 2 ½ minutes;
“Falling Fast” (2010) [C#4 – D#5] B48-10-3 ca. 5 minutes;
“It’s Time to Feel Alright Now” (2009) [C#4 – C#5] No. B48-09-1 ca. 5 ½ minutes
†“Broken Stars That Go Dark,” for voice and piano (2016) [B3 – B4] No. B48-16-1 ca. 2 minutes
Lyrics: Shirley Kaplan
“Two Kinds of Love Songs,” for voice and piano (2018) [B3 – B4] No. B48-18-1 ca. 2½ minutes
Lyrics: David Lehman
Choral
*Indovinello, for twelve voices (SSSAAATTTBBB) (1974) SATB No. B48-74-1 ca. 5 minutes
Text: Indovinello Veronese (Late Eighth Century Italian)
Translation: Chester Biscardi
*Heabakes: Five Sapphic Lyrics, for mixed chorus, two solo sopranos, solo alto and percussion (1974) No. B48-74-3 ca. 5 minutes
Transliterations from the Ancient Greek by Paul C. Ortloff
*Eurydice, for women’s chorus and seventeen instruments (1978)
No. B48-78-1 ca. 12 minutes
Text: Eurydice, by H. D.
Sopranos in two parts, each including two soloists;
Altos in two parts, each including two soloists
2 Fls. (also Piccs.), Alto Fl., Cl.; 2 Hns., 2 Trbs.; 4 Vns., 4 Vcs.; Pn.
*Good-bye, My Fancy!, for mixed chorus a cappella and narrator (1982) No. B48-82-1 ca. 8 minutes
Text created by Mark D’Alessio from Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman
Mama Never Forgets Her Birds, arranged for SATB and piano (1997), from The Gift of Life, for soprano and piano (1990-1993) ca. 1 ½ minutes
Text: Emily Dickinson, Denise Levertov and Thornton Wilder
(Copyright held by C. F. Peters Corp.)
Stage & Media
*Music for The Duchess of Malfi, for nine instrumentalists and voices (1975) No. B48-75-2 ca. 40 minutes
Music for the play by John Webster (1612)
Fl., Cl.; Tpt., Hn.; Pn.; Perc.; 2 Vns., Vc.; various voices and singers from cast
†*Music for Witch Dance, for two percussionists (1983) No. B48-83-1 ca. 6 minutes
Music for the dance by Annabelle Gamson (1983) based on Mary Wigman’s Heksedans (1926)
Music for NASDAQ MarketSiteTV, for flute, horn, violin, violoncello, percussion and
piano (1999) No. B48-99-2 ca. 2 minutes
Fl, Hn, Vn, Vc, Perc [Timp, Vib, Glock], Pn
†Footfalls (after Beckett), for flute, oboe, two guitars, tingsha, violin and violoncello
(2012) No. B48-12-1 ca. 8 minutes
†Footfalls (after Beckett), for flute, oboe, piano, violin and violoncello (2012) No. B48-12-2 ca. 8 minutes
Those works indicated by † are distributed exclusively by Theodore Front Musical Literature, Inc. [Note: those works with asterisks were formerly available as part of the American Composers Edition from the American Composers Alliance, Inc.]:
Biscardi Music Press
Works Distributed by Classical Vocal Reprints & Theodore Front Musical Literature, Inc.
Works Distributed by Classical Vocal Reprints and Theodore Front Musical Literature, Inc.
Vocal
“Baby Song of the Four Winds,” for mezzo-soprano and piano (1994) [(G#3 – optional low) A3 — F5] No. B48-94-1a No. CVR3613 ca. 3 minutes
Text: Carl Sandburg
“Baby Song of the Four Winds,” transposed for soprano and piano (1994) [C4 — A5] No. B48-94-1b No. CVR3614 ca. 3 minutes
Text: Carl Sandburg
“Chez Vous,” for voice and piano (1983; revised 2007) (Second Edition Revised, 2017) [C4 — G5] No. B48-83/07-3 No. CVR4100 ca. 3 minutes
Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick
“The Child Comes Every Winter,” for voice and piano (1999; Second Edition Revised, 2017) [C#4 – C#5] No. B48-99-1 No. CVR3615 ca. 3 minutes
Lyrics: William Zinsser
“Guru,” for voice(s) and piano (1995) [D4 — D5] No. B48-95-1 No. CVR3640 ca. 1 minute
Text: Allen Ginsberg
Modern Love Songs, for voice and piano (1997-2002) ca. 15 minutes Versions for medium voice (original), 2nd ed. rev. [A3 — E5] – No. B48-97/02-1a No. CVR3617 – and high voice (transposed keys) [C4 – G#5 (A-flat5)] – No. B48-97/02-1b No. CVR3618
Lyrics: William Zinsser:
- “What a Coincidence,” for voice and piano (1997) [A#3 — D5] [D4 -F#5] No. B48-97-1 ca. 3 minutes
- “I Wouldn’t Know About That,” for voice and piano (1997) [A3 — E5] [C4 — G5] No. B48-97-2 ca. 3 minutes
- “Someone New,” for voice and piano (1999) [A#3 — E5] [D4 – A-flat5] No. B48-99-2 ca. 3 minutes
- Now You See It, Now You Don’t,” for voice and piano (1998) [B3 — D5] [D#4 — F#5] No. B48-98-2 ca. 3 minutes
- “At Any Given Moment,” for voice and piano (2002) [C#4 — E5] [F4 – A-flat5] No. B48-02-1 ca. 3 minutes
- “Poet’s Aria,” for baritone and piano (1985), from Scene I of Tight-Rope, a 90-minute chamber opera in nine uninterrupted scenes (1985), on rental from Merion Music, Inc./Theodore Presser Co. [Bb2 — G4] BMP/CVR No. B48-85-1a / CVR3619 ca. 3 minutes
Text: Henry Butler
“Poet’s Aria,” transposed for tenor and piano (1985), from Scene I of Tight-Rope, a 90-minute chamber opera in nine uninterrupted scenes (1985), on rental from Merion Music, Inc./Theodore Presser Co. [C#3 — B-flat4] BMP/CVR No. B48-85-1b / CVR3620 ca. 3 minutes
Text: Henry Butler
“Prayers of Steel,” for baritone and piano (1998) [B2 — F#4] No. B48-98-1 No. CVR3621 ca. 3 minutes
Text: Carl Sandburg
“Recovering,” for tenor and piano (2000) [D3 – G#4] No. B48-00-2 No. CVR3622 ca. 6 minutes
Text: Muriel Rukeyser
Versions for soprano [D4 — G#5] and mezzo-soprano [C-flat4 (B4) — F5] are also available from the composer.
Choral
The Child Comes Every Winter, for SATB and piano (1999/2001) No. B48-99/01-1 No. CVR3616 ca. 3 minutes
Lyrics: William Zinsser
Guru, for voice(s) and piano (1995) [d1 – d2] No. B48-95-1 No. CVR3640 ca. 1 minute
Text: Allen Ginsberg
Collections
Published Collections in which Works by Chester Biscardi Appear
NewMusicShelf Anthology of New Music: Viola, Vol. 1, NewMusicShelf, Inc., Astoria, New York, 2021
Chester Biscardi: Selected Songs, Biscardi Music Press B48-18-1, ISBN 978-0-692-04665-4, New York, New York, 2018
NewMusicShelf Anthology of New Music: Tenor, Vol. 1, NewMusicShelf, Inc., Astoria, New York, 2018
Modern Music for New Singers: 21st Century American Art Songs: Baritone, Vol. II, North Star Music, LLC, Saline, Michigan, 2021
Other Distributors & Sellers
Works Distributed by JW Pepper, Alfred Music, & Others
Find the work of Chester Biscardi on these sites:
Recordings
All works registered with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)
Music of Chester Biscardi & David Olan
New World Records Anthology of American Music, Inc./Composers Reading, Inc.
NWCR565 (New York, 2007) / CRI CD 565 (New York, 1988):
- Piano Sonata (1986; revised 1987) 10:00
- Mestiere, for piano (1979) 5:29 — Anthony de Mare, piano
- Trasumanar, for twelve percussionists and piano (1980) 13:32 — The New Jersey Percussion Ensemble; Gary Van Dyke, conductor
with three works by David Olan: Composition for Clarinet and Tape (1976), Laura Flax, clarinet; After Great Pain, for soprano and electronic sounds (1982), Judith Bettina, soprano; Prism, for six percussionists and tape (1978), The New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, Peter Jarvis, conductor.
Liner notes by the composer.
Chester Biscardi: At the Still Point
New World Records Anthology of American Music, Inc./Composers Reading, Inc.
NWCR686 (New York, 2007) / CRI CD 686 (New York, 1995)
Traverso, for flute and piano (1987) 7:50
Tara Helen O’Connor, flute
Edmund Niemann, piano
The Gift of Life, for soprano and piano (1990-1993) 9:37
Text: Emily Dickinson, Denise Levertov and Thornton Wilder
Judith Bettina, soprano
James Goldsworthy, piano
Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman), for piano (1989/1991) 6:44
Incitation To Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) 3:18
Anthony de Mare, piano
Mestiere, for piano (1979) 5:38
Robert Weirich, piano
Reissue from CRI SD 459 (New York, 1982), which includes John Lennon Distances Within Me, Eleanor Cory Designs, and Charles Wuorinen Percussion Duo).
Tenzone, for two flutes and piano (1975) 7:43
Robert Dick and Keith Underwood, flutes
Robert Weirich, piano
Reissue from CRI SD 400 (New York, 1979), which includes Otto Luening Third, Fourth and Fifth Suites for Solo Flute, Eugene Lee Composition for Flute Solo, and Robert Dick Afterlight.
At the Still Point, for orchestra (1977) 13:10
Trio: Jeanne Ingraham, violin; Susan Palma, flute; Gilbert Kalish, piano
American Composers Orchestra
Paul Lustig Dunkel, conductor
Reissue from CRI SD 474 (New York, 1982), which includes Tobias Picker Violin Concerto.
CD mastered by Charles Harbutt, Engineer; Sony Classical Productions.
Liner notes by the composer.
Gay American Composers
New World Records Anthology of American Music, Inc./Composers Reading, Inc.
NWCR721 (New York, 2007) / CRI CD 721 (New York, 1996)
Incitation To Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) [from CRI CD 686 (New York, 1995)] 3:18
Anthony de Mare, piano
Originally on NWCR686 (New York, 2007) / CRI CD 686 (New York, 1995)
with works by Robert Helps, Lee Hoiby, Lou Harrison, Ned Rorem, David Del Tredici, Robert Maggio, Conrad Cummings, William Hibbard, Jerry Hunt and Chris DeBlasio, featuring the Kronos Quartet, Phyliss Bryn-Julson, soprano, Peter Stewart, baritone, Gamelan Sekar Kembar, and others.
Liner Notes by the composer.
Broken Consort
New World Records Anthology of American Music, Inc./Composers Reading, Inc.
NWCR834 (New York, 2007) / CRI CD 834 (New York 2000)
Resisting Stillness, for two guitars (1996) 5:06
Anderson/Fader Duo
William Anderson and Oren Fader, guita
with Sebastian Currier Broken Consort, John Halle Spooks, Charles Wuorinen Fenton Songs, David Lang Frag, William Anderson Ear Conception, Anthony Braxton Composition No. 186, and Robert Pollock Cygnature Piece; all performances by Cygnus.
Liner notes by Robert Carl.
American Sonatas
Intim Musik
IMCD 034 (Sweden, 1994)
Traverso, for flute and piano (1987) 8:01
Göran Marcusson, flute; Joakim Kallhed, piano
with Lowell Lieberman Sonata, Aaron Copland Duo, Walter Piston Sonata, and Eldin Burton Sonatina.
Liner notes by P G Berfors (translated by Linda Schenck).
Incitation to Desire
New Albion Records, Inc.
NA073CD (San Francisco, 1995)
Incitation to Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) 3:19
Yvar Mikhashoff, piano
with tangos by Michael Sahl, John Cage, Dane Rudhyar, William Duckworth, William Schimel, Lukas Foss, Scott Pender, Richard Rodney Bennett, Ivana Ludova, Colin Bright, Laszlo Sa`ry, Conlon Nancarrow, Jackson Hill, Raschke, Aaron Copland, David Jaggard and Robert Berkman.
Liner notes by Ingram Marshall.
Evocations: American Music from the Moscow Autumn Festival
North/South Recordings
N/S R 1017, Albany, 1998
Piano Sonata (1986; revised 1987) 10:23
Elena Ivanina, piano
with Marilyn Bliss Fantasies, Hayg Boyadjian Evocations, Joel Feigen Nexus (Alexander Korneyev, flute), Binnette Lipper Three for Five (Alexander Korneyev, flute, Alexei Sheyin, oboe, Alexei Sizov, bassoon, and Alexander Suyorov, percussion).
Liner notes by Raymond Stults.
American Tangos
University of Arizona
2002
Incitation to Desire (Tango) for piano (1984) 3:19
Oscar Macchioni, piano
The Tango in American Piano Music: Selected Tangos by Virgil Thompson, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, David Jaggard, Chester Biscardi and William Bolcom.
Liner notes by Oscar Macchioni.
Contemporary Eclectic Music for the Piano, Volume 7
New Ariel Recordings
AE 007 (South Bend, Indiana, 2003)
In Time’s Unfolding, for piano (2000) 6:36
Jeffrey Jacob, piano
with works by Daniel Kessner, Christopher Coleman, Laszlo Katai, and Joelle Wallach.
Liner notes by Chester Biscardi.
Tango Diablo!
Sept Jardins Records
SJCD-1910 (Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2003)
Incitation to Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) 4:02
Louise Bessette, piano
with tangos by Astor Piazzola, Barbara Kolb, William Schimmel, Jackson Hill, Robert Berkman, Michael Sahl, Colin Bright, Michael S. Horwod, Isaac Albeniz, Erwin Schulhoff, Igor Stravinsky, Ivana Loudová, and Raoul Sosa.
Liner notes by Dominique Olivier; translated from the French by Donald Kellough.
Music By My Friends
Albany Records
TROY695-96 (Albany, New York, 2004)
Incitation to Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) 3:14
Mestiere, for piano (1979) 5:15
Bennett Lerner, piano
Nel giardinetto della villa, for piano four hands (1994) 9:26
Chester Biscardi and Bennett Lerner, piano
with works by Christopher Berg, Aaron Copland, Robert Helps, Donald Richie, Tison Street, and Roger Zahab.
Liner notes by Bennett Lerner and composers.
Songs & Encores
Bridge Records
Bridge 9199 (New Rochelle (New York, 2006)
“Baby Song of the Four Winds,” for voice and piano (1994) 3:09
Text: Carl Sandburg
“Recovering,” for voice and piano (2000) 5:28
Text: Muriel Rukeyser
“Guru,” for voice(s) and piano (1995) 1:31
Text: Allen Ginsberg
Judith Bettina, soprano
James Goldsworthy, piano
with songs by Milton Babbitt, Christopher Berg, Tobias Picker, Mel Powell, and David Rakowski, featuring Tom Kolor, vibraphone, and Curtis Macomber, violin.
Liner notes by Hayes Biggs.
Powerhouse Pianists
American Modern Recordings (a division of Lumiere Records)
AMR 1031 (New York, New York, 2008)
Piano Sonata (1986; revised 1987) 10:41
Blair McMillen, piano
with works by Lee Hyla, Eric Moe, Annie Gosfield, George Tsontakis, Perry Townsend, Conlon Nancarrow, Joan Tower, David Rakowski, Mischa Zupko; also with Stephen Gosling, piano.
Liner notes by the composers.
Chester Biscardi: In Time’s Unfolding
Naxos
Naxos 8.559639 (Hong Kong, 2011)
In Time’s Unfolding (2000) 5:41
Marc Peloquin, piano
Tartini (1972) 4:45
Curtis Macomber, violin
Blair McMillen, piano
Piano Quintet (2004) 13:31
Blair McMillen, piano, and Curtis Macomber, violin
Yonah Zur, violin
Daniel Panner, viola
Greg Hesselink, violoncello
Mestiere (1979) 5:34
Blair McMillen, piano
Di Vivere (1981) 9:46
Da Capo Chamber Players
Meighan Stoops, clarinet, and Blair McMillen, piano
Patricia Spencer, flute
Curtis Macomber, violin
André Emelianoff, violoncello
The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice (2005) 4:34
Paul Neubauer, viola
James Goldsworthy, piano
Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman) (1989) 7:05
Mark Helias, contrabass
Marc Peloquin, piano
In Time’s Unfolding (2000) 5:51
Marc Peloquin, piano
Liner Notes by the composer.
This recording was produced and engineered by 2012 Grammy Award-winning Producer, Judith Sherman.
Anderson-Fader Duo • Le Cirque
Furious Artisans
FACD 6811, (New York, 2012)
Resisting Stillness, for two guitars (1996) 5:10
Anderson/Fader Duo (William Anderson and Oren Fader, guitars)
riginally on NWCR834 (New York, 2007) / CRI CD 834 (New York 2000)
with works by Frank Brickle, Sidney Corbett, Scott Johnson, David Lang, Robert Pollock, Martin Rokeach, Gilliam Welch, and Charles Wuorinen.
Liner notes by Chester Biscardi.
A-Z of String Players
Naxos
8.558081-84 Box Set of 4 CDs (Hong Kong, 2014)
The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice (2005) 4:34
Paul Neubauer, viola
James Goldsworthy, piano
Originally on Naxos 8.559639 (Hong Kong, 2011)
including performances by Fritz Kreisler, David Oistrakh, Jascha Heifetz, Pablo Casals, William Primose, Jacqueline du Pré, among many others.
660 page booklet with photographs, 300 biographies, and selected recordings from 69 artists included in the 4 CD box set by David Milsom.
Faszination Klavierquintett, Vol. 4
Naxos
Naxos Special Projects 9.00269, Download Only – 84 minutes (Hong Kong, 2015)
Piano Quintet (2004) 13:31
Blair McMillen, piano
Curtis Macomber, violin
Yonah Zur, violin
Daniel Panner, viola
Greg Hesselink, violoncello
Originally on Naxos 8.559639 (Hong Kong, 2011)
with works by Nicolas Medtner, Lennox Berkeley, Arthur Foote, Franco Alfano, John Alden Carpenter, Friedrich Kiel, Charles Wuorinen, Alan Rawsthorne, Enrique Granados, Charles Wakefield Cadman, and Achille Longo.
And He’ll Be Mine: Love Songs by Gay American Composers
Perfect Enemy Records
Perfect Enemy Records PER-1, (New York 2016):
Modern Love Songs (1997-2002) 14:21
Lyrics: William Zinsser
“What a Coincidence” (1997) 2:23
“I Wouldn’t Know About That” (1997) 2:33
“Someone New” (1999) 3:09
“Now You See It, Now You Don’t” (1998) 3:08
“At Any Given Moment” (2002) 2:54
Dennis Tobenski, tenor
Marc Peloquin, piano
with works by David Del Tredici, Zachary Wadsworth, Darien Scott Shulman, and Dennis Tobenski
Liner Notes by Chester Biscardi.
Tangos for Yvar
Grand Piano Records
GP794, Cologne, 2019
Incitation to Desire (Tango) for piano (1984) 3:15
Hanna Shabyeva, piano
with tangos by Coriún Aharonián, Milton Babbitt, Robert Berkman, Chester Biscardi, Brian Fennelly, Douglas Finch, Jackson Hill, Tom Johnson, Jeffrey Mumford, Şerban Nichifor, Marlos Nobre, Michael Nyman, Scott Pender, Astor Piazzolla, Frederic Rzewski, William Schimmel, Nils Vigeland, and Stefan Wolpe.
Liner notes by Carsten Dürer; translated by Saul Lipetz.
It Takes One to Tango
Steinway & Sons
STNS30164 (New York, 2021)
Incitation to Desire (Tango) for piano (1984) 3:19
Jeanne Golan, piano
Recovered voices and living composers: Chester Biscardi, Eric More, Erwin Schulhoff, Pablo Ortiz, Theodore Wiprud, Toby Twining, Wanda Landowska and Wilhelm Gros.
Liner notes by Jeanne Golan.
Recording Produced
Composers Recordings, Inc. (New World Records Recorded Anthology of American Music, Inc.)
The Music of Frank Wigglesworth, NWCR733 (New York, 2007) / CRI CD 733 (New York, 1996)
Executive Producers: Chester Biscardi and Jody R. Dalton.
Liner Notes by Chester Biscardi.
Subscription Digital Music Services
Naxos, Spotify, & Others
Find recordings of Chester Biscardi’s music at:
- Classical Music Library (Alexander Press)
- DRAM
- Idagio (Search “Chester Biscardi”)
- Naxos Music Library (Keyword Search “Biscardi”)
- SoundCloud
- Spotify
Selected Performances
Performances at Major Music Festivals
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Performances at major music festivals in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United States, including the Beijing Modern Music Festival, the Gaudeamus Festival in Rotterdam, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in England, Moscow Autumn, Music Today-Japan in Tokyo, the Thailand Composition Festival in Bangkok, the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, the North American New Music Festival in Buffalo, the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, Piccolo Spoleto, the Staunton Music Festival, the International Guitar Festival of Morelia, and the Bienal of São Paulo, Brazil.
Sponsoring Ensembles & Organizations
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Performances have been sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra, the BBC-London, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Cygnus, Ensemble TIMF of Korea, the Gothia Percussion Ensemble of Sweden, the Group for Contemporary Music, the Houston Symphony, the National Flute Association, the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, the Orchestra della Radiotelevisione Italiana in Rome, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Sequitur, and UNESCO/International Music Council.
Radio & Television Broadcasts, Interviews, & Performances
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Radio Broadcasts: Interviews and Performances in Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States include American Public Media/Public Radio, Barvarian Radio, BBC (Radio 3)-London, CBC Radio Two-Ottowa, CBC-Toronto, Counterstream Radio, France Musiques, KEMC-Billings, KFBX-Spokane, KLEF-Houston, Minnesota Public Radio, NHK-Tokyo, NPR, Radio Salzburg, Radio-Canada, Radio Circuito Marconi, Radio Suisse Romande – Espace 2, RAI-Rome, WBFO-Buffalo, WFMT-Chicago, WFLN-Philadelphia, WGDT-Kenosha, WHRB-Boston, WJFF “Radio Catskills”, WKCR-New York, WNCN-New York, WNIB/WNIZ-Chicago, WNYC-New York, WORT-Madison, WPRB-Princeton, WQXR-New York, WRCT-Pittsburgh, WTUL-New Orleans, WUSF-Tampa, WWFM The Classical Station-Trenton, and UBC (Voice of the Daily American)-Rome.
Television Broadcast: Interviews and Performances in Wisconsin on WHA-TV and WISC-TV.
Retrospective Concerts
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Fresh Stuff: New Music from the New York Foundation for the Arts: Chester Biscardi; Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, North Plaza; August 16, 1990
Program included Mestiere (Anthony de Mare) Tenzone (David Fedele, Tara Helen O’Connor and Edmund Niemann), The Poet’s Aria and Kathryn’s Song from Tight-Rope (Charles Huddleston, Mary Law and Anthony de Mare), Traverso (Tara Helen O’Connor and Edmund Niemann), No Feeling is the Same as Before (Les Thimmig), Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman) (Les Thimmig and Anthony de Mare), and Piano Sonata (Anthony de Mare)
Music of Chester Biscardi; Fine Arts Concert Hall, University of Wyoming at Laramie; April 5, 1995
Program included Traverso (Rod Garnett and Gary Smart), The Gift of Life (Marilyn Smart and Gary Smart), Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman), Incitation to Desire (Tango) (Gary Smart), Tartini (Ikuko Kanda and Chizu Hamano), Baby Song of the Four Winds (Marilyn Smart and Gary Smart), Nel giardinetto della villa (Chester Biscardi and Gary Smart), Mestiere (Gary Smart), and Piano Sonata (Toko Suzuki)
Songs by Chester Biscardi; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; December 5, 1999
Program included “Poet’s Aria“, from Tight-Rope (Thomas Young and Sarah Caldwell Nelson), Prayers of Steel (Mel Ulrich and Sarah Caldwell Nelson), Baby Song of the Four Winds, The Gift of Life, and Guru (Judith Bettina and James Goldsworthy), What a Coincidence, I Wouldn’t Know About That, Now You See It, Now You Don’t, Someone New (Thomas Young and Sarah Caldwell Nelson), Winter’s Child: Three American Carols: At Christmas Time (Luening/Hesse), A Christmas Carol (Ives), The Child Comes Every Winter (Biscardi/Zinsser) (Judith Bettina and James Goldsworthy)
Song and Dance, featuring chamber and vocal music of Chester Biscardi; Voices of Change; Caruth Auditorium, Southern Methodist University; Dallas, Texas; October 5, 2003
Program included Tartini (Maria Schleuning, violin, and Shields-Collins Bray, piano), Incitation to Desire (Tango) [Shields-Collins Bray, piano, Doug Hopkins, dancer (Bruce Wood Dance Company), and The Gift of Life (Virginia Dupuy, soprano, and Shields-Collins Bray, piano)
MUSICA NOVA: Chester Biscardi, Visiting Guest Composer; White Hall, University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, December 2, 2004
Program included Incitation to Desire (Tango) [Jocelyn Ho, piano], Tenzone (Christina Webster and Jonathan Borja, flutes, and Jocelyn Ho, piano), Music for Witch Dance (Jim Clanton and Bill Solomon, percussionists), Modern Love Songs (Marcella Caprario, mezzo-soprano, and Jeong Hee Jeong, piano), and Piano Sonata (John Villaveces, piano)
Chester Biscardi: Companion Pieces – Music for Piano, Viola and Voice: Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; February 19, 2006; and Greenwich House Arts/North River Music Series 20th Anniversary Concert The Renee Weiler Recital Hall, Greenwich House Music School; February 23, 2006
Programs included Incitation to Desire (Tango) (1984) Chester Biscardi (1948); Piano Distance (1961) Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996); Mestiere (1979) Biscardi; Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman) (1989/91) Biscardi; Extensions 3 (1951) Morton Feldman (1926-1987); In Time’s Unfolding (2000) Biscardi – Marc Peloquin, piano; The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice (2005) Biscardi – in memory of violist Jacob Glick – World Premiere – Toby Appel, viola, and James Goldsworthy, piano; Baby Song of the Four Winds (1994) Biscardi Text: Carl Sandburg (1878-1967); Recovering (2000) Biscardi Text: Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) New York City Premiere; Guru (1995) Biscardi Text: Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) – New York City Premiere – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano; Piano Sonata (1986; rev. 1987) Biscardi – Marc Peloquin, piano; Encore: What a Coincidence (1997) Biscardi Lyrics: William Zinsser (1922) – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano
Concert & Conversation: Influences and Interpretations – Piano Music by Biscardi, Feldman & Takemitsu, with Chester Biscardi, composer, and Marc Peloquin, piano; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; February 21, 2006
Program included Piano Distance (1961) Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996); Mestiere (1979) Biscardi; Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman) (1989/91) Biscardi; Extensions 3 (1951) Morton Feldman (1926-1987); In Time’s Unfolding (2000) Biscardi – Marc Peloquin, piano
Guest Composer, 2006 Thailand Composition Festival in Bangkok, July 18 – 20, 2006, sponsored by the Department of Music, Faculty of Fine Arts, Srinakharinwirot University, and Payap University in Chiang Mai, July 21 — 26.
Program included presenting the inaugural lecture in Bangkok on July 18th, followed by a concert of works for solo piano – Mestiere (1979), Incitation to Desire (Tango) (1984), pianist Bennett Lerner, and Nel giardinetto della villa, for piano four hands (1994), with Chester Biscardi and Bennett Lerner, piano. Private tutorials and taught seminars and workshops in composition during the festival. On July 20th in Bangkok Piano Quintet (2004) was performed by Ensemble TIMF from South Korea, conducted by Pawatchai Suwankangka, the director of the Thailand National Symphony. Attending were composers, performers, theorists and musicologists from Burma, China, Hong Kong, Korea, the Phillipines, Thailand, and the United States. In Chiang Mai on July 21st a lecture/concert included Mestiere (1979), Incitation to Desire (Tango) (1984), pianist Bennett Lerner, and Nel giardinetto della villa, for piano four hands (1994), with Chester Biscardi and Bennett Lerner, piano.
Guest Composer, 2010 Beijing Modern Music Festival, China, May 22 — 28, 2010.
Program included lectures and master classes and two concerts on May 26, 2010: The Centre of the Sound: Flute and Piano Music from Luisa Sello, Luisa Sello, flute, and Yang Xiaogong, piano, featuring Traverso, for flute and piano (1987); and Special Concert of Chester Biscardi’s Works, featuring Tartini, for violin and piano (1972), Lin Zhaoyang, violin, and You Xi, piano, Resisting Stillness, for two guitars (1996), Chen Chuan and Xu Tuo, guitars, The Viola Had Suddenly Become a Voice, for viola and piano (2005), Kang Wenting, viola, and Duan Biyan, piano, and Piano Quintet, for piano and violin, with violin, viola and violoncello (2004) Duan Biyan, piano, Tang Yun, violin, Ma Veijia, violin, Kang Wenting, viola, and Wang Zhilin, violoncello. Recital Hall, Beijing Central Conservatory of Music.
Meet the Century Composer: Songs of Chester Biscardi, presented by Eine Kleine Hausmusick, The Century Association, New York City; April 30, 2015
Program included “Guru” (1995) – Judith Bettina, soprano, and Chester Biscardi, piano, “Chez Vous” (1983; rev. 2007), lyrics by Sheldon Harnick – World Premiere – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano, “I Dance the Tango” (2010) from Sailors & Dreamers (2007-2010) – Chester Biscardi, voice and piano, Modern Love Songs (1997-2002) – Dennis Tobenski, tenor, and Marc Peloquin, piano, “Baby Songs of the Four Winds” (1994), The Gift of Life (1990-1993), and “Do You Remember?” (2010) from Sailors & Dreamers (2007-2010) – Judith Bettina, soprano, and James Goldsworthy, piano.
The Poetry of Chester Biscardi, presented by KeyedUp MusicProject; Tenri Cultural Institute, New York City; October 9, 2015
Program included In Time’s Unfolding (2000) – Marc Peloquin, piano; “Poet’s Aria” from Tight-Rope (1985) – Dennis Tobenski, tenor, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Piece (Peace!) for Peggy (2015) – Chester Biscardi, piano; Nel giardinetto della villa (1994) – Chester Biscardi and Marc Peloquin, piano; and the World Premiere of the voice and piano version of Sailors & Dreamers (2007-2010) – Dennis Tobenski, tenor, and Marc Peloquin; along with the World Premiere of Go, Little Poem by Dennis Tobenski, and Robert Schumann’s Kinderscenen.
Chester Biscardi at Oxford, Lecture, Concert, and Composition Master Class at Oxford University UK, sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; May 31-June 1, 2017
Lecture: Chester Biscardi: Composer’s Thoughts; The Lee Shaw Kee Scholar Seminar Room, Wadham College, Oxford; May 31, 2017
Recital: Chester Biscardi: In Time’s Unfolding – Music for Piano, Voice and Ensemble; Wadham College Antechapel, Oxford; June 1, 2017
Program included Incitation to Desire (Tango), for piano (1984) – Guy Newbury, piano, “I Dance the Tango” from Sailors & Dreamers, for voice and piano (2007-2010), Lyrics by Shirley Kaplan – Danae Eleni, soprano, and Guy Newbury, piano, The Gift of Life, for soprano and piano (1990-1993), Texts by Emily Dickinson, Denise Levertov and Thornton Wilder – Danae Eleni, soprano, and Guy Newbury, piano, Piano Quintet, for piano and violin, with violin, viola and violoncello (2004) – George Needham, piano, and Athelie Armon-Jones, violin, Anna Homes, violin, Georgia Russell, viola, and Joseph Davies, violoncello, “Broken Stars That Go Dark,” for voice and piano (2016), Lyrics by Shirley Kaplan – World Premiere – John Lee, baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano, and In Time’s Unfolding, for piano (2000) – Guy Newbury, piano.
Composition Master Class; Gilese Badun Room; Wadham College, Oxford; June 1, 2017
50th Birthday Interviews, Broadcasts and Performance:
October 11, 1998: 50th birthday interview with Bruce Duffie on WNIB/WNIZ Classical 97-Chicago, including broadcasts of At the Still Point, Piano Sonata, Tenzone, and The Gift of Life
October 16, 1998: Anthony de Mare interview on WKCR-New York, featuring broadcasts of Incitation to Desire (Tango) and Mestiere
October 20, 1998 Anthony de Mare, piano; Birthday Blow Out (Bernstein, Biscardi, Carter, Rorem, Rzewski, Speach), Solo Flights presented by ComposersCollaborative; Here; New York City; performances of Mestiere and Companion Piece (for Morton Feldman)
Selected Performances of Other Work
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The Brides of Enderby (1977), by Anthony Burgess
First and only performances: Laurentian Chamber Players (Catherine Rowe, soprano, Gerardo Levy, flute, Ronald Roseman, oboe, Michael Rudiakov, violoncello, Joel Spiegelman, harpsichord and piano); Chester Biscardi, conductor; “The Listening Room,” The Robert Sherman Show, WQXR-FM; New York; October 11, 1978; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; October 15, 1978; Clark University Fine Arts Series; Wooster, Massachusetts; October 29, 1978
The Wasteland, a setting (1977), by Anthony Burgess
First and only performances: Laurentian Chamber Players; Brendan Gill, reciter; Chester Biscardi, conductor; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; October 14, 1978 and October 14, 1979
Ann Garner, a poem set to music (1978), by Ed Di Lello
First performances: Sheila Schonbrun and Catherine Rowe, voices, David Krakauer, clarinet, Arthur Fiacco, violoncello, John Lettieri, piano, Joseph Aebig and Kevin Twigg, percussion; Chester Biscardi, conductor; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; May 16 and 17, 1978; Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University; Connecticut; October 21, 1978
Die Winterreise, by Franz Schubert (1827); Ted Kalmon, baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Faculty Recital Series; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; November 24, 1981
The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs, by John Cage (1942); Wall-to-Wall John Cage and Friends, A 70th Birthday Tribute; Sheila Schonbrun, soprano, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Symphony Space; New York; March 13, 1982
Performers included John Cage, Merce Cunningham, The Cunningham Dance Company, David Tudor, Charles Wuorinen, Nam June Paik, Christian Wolff, Paul Jacobs, Ursula Oppens, Takehisa Kasugi, Paul Zukofsky, Robert Ashley, Margaret Hee-long Ten, Joseph Kubera, Aki Takehashi, New Music Consort, Sheila Schonbrun, Joel Chadabe, Charlotte Moorman, Virgil Blackwell, Benjamin Hudson, Christopher Jannay, Yvar Mikhashoff, Naomi Amos, Neely Bruce, Jackson Mac Low, Alison Knowles, Jim Staley, Gageego, Gordon Gottlieb, Clark Coolidge, Dean Drummond, Gary Schall, Stefani Starin, Chester Biscardi, David Satz, David Behrman, Don Gillespie, Vivian Perlis, James Baker, Robert Rauschenberg, and others…
Die Schöne Müllerin, by Franz Schubert (1823); Peter Stewart, baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Private residence of Charles DeCarlo; New York; April 6, 1991; Village Variations; Renee Weiler Concert Hall, Greenwich House Music School; New York; April 11, 1991; Eine Kleine Hausmusik; The Century Club; New York; April 17, 1991; Schubert Music Festival; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; April 20, 1991
Vexations, by Erik Satie (1893); 100 Years of Vexations; Chester Biscardi, piano; Roulette; New York; May 15, 1993.
18-plus hours of Erik Satie’s “Vexations” for piano on the centennial of its creation with an all star cast of pianists and celebrity helpers including “Blue” Gene Tyranny, Eric Chin, Joe Hannan, Joseph Kubera, Christopher Berg, Alvin Lucier, Chester Biscardi, Don Gillespie, Margaret Leng Tan, Kirk Nurock, Kyle Gann, Anthony Coleman, Michael Kowalski, Norman Yamada, William Duckworth, David Weinstein, Mark Digliantoni, Bruce Posner, David Shea, Lois Svard, Michelle Michele, and others with surprise guests counting the repeats.
Satie’s Vexations (1893), 60 years after John Cage; Chester Biscardi, piano; Grand Opening of The Village Trip 2023; The Pocket Theatre; New York City; September 8, 2023
Chester Biscardi, David Del Tredici, Richard Cameron-Wolfe, Marilyn Nonken, Marc Peloquin, Adam Tendler, and others.
Winterreise, by Franz Schubert; poems by Wilhelm Müller (1827); Gudfinnur Sveinsson, bass-baritone, and Chester Biscardi, piano; Reisinger Concert Hall, Sarah Lawrence College; Bronxville, NY; March 21, 2023; Eine Kleine Hausmusik; The Century Club; New York; March 29, 2023; National Gallery of Iceland; Reykjavik; January 6, 2024; Holywell Music Room; Oxford, UK; January 11, 2024
Organ2ASLSP, by John Cage (1987); Eight-Hour Organ Marathon at St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University; New York City; April 13, 2024. With Julian Bennett Holmes, Yike Zhang, Steve Long, Chester Biscardi, Laura Cetilia, Nicole Brancato, Justin Gunter, and Michael James Landis. Sponsored by Sacred Music at St. Paul’s.
Selected Readings & Interviews
Published Articles
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Address given to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Alumni Council of the Wisconsin Alumni Association at the Great Hall of the Wisconsin Union of the University of Wisconsin-Madison on July 20, 1997 in acceptance of the 1997 Distinguished Alumni Award presented by the GLB Alumni Council/ WAA Board of Directors in recognition of achievements as a composer and a performer; first recipient who has distinguished him or her self in the arts; http://www.jessanderson.org/doc/chet.html
“Encounters with Feldman” and “Feldman: Homage,” Morton Feldman Page; London: April 2000; http://www.cnvill.demon.co.uk/mfbiscr2.htm; http://www.cnvill.demon.co.uk/mfbiscr1.htm
Journal excerpts from Volumes I (Madison) and XXXIX (Ogunquit) in The Way In, Journal Writing for Self Discovery, by Rita Jacobs; Stewart, Tabori & Chang; New York, 2001; ISBN 1-58479-065-2
“Keeping a Long Work Alive,” Sarah Lawrence Magazine, Bronxville, New York: Fall/Winter 1987-1988, pp. 14-16
Liner notes for Chester Biscardi: In Time’s Unfolding, Naxos 8.559639, Hong Kong: 2011, 4 pages
Liner notes for Chester Biscardi • At the Still Point, CRI CD 686, New York: 1995, 11 pages
Liner notes for Chester Biscardi • David Olan, CRI (Composers Recordings, Inc.) CD 565, New York: 1988, 15 pages
Liner notes for Gay American Composers, CRI CD 721, New York: 1996, 23 pages
The Music of Frank Wigglesworth, CRI CD 733 (Executive Producers: Chester Biscardi and Jody R. Dalton), New York: 1996, 12 pages
“Portovenere” (Journal excerpt from Volume XLI) in City Secrets Florence, Venice, & the Towns of Italy; Robert S. Kahn, Series Editor; The Little Bookroom; New York: 2001; ISBN 1-892145-01-4
Unpublished Books & Articles
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“Composer as Cross-Cultural Ambassador,” 2010, 5 pages typescript
Italian for Singers, 1975, 113 pages typescript
“Juxtaposed Landscapes: An American Composer Journeys Into Japan,” 1990, 9 pages typescript
“Mr. Parson His Songe,” 1974, 4 pages typescript and 10 pages of manuscript (transcription of Robert Parson’s Songe)
Patterns of the Past (review), by Sarah Peters; The University of Wisconsin Press; Madison, Wisconsin; 2001, 3 pages typescript
“Pitch Relations in Stockhausen: Stop,” 1976, 23 pages typescript and 2 pages of graphs
“Preliminary Report: Harry Partch in Madison,” 1973, 13 pages typescript
Published Articles & Books about Chester Biscardi
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“Chester Biscardi Goes to China,” Sarah Lawrence College “News and Events”, July 27, 2010; http://www.slc.edu/news-events/news/2010-07-27-chester-biscardi-goes-to-china-fs.html
Jess Anderson, “Anatomy of an Opera,” Isthmus, Madison, Wisconsin, October 4, 1985
John W. Barker, “A Tight-Rope for Two” and “Biscardi the Composer: Output and Recordings,” The Opera Prompter, No. 11; Madison, Wisconsin: Opera Props Publishers, October 1985, pp. 2-12
Gregory Berg, “Chester Biscardi – At the Still Point,” The Listener’s Gallery, Journal of Singing, Jacksonville, Florida, September/October 2008, pp. 122-123
Gregory Berg, “Chester Biscardi: Sailors & Dreamers”, The Listener’s Gallery, Journal of Singing, Vol. 68, Issue 5, Jacksonville, Florida, May/June 2012, pp. 611-612
Joseph Botz, “Chester Biscardi: Fusing Landscapes with a Seamless Bridge,” Neo-Tokyo Magazine, Issue 10, January 1997; UK Website; http://www.neo-tokyo.com
Martin Brody, ed., Music and Musical Composition at the American Academy in Rome (Eastman Studies in Music, v. 121), University of Rochester Press, 2014, p. 82
Eric R. Bronner, “New ‘Standards’ for Singers: The Next Generation of Great American Songbook Writers,” Journal of Singing 63, no. 4, Jacksonville, Florida, March/April 2007, pp. 457-462
Gianluca Campagnolo, New Complete Method for Clarinet: Clarinet Repertoire, Modica, Italy, 2008, p. 89; http://gianlucacampagnolo.interfree.it/engl/Il_Metodo.htm
Judith Carman (with William K. Gaeddert, Rita M. Resch, and Gordon Myers), “The Gift of Life” and others, Art Song in the United States, 1759-1999, An Annotated Bibliography, Third Edition, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, and London, 2002, pp. 52, 400, 417 & 329
Judith Carman, “New Songs by American Composers: Chester Biscardi,” Music Reviews, Journal of Singing, Jacksonville, Florida, September/October 2008, pp. 111-112
Judith Carman, “A Study in Contrasts,” Music Reviews, Journal of Singing, Jacksonville, Florida, November/December 2011, pp. 231-233
James Chute, “His Opera, ‘Tight-Rope,’ Changes Composer’s Style,” The Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 29, 1985
Keith E. Clifton, Recent American Art Song: A Guide; forward by Paul Sperry, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, Maryland, 2008, 330 pages; pg. 16-18
Arthur Cohn, The Literature of Chamber Music, Hinshaw Music, Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1997, pp. 313-314
Jody Dalton, “Chester Biscardi goes to China,” My Big Gay Ears, July 30, 2010; http://mybiggayears.com/archives/chester-biscardi-goes-to-china/
Phil Davis, “Rope Opera,” Isthmus, Madison, Wisconsin, May 10, 1985
Charlotte Doyle, “Creative Experience–Multiple Worlds, Projects, Emotions, and Endpoints: On Glăveanu & Beghetto’s Definition of Creativity,” Creativity Research Journal and Taylor & Francis Online, London, September 2022
Charlotte Doyle, The Creative Process: Stories from the Arts and Sciences, Routledge, New York and London, 2022; Part 3: Focus on Intuition and Embodied Creating, Chapter 6. Music by Biscardi: Letting the Hands Go Someplace; pp. ix, 1-5, 81-92, 163-175; also available on Amazon.
Arno P. Drucker, American Piano Trios: A Resource Guide, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1999
Carmen Eisner, “‘Tight-Rope’ Unites Opera Creators” and “Composer’s Route to Success Rocky,” Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin, July 1, 1985
Gary Evans, Music Inspired by Art: A Guide to Recordings, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2004
Nicole V. Gagné, Historical Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Classical Music, Scarecrow Press, Lanham Maryland, 2012, pp. 38 & 190
Nicole V. Gagné, “The Beaten Path: A History Of American Percussion Music: Percussion Music Is Revolution,” NewMusicBox, April 1, 2004; http://www.newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=60tp03
Allen Gimbel, “Biscardi: Chamber Pieces,” American Record Guide, Volume 74, Issue 6, Washington, November/December 2011, pg. 67
Adam Gopnik, The Real Work: On The Mystery of Mastery, Liverlight (W. W. Norton & Company), New York, March 2023
Jay Gottlieb, et al, ed., 10 ans avec le piano du XXe siècle, published by the cité de la musique, 1998, centre de resources musique et dance, which lists Piano Sonata in Level 9 (of 10): “1986-1987. Du beau piano, tout en contrastes entre incisive (traits ou accords rapides) et lyrique. Le style suggère celui de Copland.” ISBN: 2-906460-73-7
Georgette Gouveia, “A Chinese Journal”, Sarah Lawrence Magazine, Fall 2010, p. 15; http://www.slc.edu/magazine/nyc/journal
Margaret Ross Griffel, Operas in English: A Dictionary, Revised Edition; Scarecrow Press Inc., Lanham, Maryland and Plymouth, UK, 2013, p. 496
Steve Groark, “A New Opera A New Way,” The Wisconsin Alumni, Madison, Wisconsin: July/August 1985, pp. 14-15 and 22
Steve Groark and Judy Schmitz, “‘Tight-Rope’ Behind the Scenes,” Dateline, Vol. 18:6, Madison, Wisconsin, October 3, 1985
George E. Haggerty, ed., Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia, Garland, New York, 1999
Charles J. Hall, A Chronicle of American Music 1700-1995, Schirmer Books, An Imprint of Simon & Schuster Macmillan, New York, 1996, pp. 411, 518, 526, 531, 539, 555, 563 and 567
Charles J. Hall, Chronology of Western Classical Music: Volume 2: 1901-2000, Routledge, New York and Great Britain, 2002, p. 1097
Michael Hall, “A Golden Era for New Viola Repertoire,” Journal of the American Viola Society, Volume 32, No. 1, Spring 2016; p. 33
Maurice Hinson, Guide to the Pianist’s Repertoire, Second, Revised and Enlarged Edition, Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1987, p. 115
Maurice Hinson and Wesley Robert, The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: An Annotated Guide, Second Edition, Bloomington, 2006, pg. 23, 211, and 651
Allan B. Ho, Music for Piano and Orchestra: The Recorded Repertory, Southern Illinois University, 2019
Ron Keurajian, Collecting Historical Autographs, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2017, pp. 352-353
Rebecca Hodell Kornick, “Tight-Rope,” Recent American Opera: A Production Guide, Columbia University Press, 352 pp., 1991
Kevin Lynch, “Composer Strikes a Chord,” The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, June 25, 1997
Oscar Macchioni, “The Tango in American Piano Music: Selected Tangos by Thomson, Copland, Barber, Jaggard, Biscardi and Bolcom.” Cultural Expressions in Music Monograph Series, Volume 1, Sang-Hie Lee, Editor, The College Music Society Press, 2010
Franklin Mesa, Opera: An Encyclopedia of World Premieres and Significant Performances, Singers, Composers, Librettists, Arias and Conductors, 1597-2000; McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, and London, 2007, p. 183+
Carol J. Oja, Editor; foreword by William Schuman; American Music Recordings, A Discography of 20th-Century U. S. Composers;A project of the Institute for Studies in American Music for the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Inc.; Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College; 1982; ISBN 0-914678-19-1
Philip M. Parker, ed., Baritone: Webster’s Timeline History, 1613 – 2007, ICON Group International, Inc., San Diego, 2009, pg. 146
“Report on the NFA Commissioned Work for the 1987 Young Artist Competition,” The Flutist Quarterly, Vol. XII, No. 2, Spring, 1987
Bill Robbins, “Called to compose,” The Kenosha News, Kenosha, Wisconsin, June 10, 2008
David Rosen and Claire Brook, ed., Words on Music: Essays in Honor of Andrew Porter on the occasion of his 75th Birthday, ed. Pendrago Press, 2003, pp. 521-522
Juan José Salas R., “La coincidencia del deseo,” Margen (special edition); Lugo, Spain: #19/#20, Año VII/Invierno 2000, p. 41
M. A. Scherer, “UW Opera Comes to Fruition,” The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, February 28, 1985
M. A. Scherer, “Blood, Sweat, Toil, Tears,” The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, May 23, 1985
Richard Dale Sjoerdsma, “New Directions: Chester Biscardi — A Voice for Our Time,” Journal of Singing 64, no. 5, Jacksonville, Florida, May/June 2008, pp. 625-633
Jacob Stockinger, “‘Tight-Rope’ Composer Balances Characters, Music,” Airwaves, Madison, Wisconsin: September 1985, pp. 8-12
Georgina Strickland, Emily Dickinson in Song: A Discography, 1925-2019, 2019
Richard Tythall, A History of the Rome Prize in Music Composition, 1947-2006, American Academy in Rome, January 1, 2007
“The Two Sides of Creativity,” youngarts, a publication of National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Miami, Florida: Winter 2005, pp. 12-15
Dyana Vukovich, “The Anna Crusis women’s choir,” Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory, Volume 4, Issue 1, 1988, pp. 50-63
Lisa Wlodarski, “Chester Biscardi Takes His Music on the Road,” Sarah Lawrence Magazine, Bronxville, New York: Winter 1996, pp. 19-20
Yamaha Artist Services, “Chester Biscardi,” Accent, New York, New York: Summer 2002, Volume 46, pp. 9-12
Unpublished Articles about Chester Biscardi
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Scott Brickman, “Compositional Craft in Chester Biscardi’s Mestiere,” Master’s Thesis, Brandeis University, 1991, 22 pages typescript with musical score examples and analytical charts
Oscar Macchioni, “The Tango in American Piano Music. Selected Tangos by: Thompson, Copland, Barber, Jaggard, Biscardi, and Bolcom,” 2002, University of Arizona, pp. 73-79
Jane Meryll, “The Phenomenology of Composing: An Interview with Chet Biscardi, Composer,” 1994, Sarah Lawrence College, 16 pages typescript with three addenda
Jane Meryll and Margery B. Franklin, “Composers’ Lives and Works: An Interview Study,” 1995, Sarah Lawrence College, 8 pages typescript; first read at a seminar entitled “Musical Spheres: Instructing, Composing and Listening” at the American Psychological Convention for Division 10, Psychology of the Arts, New York City, August 1995
Jared Newman, “After Astor Piazzolla: Contemporary American Tangos in the Yvar Mikhashoff Collection,” 2004, Stony Brook University, 20 pages typescript
Luke David Whitlock, “To Err is Human! To Acknowledge & Discuss the Relationship Between Classical Music and Sexuality? Now That’s Questionable!!” 2000, Dartington College of Arts (England), 34 pages typescript with illustrations
Interviews
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September 2, 2020: Music, Literature, and the Creative Process: An Interview with Composer Chester Biscardi; interview with Rhonda Rizzo on No Dead Guys: A Piano Blog
July 18, 2013: interview with Maura Valenti for Oral History of American Music (OHAM)
June 3, 2008: interview with Greg Berg and Richard Sjoerdsma on The Morning Show with Greg Berg on WGTD-Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Listen)
October 11, 1998: 50th birthday interview with Bruce Duffie on WNIB/WNIZ Classical 97-Chicago
March 14, 1995: Celebration of Words and Music: panel discussion with A. R. Ammons, poet, Denise Levertov, poet, Roberto Sierra, composer, Chester Biscardi, composer, Jane Wilkinson, composer, Steven Stucky, composer, James Webster, moderator, and Roald Hoffman, poet and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. Barnes Hall, Cornell University
April 26, 1988: interview with Jane Meryll. Basis of “The Phenomenology of Composing: An Interview with Chet Biscardi, Composer,” by Jane Meryll, 1994, Sarah Lawrence College, 16 pages typescript with three addenda, as well as “Composers’ Lives and Works: An Interview Study,” by Jane Meryll and Margery B. Franklin, 1995, Sarah Lawrence College, 8 pages typescript, which was first read at a seminar entitled “Musical Spheres: Instructing, Composing and Listening” at the American Psychological Convention for Division 10, Psychology of the Arts, New York City, August 1995.
October 1985: Interview re Tight-Rope, WISC.TV, Channel 3, A CBS Affiliate; Madison, Wisconsin
October, 1985: Broadcast re Tight-Rope, Wisconsin Magazine TV; Madison, Wisconsin
October 6, 1985: Introduction to Tight-Rope from WHA-TV broadcast; Madison, Wisconsin
Gay Life
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Dialogue
University of Wisconsin-Madison Distinguished Alumni Award, 1997
Institute for Composer Diversity
- Insitute for Composer Diversity (Search → Composer Search → Enter “Chester Biscardi” for Composer Name → Scroll Down and Click on “Search the Database)
Lesbian and Gay Music
Eurydice, for women’s chorus and seventeen instruments (1978)
Classical music: Queer-friendly website tracks the cultural contributions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people
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