Editing Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

{{Short description|American composer (born 1939)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
| image         = 
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = Ellen Taaffe
| birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1939|04|30}}
| birth_place   = [[Miami]], Florida, U.S.
| death_date    = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|1939|04|30}} -->
| era           = [[Contemporary classical music|Contemporary]]
| education     = [[Florida State University]]
| occupation    = {{plainlist|
* Pianist
* Composer
* Academic teacher
}}
| spouse        = 
| works         =
| awards        = {{plainlist|
* [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]] 
* [[Florida Artists Hall of Fame]]
}}
}}
'''Ellen Taaffe Zwilich''' ({{IPAc-en||t|eɪ|f|_|ˈ|z|w|ɪ|l|ɪ|k}} {{Respell|tayf|_|ZWIL|ik}};<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DoWFXD4VnE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/_DoWFXD4VnE| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=Ellen Taaffe Zwilich introduces her Symphony No. 3|website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=June 7, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> born April 30, 1939)<ref>{{cite book|last=Slonimsky|first=Nicolas|title=Baker's Biographical dictionary of musicians.|year=1978|publisher=Schirmer Books|location=New York|isbn=0-02-870240-9|pages=1955|edition=6th|chapter=Zwilich, Ellen Taafe}}</ref> is an American composer, the first female composer to win the [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]]. Her early works are marked by [[atonal]] exploration, but by the late 1980s, she had shifted to a [[Postmodern music|postmodernist]], [[Neoromanticism (music)|neoromantic]] style.<ref name="Florida" /> She has been called "one of America's most frequently played and genuinely popular living composers."<ref name="grove">Schwartz, K. Robert.  "Ellen Taaffe Zwilich."  Grove Music Online. Ed. L. Macy.  Accessed December 20, 2006. www.grovemusic.com.</ref> She was a 1994 inductee into the [[Florida Artists Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Florida">{{Cite web |title=Florida Artists Hall of Fame {{!}} Ellen Taaffe Zwilich |url=http://www.florida-arts.org/programs/ahf/displayArtist.cfm?member=37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729204853/http://www.florida-arts.org:80/programs/ahf/displayArtist.cfm?member=37 |archive-date=Jul 29, 2013 |website=Division of Arts and Culture - Florida Department of State}}</ref> Zwilich has served as the Francis Eppes Distinguished Professor at [[Florida State University]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Palmer|first=Anthony J.|date=Spring 2011|title=Interview with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/440759|journal=Philosophy of Music Education Review|volume=19|pages=80–99|doi=10.2979/philmusieducrevi.19.1.80|s2cid=144022907|via=Project MUSE}}</ref>

==Biography==
Ellen Taaffe was born in [[Miami, Florida]].<ref name="Florida" /> She began her music studies as a [[violin]]ist, earning a [[bachelor of music]] degree from [[Florida State University]] in 1960.  She moved to New York City to play with the [[American Symphony Orchestra]] under [[Leopold Stokowski]]. She later enrolled at [[Juilliard School]], in 1975 becoming the first woman at Juilliard to earn the degree of [[doctor of musical arts]] in composition.<ref name="Florida" /><ref name="grove"/> Her teachers included [[John Boda]], [[Elliott Carter]], and [[Roger Sessions]].  She first came to prominence when [[Pierre Boulez]] programmed her ''[[Symbolon|Symposium for Orchestra]]'' with the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra in 1975.<ref name="Florida" /><ref name="here">"Ellen Taaffe Zwilich." Theodore Presser Online.  Accessed December 20, 2006. Available [http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=ELLENTAAFFEZWILICH here] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015143138/http://presser.com/composers/info.cfm?Name=ELLENTAAFFEZWILICH |date=October 15, 2007 }}</ref>

Some of her work during this period was written for her husband, violinist [[Joseph Zwilich]], who played in the orchestra of the [[Metropolitan Opera]].<ref name="Florida" /> He died in 1979, after which  Taaffe Zwilich refocused her compositional efforts on "communicating more directly with performers and listeners," softening her somewhat harsh, jagged style.<ref name="Florida" /><ref name="grove"/>

Her [[Symphony No. 1 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 1]] (''Three Movements for Orchestra'') was premiered by the [[American Composers Orchestra]] in 1982, conducted by [[Gunther Schuller]].<ref name="Florida" /> It won the 1983 [[Pulitzer Prize]],<ref name="Florida" /> after which her popularity and income from commissions ensured that she could devote herself to composing full-time.<ref name="grove"/>  From 1995–99, she was the first occupant of the Composer's Chair at [[Carnegie Hall]];<ref name=post97>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1997/03/09/women-of-historic-note/259adb97-9eaf-41ef-94e7-d92b7ca54f04/ "Women of Historic Note"]. ''Washington Post'', By Gayle Worl March 9, 1997</ref> while there, she created the "Making Music" concert series, which focuses on performances and lectures by living composers, a series that is still in existence.<ref>Making Music brochure.  Carnegie Hall website.  Accessed December 20, 2006.  Available [http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/series/brochure/ser_420.html here] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203203439/http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/series/brochure/ser_420.html |date=February 3, 2007 }}</ref>

She has received a number of other honors, including the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Chamber Music Prize, the [[Arturo Toscanini]] Music Critics Award, the [[Ernst von Dohnányi]] Citation, an Academy Award from the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]], a [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation|Guggenheim Foundation]] Fellowship, and four Grammy nominations.  She was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]] and the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], and in 1999, she was designated [[Musical America]]'s Composer of the Year.<ref name="Florida" /> She has been professor at Florida State University, and has served for many years on the advisory panel of the [[BMI Foundation, Inc]].  In 2009, she became the chair of the BMI Student Composer Awards following Milton Babbitt and William Schuman. She has received six honorary doctorates.<ref name="Florida" /><ref name="here"/>

A 2012 recording of Taaffe Zwilich's [[Clarinet Concerto (Zwilich)|Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra]], performed by [[Chamber Music Northwest]] with clarinetist [[David Shifrin]], was selected by the [[Library of Congress]] in 2023 for preservation in the United States [[National Recording Registry]] for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."<ref>{{cite web |title=2023 National Recording Registry selections |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2023/ |website=Library of Congress |access-date=12 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="loc2">{{cite web |title=National Recording Registry Inducts Music from Madonna, Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, Daddy Yankee |url=https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/national-recording-registry-inducts-music-from-madonna--mariah-carey--queen-latifah--daddy-yankee/s/5a91b115-3825-4a5f-a702-35940b4de958 |website=Library of Congress |access-date=12 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

==Musical career==
Taaffe Zwilich's compositional style is marked by an obsession with "the idea of generating an entire work – large-scale structure, melodic and harmonic language, and developmental processes – from its initial motives."<ref name="grove"/>  In addition to large scale orchestral works like ''[[Symbolon]]'' (1988), [[Symphony No. 2 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 2]] (''Cello Symphony'') (1985), and [[Symphony No. 3 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 3]] (1992), she has written a number of notable, smaller-scale concertos. These include works for [[trombone]] (1988), [[bass trombone]] (1989), [[flute]] (1989), [[oboe]] (1990), [[bassoon]] (1992), [[French horn|horn]] (1993), [[trumpet]] (1994) and [[clarinet]] (2002). She has also written a small number of choral works and [[song cycle]]s. Her music was conducted by [[Pierre Boulez]] at Juilliard in 1975. Her major breakthrough came after winning the 1983 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for her Symphony No. 1. Following this, she was commissioned to work on two more symphonies, for the [[San Francisco Symphony]] and for the [[New York Philharmonic]]'s 150th anniversary. ''Symbolon'' has been performed in Europe, Asia, and America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bruceduffie.com/zwilich.html|title=Ellen Taffe Zwilich Interview with Bruce Duffie|website=www.bruceduffie.com|access-date=November 13, 2018}}</ref>

===Symphonies===
* [[Symphony No. 1 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 1]] ''Three Movements for Orchestra'' (1982, [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]], 1983)
* [[Symphony No. 2 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 2]] ''Cello Symphony'' (1985)
* ''Symphony for Winds'' (1989)
* [[Symphony No. 3 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 3]] (1992)
* [[Symphony No. 4 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 4]] ''The Gardens'' for chorus, children's chorus and orchestra (1999, commissioned by [[Michigan State University]])
* [[Symphony No. 5 (Zwilich)|Symphony No. 5]] ''Concerto for Orchestra'' (2008, commissioned by the [[Juilliard School]]; premiere October 27, 2008, Carnegie Hall, Juilliard Orchestra, James Conlon, conductor)

===Other symphonic works===
* ''Symposium'' (1973)
* ''Passages'' (1982)
* ''Prologue and Variations'', for String orchestra (1983)
* ''Tanzspiel'', ballet in four scenes (1983)
* ''Celebration for Orchestra'' (Overture) (1984)
* ''[[Concerto Grosso (Zwilich)|Concerto Grosso 1985]]'' (in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of [[George Frideric Handel]]'s birth)
* ''[[Symbolon]]'' (1988)
* ''Ceremonies for Concert Band'' (1988)
* ''Fantasy for orchestra'' (1993)
* ''Jubilation Overture'' (1996)
* ''Upbeat!'' (1998)
* ''Openings'' (2001)

===Concertante works===
* [[Piano Concerto (Zwilich)|Piano Concerto]] (No. 1) (1986)
* ''Images'' (Suite in five movements) for two pianos and orchestra (1986)
* Trombone Concerto (1988)
* Concerto for bass trombone, strings, timpani and cymbals (1989)
* Flute Concerto (No. 1) (1989)
* [[Oboe Concerto (Zwilich)|Oboe Concerto]] (1990)
* [[Double Concerto (Zwilich)|Double Concerto]] for violin, cello and orchestra (1991)
* [[Bassoon Concerto (Zwilich)|Bassoon Concerto]] (1992)
* Concerto for horn and string orchestra (1993)
* ''Romance'' for violin and chamber Orchestra (or for violin and piano) (1993)
* ''[[American Concerto]]'' for trumpet and orchestra (1994) 
* Triple Concerto for piano, violin, cello and orchestra (1995)
* ''[[Peanuts Gallery]]'', six pieces for piano and chamber orchestra (1996)
* [[Violin Concerto (Zwilich)|Violin Concerto]] (No. 1) (1997)
* ''[[Millennium Fantasy]]'' (Piano Concerto No. 2) (2000; commissioned for Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, project featuring 27 orchestras in the USA; premiere with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Jesus Lopez-Cobos conductor; recorded for Naxos with the Florida State University Orchestra, Alexander Jimenez conductor
* ''Partita'' (Violin Concerto No. 2) for violin and string orchestra (2000)
* [[Clarinet Concerto (Zwilich)|Clarinet Concerto]] (2002)
* ''Rituals'' for five percussion players and orchestra (2003) (Invocation; Ambulation; Remembrances; Contests)
* ''Shadows'' (Piano Concerto No. 3) (2011; commissioned for pianist Jeffrey Biegel, 8 orchestras in the US, Canada and England; premiere with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor; October 28/29, 2011)
* ''Commedia dell'Arte'' (Violin Concerto No. 3) for violin and string orchestra (2012)
* ''Concerto Elegia'' (Elegy, Soliloquy and Finale) for flute and string orchestra (2015)
* ''Pas de Trois'' (Piano Trio, 2016)
* [[Cello Concerto (Zwilich)|Cello Concerto]] (2020)
* ''Saxophone Concerto'' for alto saxophone and wind ensemble (2022)

===Chamber music===
* Violin Sonata in Three Movements (1973–74)
* String Quartet No. 1 (1974)
* Clarinet Quintet (1977)
* [[Chamber Symphony (Zwilich)|Chamber Symphony]] for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano (1979)
* ''Passages'' (1981)
* String Trio (1982)
* ''Divertimento'' for flute, clarinet, violin and cello (1983)
* ''Intrada'' (1983)
* Concerto for trumpet and five instruments (flute, clarinet, percussion, double bass and piano) (1984)
* ''Double Quartet'' for strings (1984)
* Piano Trio (1987)
* Clarinet Quintet (1990)
* ''Romance'' for violin and piano (or for violin and chamber orchestra) (1993)
* String Quartet No. 2 (1998)
* ''Lament'' for cello and piano (2000)
* ''Episodes'' for violin and piano (2003)
* Quartet for oboe and strings (2004)
* Quintet for alto saxophone and string quartet (2007)
* ''Episodes'' for soprano saxophone and piano (2007)
* Septet for piano trio and string quartet (2008)
* Quintet for violin, viola, cello, double bass and piano (2010)
* ''Voyage'' (String Quartet No. 3) (2012)

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.zwilich.com/ Official Website]
* {{AllMusic|artist=artist|id=q6976}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/z/ellen_taaffe_zwilich}}
* {{discogs artist}}
* [http://www.musicassociatesofamerica.com/madamina/encounters/zwilich.html ENCOUNTERS: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich] by George Sturm
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190505151639/https://www.presser.com/composer/zwilich-ellen-taaffe/ Ellen Taafe Zwilich's page at Theodore Presser Company]
* [http://www.bruceduffie.com/zwilich.html Interview with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich], January 13, 1986
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I6zZ76IWPU Ellen Zwilich with David Dubal in 1991]

{{Ellen Taaffe Zwilich}}
{{PulitzerPrize Music 1981–1990}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwilich, Ellen Taaffe}}
[[Category:20th-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:21st-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:American women classical composers]]
[[Category:Florida State University alumni]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Music winners]]
[[Category:MacDowell Colony fellows]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Florida State University faculty]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Musicians from Miami]]
[[Category:Pupils of Roger Sessions]]
[[Category:20th-century American women composers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women composers]]
[[Category:American women academics]]