Music of Robert Starer
Liner Notes   Cat. No. NWCR612     Release Date: 2007-01-01
Robert Starer was born in Vienna in 1924 and entered the State Academy of Music at the age of thirteen. Soon after Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938 he went to Jerusalem and continued his musical studies at the Palestine Conservatoire. During World War II he served with the British Royal Air Force. In 1947 he came to New York for post-graduate study at Julliard and also studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood in 1948. He became an American citizen in 1957. he taught at Julliard from 1949 to 1974 and at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York from 1963 to 1991. He was named a distinguished Professor in 1986. Among his honors are two Guggenheim Fellowships and an award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

His Works for the stage include three operas and ballets for Martha Graham and Anna Sokolow. His orchestral works have been performed by major orchestras here and abroad under such conductors as Mitropoulos, Bernstein, Steinberg, Leinsdorf and Mehta. Interpreters of his music include Roberta Peters, Leontyne Price and Janos Starker. The recording of his Violin Concerto (Itzhak Perlman with the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa) was nominated for a Grammy award in 1986. His book Continuo: A Life in Music was published by random House in 1987. Excerpts from it have appeared in the New Yorker, Musical America and the London Times.

Ariel, Visions of Isaiah, for Soprano, Baritone, Chorus and Orchestra was commissioned by the Interracial Fellowship Chorus in 1959 and given its premiere on May 15, 1960 in New York City under the direction of Harold Aks. Ariel (literally: “Lion of God”) is generally understood to be a symbolic name for Jerusalem (“the city where David dwelt”), but may be interpreted in a much wider sense.

Concerto A Tre for Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone and Strings was composed in 1954 and premiered on November 22nd of the same year by the Little Orchestra Society under the direction of Thomas Scherman.

In 1962 Martha Graham created a dance work to the music of Concerto A Tre called “Secular Games,” one of the rare instances in her life that she choreographed to an existing score.

Anna Margarita's Will (text by Gail Godwin) for Soprano, Flute, Horn, Cello and Piano was composed in 1979 and recorded by CRI under a grant from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1980.

This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.

Various Artists

Music of Robert Starer

MP3/320 $17.00
FLAC $17.00
WAV $17.00
CD-R $17.00
CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print material or jewel case included.
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
   Liner Notes



Track Listing

Ariel, visions of Isaiah: I. Woe to Ariel
Robert Starer
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Ariel, visions of Isaiah: II. The Earth Mourneth
Robert Starer
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Ariel, visions of Isaiah: III. The Daughters of Zion are Haughty
Robert Starer
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Ariel, visions of Isaiah: IV. Fear, and The Pit, and The Snare
Robert Starer
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Ariel, visions of Isaiah: V. The Lord Shall Give Thee Rest
Robert Starer
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Ariel, visions of Isaiah: VI. Break Forth into Joy
Robert Starer
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Concerto a Tre: I. Allegro
Robert Starer
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Concerto a Tre: II. Andante
Robert Starer
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Concerto a Tre: III. Molto Allegro e Giocoso
Robert Starer
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Anna Margarita's Will
Robert Starer
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