Short bio Robert Starer
Full biography Robert Starer
Robert Starer was an Austrian-born American composer , pianist, and educator, who was born in 1924 in Vienna. He later moved to Jerusalem and studied at the Palestine Conservatory of Music with composer Paul Ben-Haim. He then moved to London, where he continued his studies with composer Lennox Berkeley and earned a degree in composition from the Royal Academy of Music. Starer eventually settled in the United States and became a citizen in 1957.
Throughout his career, Starer composed a wide range of music, including orchestral works, chamber music, and vocal pieces. He also wrote extensively for the piano and was known for his use of unconventional harmonies and rhythmic patterns. Some of his most famous works include "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra", "Sketches in Color" for solo piano, and string quartets 1-3.
In addition to his work as a composer, Starer was also a dedicated educator. He taught at several institutions, including the Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School, and the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music. Many of his students have gone on to successful careers in music, including composer and performer Nico Muhly.
Starer lived for thirty years with the writer Gail Godwin, with whom he collaborated on several opera and vocal works. He passed away in 2001 at the age of 76.
Compositions featuring Robert Starer
| # | Name | Duration | Genre | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Letter to a Composer, for voice, flute, clarinet & string quartet | 8:35 min | Vocal Music | 1997 |
| 2 | String Quartet No. 3 | 19:54 min | Chamber Music | 1996 |
| 3 | The Contemporary Virtuoso, studies (7) for piano | 7:49 min | Keyboard | 1996 |
| 4 | Preludes (5) for saxophone & piano | 10:51 min | Chamber Music | 1996 |
| 5 | Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra | 20:50 min | Keyboard | 1996 |
| 6 | String Quartet No. 2 | 18:49 min | Chamber Music | 1995 |
| 7 | Song of Solitude, for solo cello | 11:22 min | Chamber Music | 1995 |
| 8 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "Rise from the Dews of Death" | 4:19 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 9 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "O Prince of the Light" | 2:32 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 10 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "Male and Female" | 3:09 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 11 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "The Universal Man" | 1:58 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 12 | The Seven Faces of Fernando, for harpsichord | 9:54 min | Keyboard | 1994 |
| 13 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "It is an Easy Thing" | 3:03 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 14 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "I am Weary" | 3:02 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 15 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "Compell the Poor" | 2:15 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 16 | Images of Man, for voice, flute, cello & piano, "Behold Eternal Death" | 2:46 min | Vocal Music | 1994 |
| 17 | Sonata No. 3 for piano | 16:57 min | Keyboard | 1994 |
| 18 | Clarinet Quintet | 21:54 min | Chamber Music | 1992 |
| 19 | Night Thoughts, for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass & piano duet | 13:08 min | Vocal Music | 1992 |
| 20 | Electric Church, for piano | 4:38 min | Keyboard | 1991 |
| 21 | Excursions for a Pianist | 9:01 min | Keyboard | 1991 |
| 22 | Elegy for a Woman Who Died Too Young, for violin & cello | 11:01 min | Chamber Music | 1990 |
| 23 | Concerto for cello & orchestra | 21:22 min | Concerto | 1988 |
| 24 | Elegy, for clarinet & piano | 7:05 min | Chamber Music | 1985 |
| 25 | Preludes (3) for trumpet and organ | 6:41 min | Keyboard | 1985 |
| 26 | Twilight Fantasies, for piano | 12:07 min | Keyboard | 1985 |
| 27 | The Ideal Self, for voice, flute & piano | 7:06 min | Vocal Music | 1981 |
| 28 | The Ideal Self: Fantasy, Variations & Fugue on a Song, for piano | 11:54 min | Keyboard | 1981 |
| 29 | Sonata for 2 pianos | 11:20 min | Keyboard | 1981 |
| 30 | At Home Alone (12 sketches), for piano | 15:49 min | Keyboard | 1980 |
| 31 | Anna Margarita's Will for soprano, flute, horn, cello & piano | 17:11 min | Vocal Music | 1979 |
| 32 | Light and Shadow, for saxophone quartet | 5:13 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 33 | Profiles in Brass, for 2 trumpets & 2 trombones | 10:53 min | Chamber Music | 1974 |
| 34 | Sketches in Color, for piano, Set Two | Keyboard | 1973 | |
| 35 | Sketches in Color, for piano (Set 1, Nos. 1-7) | 7:41 min | Keyboard | 1964 |
| 36 | Sketches in Color, for piano Sets 1 & 2 | 12:57 min | Keyboard | 1963 |
| 37 | Invocation, for trumpet & string orchestra (or piano) | 5:26 min | Concerto | 1962 |
| 38 | Dialogues, for clarinet & piano | 9:16 min | Chamber Music | 1961 |
| 39 | Ariel for soloists, chorus & orchestra ("Visions of Isaiah") | 29:15 min | Choral | 1959 |
| 40 | Concerto for viola, strings & percussion | 25:00 min | Concerto | 1958 |
| 41 | Israeli Sketches (3), for piano | 5:27 min | Keyboard | 1957 |
| 42 | Concerto for clarinet, trumpet, trombone & strings ("Concerto a Tre") | 17:40 min | Concerto | 1954 |
| 43 | Preludes (5) for piano | Keyboard | 1952 | |
| 44 | Sonata No. 1 for piano | 16:02 min | Keyboard | 1950 |
| 45 | Caprices (5), for piano | 7:20 min | Keyboard | 1948 |
| 46 | String Quartet No. 1 | 15:43 min | Chamber Music | 1947 |
| 47 | Prelude & Toccata for piano | 5:48 min | Keyboard | 1946 |
| 48 | Song of Praise, for chorus & piano | 4:30 min | Choral | - |
| 49 | To Think of Time, for soprano & string quartet (or piano) | 18:18 min | Vocal Music | - |
| 50 | Yizkor and Anima Aeterna, for flute & harpsichord | 11:47 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 51 | Samson Agonistes (Symphonie Portrait) | 13:42 min | Symphony | - |
| 52 | Remembering Felix, for narrator, cello & piano | 26:13 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | - |
| 53 | Psalms of Woe and Joy | 8:13 min | - | |
| 54 | Proverbs For a Son, for chorus | 16:04 min | Choral | - |
| 55 | Kli Zemer (Concerto for Clarinet) | 27:48 min | Concerto | - |
| 56 | Hudson Valley Suite, for orchestra | 20:54 min | Orchestral | - |
| 57 | Give Thanks Unto the Lord | 2:28 min | Choral | - |
| 58 | Evanescence | 9:26 min | Miscellaneous (Classical) | - |
| 59 | Episodes, for viola, cello & piano | 10:01 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 60 | Duo for violin & pianio | 14:50 min | Chamber Music | - |
| 61 | Concerto for violin | 21:47 min | Concerto | - |
| 62 | Concerto for oboe, clarinet, bassoon & hor "Concerto a Quattro" | 21:39 min | Concerto | - |
| 63 | Annapolis Suite | 11:39 min | Chamber Music | - |
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