LISTENING TO TCHAIKOVSKY: Béla Hartmann uses his knowledge of Eastern Europe to argue against the banning of all Russian culture following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS:
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
American composer Steven Roy Gerber was born on 28 September 1948. He studied with Robert Parris, J K Randall, Earl Kim and Milton Babbitt.
His early music was written in a free atonal style, but from the 1980s onwards his works were more tonal.
In 2005 he was commissioned by Vladimir Ashkenazy for an orchestral work, Music in Dark Times, which Ashkenazy performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in March 2009.
Gerber's Piano Trio was commissioned by the Hans Kindler Foundation, and his Fantasy for Solo Violin has been recorded on the Naxos and CRI labels. His output also includes two symphonies, six string quartets and much vocal, choral and piano music.
Steven Gerber died on 28 May 2015, aged sixty-six.
Classical music news - Steven Gerber - The English Symphony Orchestra presents a Steven Gerber portrait concert
CD Spotlight. An Excellent Introduction - Chamber music by Steven R Gerber, heard by Patric Standford. '... impressive quality.'