Echo of Halos Spirits

Clockwise

BURKE Fusion

To Alice and Michael
In celebration of the birth of Lucy, January 9, 2010
A gift from Lester and Costance Trimble 


Cradle Song

...UNSEEN IN AIR...

The title comes from the Walt Whitman poem The Mystic Trumpeter.  That poem celebrates the unseen divine power of human imagination and vision.  It is an invisible force that finds form and substance through the physical act of creating. 

Unseen in air was composed soon after the death of my father, a period of grief that has resonated with many thoughts of the meaning of unseen.  We often measure the substance of the invisible through our emotions or feelings.  Music is unseen and yet it is felt, not unlike a memory.  I imagine existence itself to be unseen, and the greatest gift of existence is an invisible complex emotion – love, the force binding us all.  The work is a tribute to the unseen, and is dedicated to the loving memory of my father.

I imagined the violin solo as a curious seeker of the unseen and unknowable.  The violin initiates the question, the orchestra amplifies and responds with variations of the question.  The answers only lead to more questions and greater mysteries.  The longing for an answer grows more urgent, until by the end the exacerbation transforms into a wily, manic, and desperate exchange that ultimately gives way to resigned acceptance.  The mystery is unknowable.

Nancy Brown Negley commissioned this work in memory of her mother Alice Pratt Brown for Robin Zeh, violin and the Pit Stop Players, directed by Joshua Rosenblum.

...unseen in air... (excerpt)

This Time is a musical response to a desire to control time, slow it down, and live in a captured, prolonged moment.  The opening material represents a kind of snap shot of time.  The musical relationships contained in that opening are explored in many ways as the piece progresses.

01 This Time (final section)

DREAM FORMS for violin, cello & piano (2011/2016)

This work is comprised of three episodes and was initially inspired by different types of dreams, including: precognitive (clairvoyant), lucid and epic. I have experienced all of these dream types.  The initial inspiration for Dream Forms fused with my sorrow and became an expression of grief.

EPISODE I: CLAIRVOYANT

Clairvoyant is inspired by a precognitive dream, or a dream that is predictive of the future.  I had vivid and intense dreams about the future soon after the death of my father.  The amazing thing is that the dreams were musical.  I dreamt about a musical phrase that was predictive of all future possibilities in a piece.  The opening phrase of Clairvoyant is the source of all the thematic unfolding and development in the work.  It is a ‘sonic vision’ of future musical landscapes.  The theme itself is made up of characters, like a play, and each character has a distinctive personality that contributes to the development of the episode.

Dream Forms, Episode I: Clairvoyant

Nervosa was composed for flutist Patti Monson.  Patti is an amazingly talented musician and I was very excited when she asked for a piece.  Her only request was that it be a multi-voiced work for solo instrument, and I knew that also meant engaging her infinite variety of flute techniques.    
Patti inspires me!  She can play anything!  During the summer of 2001 for example, I was composing Nervosa at Yaddo (an artist retreat in Saratoga Springs) and was fortunate enough to have Patti visit me to play through some sketches.  I went to the piano and played a short melodic fragment with a four-note chord accompaniment.  I was joking when I asked if she could play this and to my surprise she did it on the spot, with the four-note chord!        
The work is something like a set of variations on an ascending scale-like motive (which begins the piece).  Many ideas spring from the initial motive, and some develop into themes that seem to be quite distant from the opening material.  I employ many of Patti’s colorful techniques, among them: pizzicato, tongue stop, multiphonics, sung notes, quarter tones, and whistle tones.
Nervosa is dedicated to Patti Monson.

Nervosa

INEBRIATE OF AIR for tenor & piano (2012) is from "Yaddo Songs" and is dedicated to Joseph Caldwell in loving celebration of his birthday.  Joe is one of the greatest American writers, a beloved Yaddo guardian, and the source of boundless joy, generosity, inspiration and love.  He is a guiding light and most beloved friend!  Our collaboration has been one of the most cherished and creative highlights of my life!  Joe has the most remarkable spirit.  He radiates joy, love and generosity.  His brilliant work, most cherished friendship and our weekly dinners (with some rejoicing) have been an incalculable force in my life.

Inebriate Of Air

TO HEAR AN ORIOLE SING for mezzo-soprano & piano (2015) is from "Yaddo Songs" and is dedicated to Devika Rege in loving celebration of her birthday.  Devika is a deeply gifted writer from India and a cherished friend.  It has been a great blessing to meet her and share countless conversations about music, art and literature at Yaddo.  She has a brilliant mind and a kind and generous soul.  Her joy and wonder are infectious.  She has awakened me to a new joyful realm.  She is the source of great joy and inspiration.

To Hear An Oriole Sing

STILLNESS is the 3rd chapter of the 1st part of TO YOU for two pianos and was lovingly composed for the Split Second Piano Duo. The work is a musical journal of the ecstasy and anguish of unrequited love.

Stillness - a love song (for you my dear one - a broken heart beats for you)

The Betrayal of Three Oranges is inspired by my opera-in-progress The Juggler, in collaboration with the writer Joseph Caldwell. The libretto he produced was initially inspired by a medieval fable known as The Juggler of Our Lady. In that fable, extravagant and costly gifts are set before the statues of Mary and the infant. A young boy in tattered clothes juggles in the market place for what few coppers are thrown his way, steps forward and offers the only gift he has. He juggles. In response, the statues come to life and the boy is blessed. What inspired the writer was the thought: what if the juggler couldn’t really juggle. The answer: he offers his failures – and is blessed. The writer then channeled his inspiration into the opera libretto. The protagonist, Jerry, is confronted by his vulnerability and haunted by his failure. He frequently tries to juggle oranges, but like everything else, he is never successful. The juggling is a metaphor for failure. In the opera, he inadvertently is given a shopping bag of money. He is determined to spend it feeding the poor. The opera dramatizes how this effort, like his juggling, is a failure. The money is a catalyst and by the end of the opera it helps to reveal Jerry’s truly divine and most profound offering – his failure. The Betrayal of Three Oranges is steeped in Jerry’s loving and vulnerable world, filled with longing, juggling, money and tragedy.

The Betrayal of Three Oranges is lovingly dedicated to Susan Brynteson, Joseph Caldwell and David Del Tredici.

The Betrayal of Three Oranges MP3

The Betrayal of Three Oranges - Final Section

Cited by the American Academy of Arts and Letters as a composer who “has that rarest of inventive gifts, a personal voice,” Steven Burke is quickly being recognized as one of the leading voices of his generation. His music has won praise for its emotional power and mastery. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times wrote “the writing has power..stinging emotions.” Paul Griffiths of the New York Times wrote, his work “might have been written by Brahms after hearing the Rite of Spring…highly accomplished…bursting with historical awareness and creative confidence.” Composer David Del Tredici, recognized as the father of the Neo-Romantic movement, has said on public radio “There are some wonderful composers who are emerging now and who will be voices of their generation. One is Steven Burke, a remarkable composer. Completely trusting of his instinct, who writes passionate, wild, and completely controlled music.”

Steven Burke began his musical studies with the trumpet at age seven. In college, he divided his time between music and science. He taught college chemistry as a sophomore and was involved with neurosurgery research at New York University Medical Center. Ironically, it was nerve damage that forced him to abandon trumpet and start composing. Once he started composing, he realized his passion and since age twenty has pursued composition exclusively. He went on to earn degrees from Sarah Lawrence College, the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Yale University and Cornell University. He has studied with Jacob Druckman, Steven Stucky, Roberto Sierra, Lukas Foss, Martin Bresnick and Chester Biscardi.

Mr. Burke’s recognition began during his student years at Cornell University with a commission from the Seattle Symphony and the ASCAP Foundation. The work, Clockwise, was commissioned in memory of his teacher Jacob Druckman, and was premiered by the Seattle Symphony under the direction of Gerard Schwarz on March 3, 1998. A few months later, the American Academy of Arts and Letters cited Mr. Burke for his “orchestral mastery.” Clockwise was then chosen by maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen, for a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the orchestra of the University of Southern California, as part of the “Synergy” project.

Mr. Burke’s distinctive work has already been acknowledged by critics, and has also been singled out by many distinguished prizes and commissions including: the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, multiple fellowships from Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, the Medway Institute, and an award from Meet the Composer. He was the first recipient of the Robbins Prize, and the White Flowers residency from Yaddo. He has received commissions from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, the Jerome Foundation, the National Symphony Orchestra, the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Sequitur, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet and the Albany Symphony. He has also been commissioned by Yaddo and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to compose a work commemorating the centennial of Yaddo. He was also recently commissioned by the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet and the Philharmonisches Orchester Kiel (Germany). Echo of Halos was premiered in Germany to critical and public acclaim. In December of 2006, Steven Burke was elected to the Board of Directors of Yaddo and awarded a commission from Meet the Composer. 

His music has recently been performed by such distinguished ensembles as: the Los Angeles Philharmonic,  the orchestra of the University of Southern California, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the New Millennium Ensemble, the Eastman Wind Ensemble and the Jordan Winds of New England Conservatory. Mr. Burke’s song cycle, Songs from Bass Garden, was premiered by the Grammy Award-winning soprano, Susan Narucki and the Yale summer school of music.

Steven Burke Composer

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