Barbara Kolb

Barbara Kolb (February 10, 1938 – October 21, 2024) was an American composer and educator, the first woman to win the Rome Prize in musical composition. Her music features sound masses of colorful textures, impressionistic sounds and atonal vocabulary, with influences from literary and visual arts. She taught at the Third Street Music School Settlement, Rhode Island College and Eastman School of Music.

Life and music Kolb was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on February 10, 1938 (many sources erroneously state her birth year as 1939). As her father was the music director of WTIC there, she was exposed to music early, meeting musicians. She went to jazz clubs with her parents.

Kolb studied clarinet and composition at the Hartt College of Music (now The Hartt School) at the University of Hartford with Arnold Franchetti, receiving her B.M. (cum laude) in 1961 and her M.M. degree in 1964. Kolb was a proficient clarinetist. At the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood, she studied composition with Lukas Foss and Gunther Schuller. Following her graduation, Kolb relocated to Vienna, Austria, from 1966 to 1967 with a Fulbright Fellowship grant.

Kolb was the first female American composer to win the Rome Prize, in 1969–1971. Kolb's composition Soundings was premiered by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in 1972. It was performed in a revised version for orchestra in 1975, played by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Pierre Boulez, with the orchestra positioned in three groups on the stage. She received commissions from the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University.

From 1979 to 1982, Kolb served as the artistic director of contemporary music at the Third Street Music School Settlement, where she presented the "Music New to New York" concert series, a series that featured composers from outside New York City. Additionally, she had a teaching career at Rhode Island College and at Eastman School of Music as a visiting professor in composition, as well as an association with The MacDowell Colony. She developed a course in music theory course for blind and physically disabled people from 1982 to 1986.

In 1983–1984, Kolb was in residence at IRCAM in Paris for nine months, where she received the commission for Millefoglie. The piece was premiered at the Centre Pompidou in Paris on June 5, 1985, by the Ensemble intercontemporain conducted by Péter Eötvös. She received the 1987 Kennedy Center Friedheim Award for it, and it became performed at major venues Amsterdam, Helsinki, Vienna, Montreal and Tokyo. Kolb composed Voyants, a concerto for piano and chamber orchestra, in 1991, dedicated to the memory of Aaron Copland. Commissioned by Radio France, it received its world premiere at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with soloist Jay Gottlieb and the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Joel Revsen.

A selection of Kolb's compositions were featured at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., performed by the Theatre Chamber Players in 1992, including the American premiere of Voyant and the world premiere of Introduction and Allegra for guitar.

Kolb composed All in Good Time on a commission from New York Philharmonic for its 150th anniversary in 1993. The world premiere was played in 1994 conducted by Leonard Slatkin, who also led performances of it with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony. It was recorded by the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Carlos Kalmar, along with works by John Corigliano, Aaron Jay Kernis, John Harbison and Michael Hersch on a CD released by Cedille Records in 2006. Albums devoted solely to Kolb's music have been released by CRI and New World Records. Her music is published exclusively by Boosey and Hawkes.

Kolb died at her home in North Providence, Rhode Island, on October 21, 2024, at the age of 86.

Compositions Kolb's music was sometimes inspired by literary and visual arts. It features sound masses, often in vertical structures through simultaneous rhythmic or melodic units (motifs or figures). Kolb's musical style can be identified by her use of colorful textures, impressionistic touch, and atonal vocabulary. Some compositions are influenced by minimal music, some feature "a distinct jazz influence".

Her works have been published by Boosey & Hawkes, including:

Three Medieval Chants for saxophone quartet, 2005–2018 Aubade for mandolin orchestra, 2003 The Web Spinner for chamber orchestra, 2003 Antoine's Tango for piano, 2001 Introduction and Allegro for wind band, 2001 Virgo Mater Creatrix (Virgin Mother Creatrix) for a cappella choir, 1998 New York Moonglow, ballet, for ensemble, 1995 Sidebars for bassoon and piano, 1995/96 Turnabout in one movement, for flute and piano, 1994 In Memory of David Huntley for string quartet, 1994 All in Good Time for orchestra, 1993 Cloudspin (Cumulus) for organ, 1991, rev. 2007 Voyants for piano and chamber orchestra, 1991 Monticello Trio in two movements, for piano trio, 1991 Extremes for flute and cello, 1988/89 The Enchanted Loom in three untitled movements, for orchestra, 1988/89 Broken Slurs for guitar, 1988 Yet That Things Go Round for chamber orchestra, 1987 Umbrian Colors for guitar and violin, 1986 Time... And Again for oboe, string quartet and computer-generated sounds, 1985 Cavatina for violin or viola solo, 1983, rev. 1985 Millefoglie for ensemble and tape, 1984/85 Cantico for electronics, 1982 Related Characters for clarinet (or trumpet, or saxophone, or viola) and piano, 1982 The Point that Divides the Wind for organ, four percussionists, and three male voices, 1982 Three Lullabies for guitar, 1980 Chromatic Fantasy for narrator and six instruments, 1979 Grisaille for orchestra, 1978/79 Homage to Keith Jarrett and Gary Burton for flute and vibraphone, 1976 Appello for piano, 1976 Songs Before an Adieu for soprano, flute/alto flute, and guitar, 1976–79 Looking for Claudio for guitar and pre-recorded tape, 1975 Spring River Flowers Moon Night for two pianos and pre-recorded tape, 1974/75 Soundings for orchestra, 1971/72, rev. 1975, 1978 Soundings for chamber ensemble and pre-recorded tape, 1971/72 Solitaire for piano and pre-recorded tape, 1971 Toccata for harpsichord and pre-recorded tape, 1971 Trobar Clos for chamber ensemble, 1970 Crosswinds for wind ensemble and percussion, 1969 Rebuttal for two clarinets, 1965

Early works not in the Boosey & Hawkes catalogue include:

Fanfare, 1970 Pulse & Counterflux, 1968 New York-Le Havre, 1968 Three Place Settings, 1968 Four Approaches, 1967 Chanson Bas, 1966 Sequela for orchestra, 1965 The Pleasures of Merely Circulating for chorus, 1964 Three Songs for baritone and piano, 1964

Discography Albums with exclusively Kolb's music Barbara Kolb: Millefoglie and Other Works (1992). Music Today and Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. Includes Kolb's Millefoglie, Extremes, Chromatic Fantasy, and Solitaire (New World Records 80422–2). Barbara Kolb: Soundings and Other Works (1990). Ensemble intercontemporain conducted by Arthur Tamayo; Igor Kipnis, harpsichord; Jay Gottlieb, piano, etc.; includes Kolb's Soundings (1971–72), Toccata (1971), Appello (1976), Looking for Claudio (1975), and Spring River Flowers Moon Night (1974–75) (Composers Recordings Inc. CD 576).

Other albums Related Characters – featuring Bill Perconti, James March, and Iowa Brass Quintet – includes Kolb's Related Characters for alto saxophone and piano (1982) (Centaur). American Orchestra Works – featuring the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carlos Kalmar – includes Kolb's All in Good Time (1993) (Cedille).

References

Barbara Kolb

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