Robert Starer (8 January 1924[1] in Vienna – 22 April[2] 2001 in Kingston, New York) was an Austrian-born American composer, pianist and educator.[3]
Robert Starer began studying the piano at age 4 and continued his studies at the Vienna State Academy. After the 1938 plebiscite in which Austria voted for annexation by Nazi Germany, Starer left for Palestine and studied at the Jerusalem Conservatory with Josef Tal. In World War II he served in the British Royal Air Force, and in 1947 he settled in the United States. He studied composition at the Juilliard School in New York City with Frederick Jacobi,[4] then with Aaron Copland in 1948 and received a postgraduate degree from Juilliard in 1949. Starer became an American citizen in 1957.
Robert Starer taught at the Juilliard School, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York where he became a distinguished professor in 1986. He was married, had one child, Daniel, and resided in Woodstock, New York until his death. He lived with writer Gail Godwin for some thirty years; the two collaborated on several librettos.
Starer was prolific and composed in many genres. His music was characterized by chromaticism and driving rhythms. His vocal works, whether set to English or Hebrew texts, were particularly praised. He composed the score for Martha Graham's 1962 ballet Phaedra. He also wrote four operas, The Intruder (1956), Pantagleize (1967), The Last Lover (1975), and Apollonia (1979). Notable concertos include Violin Concerto which was written for Itzhak Perlman and recorded by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, conductor, and his Cello Concerto, commissioned by Janos Starker and recorded by Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, Leon Botstein, conductor.
One of Starer's better-known pieces is Even and Odds for young pianists. He is also known for his pieces entitled Sketches in Color, as well as his sight-reading training manual, Rhythmic Training.
Among Starer's students was Talib Rasul Hakim.
Starer died on April 22, 2001, in Kingston New York, and he is buried in Artists Cemetery, Woodstock, Ulster County, New York.
^Music Information Center Austria
^Gaylord Music Library Archived 2009-06-25 at the Wayback Machine Necrology:2001
^Starer, Robert. (1987) Continuo – A Life in Music. Random House, New York. ISBN 0-394-55515-5.
^Butterworth, Neil (2013). Dictionary of American Classical Composers. Routledge. p. 231. ISBN 978-1136790249.
RobertStarer (8 January 1924 in Vienna – 22 April 2001 in Kingston, New York) was an Austrian-born American composer, pianist and educator. Robert Starer...
engagement showing at the 54th Street Theatre on Broadway, conducted by Robert Irving, voice parts sung by Rosalia Maresca and Ronald Holgate. Graham collaborated...
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interweaves past and present events. It was at Yaddo that Godwin met composer RobertStarer and began a life partnership with him that lasted until his death in...
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His teachers include Morton Feldman, Ornette Coleman, Margaret Bonds, RobertStarer, Hall Overton, Chou Wen-Chung, William Sydeman, Hale Smith, and Charles...
(1852–1924) John Stanley (1712–1786) George Stansbury (1800 – 1845) RobertStarer (1924–2001) Joseph Starzer (c. 1726 – 1787) Roman Statkowski (1859–1925)...
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Juilliard School of Music and studied composition with Roy Harris, RobertStarer, and Emerson Harper, and piano with Djane Herz. She also studied with...
Benjamin Lees (1924–2010) Julia Perry (1924–1979) RobertStarer (1924–2001) Tony Acquaviva (1925–1986) Robert Beadell (1925–1994) Caesar Giovannini (1925–2017)...
conductor Arnold Gamson, and composers Paul Creston, Roy Harris, and RobertStarer. The Settlement began leasing the townhouse at 263 Henry Street, on...
Hindman Drastic Measures (1976)—Russell Peck Light and Shadow (1978)—RobertStarer Line Drawing after Mark Tobey (1978)—Samuel Alder Suite for Saxophone...
Sinfonietta / Melorhythmic Dramas LP LOU-682 1968 Charles Koechlin, RobertStarer, Henry Cowell Cinq Chorals Dans Les Modes Du Moyen-Age / Mutabili /...
Josef Tal, Morton Feldman, Lukas Foss, Yehudi Wyner, Herman D. Koppel, RobertStarer, Tzvi Avni, Ben-Zion Orgad and Ödön Pártos. Partos’ was inspired after...
D major, Opus 74 (1899) Violin Concerto in G minor, Opus 162 (1918) RobertStarer Violin Concerto (1979–80) Ronald Stevenson Violin Concerto "The Gypsy"...
Ballet to music by Franz Liszt: Mayerling François Villon, French poet RobertStarer: Villon Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist Romualdo Marenco: Excelsior...
Complete Works for Violin and Piano (Azica Records, ACD-71205, 2000) RobertStarer: Chamber Works (Albany Records, TROY152, 1995) Cooperstock's solo recordings...
operations from 12 angles; as reported by Robert Marlin, a technical adviser for the Air Force. The first Gorgon Stare system consisted of two sensor pods,...
Composition from Brooklyn College, where he studied composition with RobertStarer. He also holds a PhD in Composition from the Eastman School of Music...
Lalo (born 1989), recorder player Naomi Shemer (1930–2004), songwriter RobertStarer (1924–2001), composer and pianist Edna Stern (born 1977), pianist Ilan...
Stanford Cello Concerto in D minor (1879/1880) Irish Rhapsody No.3 (1913) RobertStarer Cello Concerto (1988) Johannes Maria Staud Segue (2006) Leon Stein Cello...