Composer of the Week: Julius Eastman

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

Composer of the Week - Brand

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Julius Eastman (1940-1990): A Vocal Kaleidoscope

A Vocal Kaleidoscope

Julius Eastman (1940-1990)

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Julius Eastman (1940-1990), A Vocal Kaleidoscope

Donald Macleod explores how performance was central to Eastman’s life and character.

Donald Macleod attempts to unravel the enigmatic, remarkable story of Julius Eastman and his music. Today, we meet Eastman, the unforgettable performer.

Donald Macleod explores how performance was central to Julius Eastman’s life, work and personality.

When this week’s composer died homeless and alone in 1990, almost no one knew, not even his friends, and his work threatened to disappear with him.  Julius Eastman had lit up America’s contemporary music scene as a spellbinding performer and a visionary composer whose music is difficult to pigeonhole.  A gay, black man in the predominantly white world of new music, Eastman was often misunderstood.  His musical voice fused minimalism with pop and the avant-garde, and was inextricable from his identity politics - a sound that was provocative then and remains so today.  He collaborated with luminaries such as Pierre Boulez, Peter Maxwell Davies and Meredith Monk but also faced many struggles, leading to his premature and tragic decline.  This week, Donald Macleod shares his long-overdue story, with insights from American baritone Davone Tines, a performer and champion of Eastman’s music.

Today, Donald uncovers Eastman’s legacy as a vocal performer and composer. This period in Eastman's career, fresh out of college, would see him make major breakthroughs, including a Grammy nomination – all the more remarkable given that he had no formal vocal training.   He proved himself a singer of incredible range and power, famed for his theatricality.  He loved to surprise audiences– though this could also get him into trouble…

Colors (extract)
Ensemble Tra I Tempi
Michael Veltmann, conductor

Meredith Monk: Dolmen Music (Men’s Conclave – WaOhs)
Meredith Monk and Ensemble: Robert Een, Paul Langland, Julius Eastman, Monica Solem, Andrea Goodman, vocalists

Peter Maxwell Davies: Eight Songs for a Mad King (Scotch Bonnet, Spanish March) 
The Fires of London
Julius Eastman, baritone	

Prelude to the Holy Presence of Joan D’Arc
Davone Tines, baritone

Colors  
Ensemble Tra I Tempi
Michael Veltmann, conductor


Produced in Cardiff by Amelia Parker

Composer of the Week: Julius Eastman (1940-1990)

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod attempts to unravel the enigmatic, remarkable story of Julius Eastman.

Donald Macleod attempts to unravel the enigmatic, remarkable story of Julius Eastman - a spellbinding performer and visionary composer, whose music is difficult to pigeonhole.

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Julius Eastman (1940-1990)

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