Salvatore Martirano
American composer (1927–1995)
Salvatore Giovanni Martirano (January 12, 1927 – November 17, 1995) [1] was an American composer of contemporary classical music . Born in Yonkers, New York , he taught for many years at the University of Illinois . He also worked in electronic music and invented electronic musical instruments.
Professional background
Born in Yonkers, New York, Martirano received his undergraduate degree in 1951 from Oberlin College , where he studied composition with Herbert Elwell . [1] A year later he completed his master's degree in composition at the Eastman School of Music , where he studied with Bernard Rogers. [1] He then pursued further studies in Florence, Italy with Luigi Dallapiccola from 1952 through 1954. [1]
Martirano worked in Italy from 1956 to 1959, when he was a resident fellow at the American Academy .
Between 1959 and 1964, Martirano received commissions, awards, and fellowships from the Guggenheim , Ford , Koussevitzky , and Fromm Foundations , as well as from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Brandeis University .
In 1963, Martirano joined the Theory and Composition Department at the University of Illinois in Urbana . He served on the faculty until his retirement and death in 1995. Martirano was the second person to live in the 1955 "Garvey House" in Urbana after Garvey , for whom it was designed by notable architect Bruce Goff .
Music
Many of Martirano's early works incorporate twelve-tone compositional techniques as well as jazz, vernacular, and multimedia idioms. His best-known composition, "L's GA" (Lincoln's Gettysburg Address), was widely performed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It became associated with the anti-Vietnam War movement. [2]
SAL-MAR Construction
In 1969, Salvatore Martirano, along with a group of engineers and musicians at the University of Illinois, began work on the design and construction of a musical electronic instrument. The instrument, named the SAL-MAR Construction, is a hybrid system in which TTL logical circuits (small and medium scale integration) drive analog modules, such as voltage-controlled oscillators, amplifiers and filters. The performer sits at a horizontal control panel of 291 lightable touch-sensitive switches (no moving parts). The two-state switches are used by a performer to dial sequences of numbers that are characterized by a variety of intervals and lengths. A sequence may bypass, address, or be added to other sequences forming an interlocked tree of control and data according to a performer's choice. The unique characteristic of the switch is that it can be driven both manually and logically, which allows human/machine interaction. The most innovative feature of the human/machine interface is that it allows the user to switch from control of macro to micro parameters of the information output. This is analogous to a zoom lens on a camera.
Legacy and honors
- In the year following Martiano's death, a music composition award was established in his name, the Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award , and has been given annually since 1996. [3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Gilbert Chase and Jean Geil (2001). "Martirano, Salvatore". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi : 10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.17944 . ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0 .
- ↑ "Finding Aid for Salvatore Martirano Music, Personal Papers, and Sal-Mar Construction, 1927-1999 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music" . Library.illinois.edu . Retrieved 2013-06-25 .
- ↑ "Salvatore Martirano Award" , Music Department, University of Illinois Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Salvatore Martirano archive, The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music , University of Illinois
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