Long Bio
Mathew Rosenblum’s compositions offer “an ear-buzzing flood of sound, rich in unusual overtones” (The Boston Globe), The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette proclaimed that his work Mobius Loop was “richly layered… and that it “shimmered with vibrancy.” A wide array of groups have commissioned, performed, and recorded his music such as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, the Calmus Ensemble of Leipzig, the Harry Partch Institute, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, FLUX Quartet, Mantra Percussion, Music from China as well as many others. Using a variety of tuning systems, his work does not live within traditional boundaries, creating a compellingly fresh landscape.
Rosenblum spearheaded the highly successful Beyond: Microtonal Music Festival at The Andy Warhol Museum where his new work, Last Round (ostatnia runda) composed for FLUX Quartet and Mantra Percussion was premiered. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it “impressive,” “visceral” and “tribal.” The New York Times said of the N.Y. premiere of Rosenblum’s work, Falling, that it “overshadowed” everything else on the program, it was “rapt, fretful, eerily suspended.” George Grella of New York Classical Review stated: “Falling blends electronics, spoken word, and live music more effectively than most other such efforts. The piece compresses foreground and background into a rich, floating mass… the path into the heart of the piece is both clear and infinite.”
His works have been performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia including at the ISCM World Music Days in Oslo, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the China-ASEAN Music Week in Nanning, the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, the Bing Theater in LA, Prince Mahidol Hall in Bangkok, Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City, and at the Sonic Boom Festival, the Kitchen, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, the Guggenheim Museum, and Miller Theatre in New York City.
In July of 2015 he was a featured composer at the Thailand International Composition Festival. In 2009 he was a Senior Faculty Composer at the June in Buffalo Festival. Other honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, four Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Music Fellowship Grants, a Heinz Endowments Creative Heights Award, three Fromm Foundation Commissions, a National Endowment for the Arts Music Fellowship Grant, a Barlow Endowment Commission, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Artists Fellowship Grant. He has also received awards and fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Institute of Contemporary American Music, the Rockefeller Foundation, BMI, the MacDowell Colony, the Djerassi Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Hambidge Center, and Yaddo.
He received degrees in composition from the New England Conservatory of Music and Princeton University and is currently Professor of Music and former Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Pittsburgh where he also co-directs the Music on the Edge new music series. His works appear on the MODE, New World Records, Albany, New Focus Recordings, BMOP/sound, Capstone, Opus One, Blue Griffin, and CRI Emergency Music labels and is published by C.F. Peters Corporation and Plurabelle Music (distributed by Subito Music Corporation).
Medium Bio
Mathew Rosenblum’s compositions offer “an ear-buzzing flood of sound, rich in unusual overtones” (The Boston Globe). A wide array of groups have commissioned, performed and recorded his music such as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, FLUX Quartet, Mantra Percussion as well as many others. Using a variety of tuning systems, his work does not live within traditional boundaries, creating a compellingly fresh landscape. His music has been performed throughout the world including at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Prince Mahidol Hall in Bangkok, the China-ASEAN Music Week in Nanning, the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf,Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City, and at Carnegie Recital Hall, Merkin Hall and Miller Theatre in New York City. Honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, three Fromm Foundation Commissions, a National Endowment for the Arts Music Fellowship Grant and a Barlow Endowment Commission. He received degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and Princeton University and is Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh where he also co-directs the Music on the Edge new music series and directs the Beyond: Microtonal Music Festival. His works appear on the MODE, New World Records, Albany, New Focus Recordings, BMOP/sound, Capstone, Opus One, Blue Griffin, and CRI Emergency Music labels and is published by C.F. Peters Corporation and Plurabelle Music (distributed by Subito Music Corporation). www.mathewrosenblum.com
Short Bio
Mathew Rosenblum’s works have been performed by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and many others, and appear on the MODE, New World Records, New Focus Recordings and BMOP/sound labels. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, three Fromm Foundation Commissions, a National Endowment for the Arts Music Fellowship Grant, and a Barlow Endowment Commission. Using a variety of tuning systems, his work does not live within traditional boundaries, creating a compellingly fresh landscape. Rosenblum received degrees in composition from the New England Conservatory of Music and Princeton University.
Artistic Statement
The music I compose falls into the general category of “contemporary classical music” but my influences are significantly wider and more varied. My work reflects an engagement with jazz and freer improvisational forms as well as a contemplation of world music. My work is also shaped by microtonality, I create tuning systems that fuse the normal 12 notes with added notes derived from the natural overtone series, including 21-note-to-the-octave systems of my own design. Through repetition, my music sets up larger cyclic rhythms that work to disrupt the linear flow of time. I also work extensively with the sound and rhythm of language and am interested in how languages blend or intersect. Through these compositional tools I explore a wide range of topics including physical and psychological descent and transformation (“Falling”), to the mining of one’s cultural roots to engage serious contemporary problems (“RedDust,” “Lament/Witches’ Sabbath”). Through the juxtaposition of different tuning systems and stylistic references, I explore how seemingly independent musical voices and traditions may be woven together into a newly expressive whole. In all of my work, I try to both engage and challenge the listener and avoid predictability at all cost.