(b Duncan, ok, 12 Sept 1930). American composer. He studied in California at Mills College and Berkeley, under Imbrie, Milhaud and Shifrin. He has taught at Davis, Tampa and Denton. His music uses group improvisations and ‘open style’ techniques as well as electronic and theatrical media. Among his works are Improvisations, for orchestra and jazz soloists (1961), Walter (a stage work involving tape and film, 1971) and a series of works based on Ives's sketches including two fantasies involving instruments and tape (1975-6) and Life Pulse Music for 20 percussion (1984).
Composer Larry Austin is a native of Oklahoma; he first studied music at North Texas State University, primarily under Violet Archer, and took his master's degree in 1951. He continued with Darius Milhaud at Mills and finished his education with Seymour Shifrin and Andrew Imbrie at the University of California in Berkeley. In 1958, Austin joined the staff of the University of California at Davis, and although the agricultural UC Davis was a school mostly known for its habit of "tipping cattle," Austin transformed its music department into a bastion of "new music." In 1961, Leonard Bernstein presented Austin's Improvisations for Orchestra and Jazz Soloists on a nationwide Young People's Concerts television broadcast and recorded it for CBS Masterworks in 1965. In 1963, Austin founded the New Music Ensemble at UC Davis that explored free group improvisation; the group issued its only recording in 1964. The following year, Austin began his work in electronic music -- in which he is acknowledged as a pioneer -- initially for use as an element in the free group improvisation Roma (1965).
In 1966, Austin founded SOURCE magazine, which became the primary house organ for avant-garde music-making in America until it folded in 1971. In 1972, Austin moved to the University of South Florida and in 1978, he returned to Texas to teach at the University of North Texas until his retirement in 1996; both of the computer music studios at these institutions were founded by Austin. Afterward, Austin settled in Denton, TX, where he ran his own studio and continued to compose. In 1986, Austin founded CDCM (the Consortium to Distribute Computer Music) which, through Centaur Records, has released more than 20 compilation discs of computer music, including some of Austin's own.
Although much of Austin's computer music is considered groundbreaking, and some of his conventionally scored music, such as the zany piano piece Tango Violento (1984), has elicited positive comment, Austin is best known for a work he didn't compose -- his edition of Charles Ives' "Universe" Symphony. Austin began in 1974 through attempting to realize Ives' Life Pulse Prelude utilizing the verbal description in Ives' Memos; his realization of the complete symphony was presented for the first time by the Cincinnati Philharmonia in 1996. Though other realizations of the "Universe" have followed since, Austin's was the first, and to date is the most frequently performed. He has also prepared other, original compositions out of the "Universe" materials. Austin has created a computerized, octophonic trope on John Cage's earliest tape piece, Williams [re]Mix[ed] (1997-2001) and has received the coveted "Magesterium" prize from the International Electroacoustic Competition in Bourges for his work BluesAx (1996), the first ever awarded to an American composer. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide
Austin taught at the University of California, Davis from 1958 till 1972 rising from assistant professor to full professor. While at the University of California, Davis, he founded the improvisational New Music Ensemble. In 1972 he accepted a position at the University of South Florida, where he taught until 1978. In that year he returned to Texas, teaching at his alma mater, the University of North Texas, from 1978 until 1996 when he was named Professor Emeritus. His notable students include Dary John Mizelle and Rodney Waschka II.
Compositions
Austin received early recognition for his instrumental and orchestral works and of those pieces, Improvisations for Orchestra and Jazz Soloists, was performed and recorded by the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein. [7] Other orchestral works of special note include "Universe Symphony, as realized and completed by Larry Austin" (1974-93) for large orchestra, [8] and "Sinfonia Concertante: A Mozartean Episode" [9] (1986) for chamber orchestra and tape. Chamber works with particularly significant computer music/electro-acoustic music aspects include "Accidents" [10] for electronically prepared piano (1967), written for David Tudor, "Canadian Coastlines: Canonic Fractals for Musicians and Computer Band" [11] for eight musicians and tape from 1981, and "BluesAx" for saxophonist and tape (1995), which won the Magisterium Prize, at Bourges in 1996. [12] "BluesAx" has been recorded by Steve Duke.[13] His most recent work is "John explains..." (2007) for octophonic sound, based on a recording of an interview with John Cage. "John explains..." was premiered at the 2008 North Carolina Computer Music Festival. [14]
The noted critic Tom Johnson has written of Austin's music, ""His style is neither uptown nor downtown, nor is it minimal, eclectic, hypnotic, or European. But it works, it is strongly personal, and it has something to say in all these directions.... The real source of Austin's music, however, is clearly Charles Ives, who also liked musical symbols, enjoyed collaging them together as densely as he could, and never had much of a knack for prettiness."[15]
Austin has said that "Exploring new concepts, new materials and their interaction is essential to my work as a composer."
Partial Discography
"Leonard Bernstein Conducts Music of Our Time," New York Philharmonic, Columbia Masterworks, MS6733, 1965.[16]
Improvisations for Orchestra and Jazz Soloists
"Robert Floyd Plays New Piano Music by Hans Werner Henze and Larry Austin," Advance Records, FGR10S, 1970.[17]
Piano Set in Open Style
Piano Variations
"New Music for Woodwinds," Advance Records, FGR9S, 1974. (performed by Phil Rehfeldt, clarinet and Thomas Warburton, piano). [18]
Current
"Larry Austin Hybrid Musics: Four Compositions," Canton, TX: IRIDA Records 0022, 1980.
