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AGP157 - Andrew Rudin (1939-) | Tragoedia (1967)






  1. Tragoedia, movement 1, Kourous [10:18] [MP3]

  2. Tragoedia, movement 2, Hybris [7:27] [MP3]

  3. Tragoedia, movement 3, Peitho [5:13] [MP3]

  4. Tragoedia, movement 4, Até [15:00] [MP3]

  5. Tragoedia, movement 1, Kourous [10:18] [FLAC]

  6. Tragoedia, movement 2, Hybris [7:27] [FLAC]

  7. Tragoedia, movement 3, Peitho [5:13] [FLAC]

  8. Tragoedia, movement 4, Até [15:00] [FLAC]

  9. AGP 157 notes [TXT]

  10. LP liner notes [PDF]



NOTES

AGP157 continues our series of US electronic music with a transcription of Andrew Rudin's Tragoedia, a composition in four movements for electronic music synthesizer, from the Nonesuch LP H-71198. This early work for Moog synthesizer has been out of print since the original LP issue. The LP transcribed is in excellent condition, though there is some fairly innocuous constant pressing noise that sounds sort of like hiss but with a lower range of frequencies. It gets a 4.5/5 rating on the trip-o-meter from Dr. Schluss' Garage Of Psychedelic Obscurities. The torrent includes a PDF file with scans of the notes from all three LPs.

From the composer's website:

""Andrew Rudin has been an important presence in the local contemporary music scene for the past four decades. His contributions to the modern canon have been eagerly awaited and happily appreciated."

--Michael Caruso, Main Line Times, Philadelphia, Jan. 2007

Rudin's reputation was established in the 1960's through his association with Robert Moog and a pioneering series of synthesized compositions, most notably his Nonesuch album, Tragoedia. Throughout the 1970's many of his compositions were theatrical in nature, involving collaborations with ballet and modern dance, film, television, and incidental music for the stage. His one-act opera, The Innocent was produced in Philadelphia in 1972 by Tito Capobianco. A number of these works blended electronically synthesized sound with traditional instruments and voices. Particularly of note among these works is the inclusion of his music in the soundtrack of the film Fellini: Satyricon. Among the dance groups and choreographers with whom he has worked are Dance Theatre Workshop, Jeff Duncan, Murray Louis, The Pennsylvania Ballet, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Louis Falco, and four collaborations with Alwin Nikolais. The 1980's saw the completion of his full-evening opera Three Sisters, on a libretto by William Ashbrook from the play by Chekhov, as well as many works for traditional instruments, both orchestral and chamber music. After his graduation from The University of Pennsylvania, where he studied primarily with George Rochberg, he joined the faculty of The Philadelphia Musical Academy, remaining there for the next thirty-seven years, as it eventually became part of the present University of the Arts. During this time he taught music history, theory, and composition, directed the new music ensemble, and headed the electronic music studio. He taught in the graduate division of the Juilliard School from 1981-1984. Since his retirement in 200l he has worked as a broadcaster for WWFM, The Classical Network from Mercer County Community College, and served on the board of directors for Philadelphia's Orchestra 2001. He continues to compose extensively. His professional affiliation is BMI. He lives in Allentown, NJ with his partner, Tom Queenan.