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Composer  

 

Erik Ulman was a classical music composer who was born on May 22, 1935, in New York City. He was the son of Russian immigrants who had fled the country during the Russian Revolution. His parents were both musicians, and they encouraged their son to pursue music from a young age. Ulman began his musical education at the age of six, when he started taking piano lessons. He quickly showed a talent for music, and by the time he was a teenager, he was already composing his own pieces. He attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City, where he studied composition with Vittorio Giannini. After graduating from high school, Ulman went on to study at the Juilliard School of Music. There, he studied composition with Vincent Persichetti and Roger Sessions. He also studied piano with Rosina Lhévinne and Mieczysław Horszowski. Ulman's early compositions were heavily influenced by the music of his Russian heritage. He was particularly drawn to the music of Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. However, as he continued to develop as a composer, he began to incorporate a wider range of influences into his work. One of Ulman's early successes was his String Quartet No. 1, which he composed in 1958. The piece was well-received by critics and helped to establish Ulman as a promising young composer. He went on to compose a number of other chamber works, including several more string quartets. In the 1960s, Ulman began to experiment with electronic music. He was particularly interested in the possibilities of using electronic sounds to create new timbres and textures. He composed a number of electronic works, including his Electronic Music No. 1, which was premiered at the New York Philharmonic's Horizons '70 festival. Ulman's music continued to evolve throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He began to incorporate more avant-garde techniques into his work, including aleatoric elements and extended techniques. He also began to explore the possibilities of combining acoustic and electronic sounds. One of Ulman's most significant works from this period was his Symphony No. 2, which he composed in 1980. The piece was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and was premiered under the baton of Zubin Mehta. The symphony was well-received by critics and helped to establish Ulman as one of the leading American composers of his generation. Ulman continued to compose throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He remained active in the New York City music scene and was a frequent collaborator with other composers and performers. He also continued to teach, serving on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School. Ulman's music was characterized by its emotional intensity and its willingness to experiment with new sounds and techniques. He was a composer who was always pushing the boundaries of what was possible in music, and his work continues to be studied and performed by musicians around the world.

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