Role

:

Composer  

Birth

:

1939

Genre

:

Chamber

 

Richard Trythall is an American composer and pianist who was born on August 22, 1939, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He grew up in a musical family, with his father being a church organist and his mother a pianist. Trythall began playing the piano at a young age and showed a natural talent for music. He went on to study music at the University of Tennessee, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1961. After completing his undergraduate studies, Trythall moved to New York City to pursue a career in music. He studied composition with Otto Luening and Jack Beeson at Columbia University, where he earned a Master of Arts degree in 1963. During this time, Trythall also studied piano with Beveridge Webster and Rosina Lhevinne at the Juilliard School. Trythall's early compositions were influenced by the avant-garde music of the 1960s, particularly the works of John Cage and Morton Feldman. He was also interested in electronic music and worked with the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. In 1966, Trythall's composition "Ennead" was premiered at the New York Philharmonic's Young Composers' Concert. In the late 1960s, Trythall began to incorporate elements of rock and jazz into his compositions. He was particularly interested in the music of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, and his works from this period often feature electric guitar and synthesizer. Trythall's "Rock-a-Bye Variations" for piano and tape, which he composed in 1969, is a notable example of his fusion of classical and rock music. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Trythall continued to explore a wide range of musical styles in his compositions. He wrote works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments, as well as electronic music and music for film and television. Trythall's "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra" (1973) and "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" (1980) are among his most significant orchestral works. In addition to his work as a composer, Trythall is also an accomplished pianist. He has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, and has recorded several albums of his own compositions as well as works by other composers. Trythall's piano playing is characterized by his virtuosity and his ability to bring out the nuances of the music he performs. Trythall's music has been performed by many prominent musicians and ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Kronos Quartet. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1972 and a Fulbright Fellowship in 1980. In recent years, Trythall has continued to compose and perform music. He has also been involved in music education, teaching at the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Trythall's contributions to the world of classical music have been significant, and his innovative approach to composition has helped to expand the boundaries of the genre.

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