McSwain: Robert Starer and His Works for Solo Trumpet

Additional Materials

• Dissertation: McSwain, Allison. "Robert Starer and His Music, with a Focus on Solo Works for Trumpet". 2023.

Citation

Abstract

Vienna-born American composer Robert Starer (1924-2001) was well-regarded in his lifetime but has fallen into obscurity, with his music largely unstudied and rarely performed. He had a unique and varied background: born in Vienna to Jewish parents, Starer left to study in Israel, served in the British military, and ultimately settled in the US. Starer received excellent musical training in Western art music and in Eastern music practices, both through formal schooling and extracurricular engagement, which influenced his compositional style and musical philosophy, most notably through his idea of “klimpern” (musical doodles), rhythmic development, and use of tonal centers, rather than “standard” harmonic progression. Starer’s collaborations included superstars like Itzhak Perlman, Martha Graham, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, and he composed for a wide variety of instruments and ensemble sizes (including brass solos and brass quintet). He also wrote about his life and perspectives on music performance and education, leaving additional sources to gain more context of his music.

Starer’s three works for solo trumpet are substantive and accessible to audiences and players of different levels, using his trademark blend of west-meets-east tonality and rhythmic patterns. The pieces allow for a lot of choice from the performer through the independence of the writing, free sections, musical accessory options, and performance alternatives, such as reordering movements or varied instrumentation options. The three solos, Invocation, The Mystic Trumpeter, and Three Preludes for Trumpet and Organ, demonstrate Starer’s compositional style and deserve inclusion in trumpet literature as interesting and attainable works.

My research delves into each of these pieces from historical, theoretical, and pedagogical perspectives. Primary sources include Starer’s own writings–his memoir (Continuo: A Life in Music), his novel (The Music Teacher), and many articles published in periodicals ranging from academic journals to mainstream publications. I conducted an interview with composer (and former trumpeter) Douglas Hedwig, who was a colleague of Starer’s and commissioned Three Preludes. Hedwig worked closely with Starer not only on that piece, but on premieres of versions of Invocation and The Mystic Trumpeter. Robert Starer’s work merits lasting attention for its style and influence, and because it is beautiful music that is approachable by a variety of performers and listeners. Invocation, The Mystic Trumpeter, and Three Preludes are viable trumpet solos that deserve regular inclusion in the trumpet repertoire; understanding their background and construction informs performance decisions. They are written well for the instrument and accessible by players of many levels; a strong high schooler could successfully perform the pieces, and they are suitable for high-level recitals, as well. Inclusion of these pieces adds three additional selections to the canon of American 20th-century trumpet literature from a meritorious composer (and offers a door to further exploration of his music for trumpet in a chamber setting.)

Bibliography

Scores

• Starer, Robert. Invocation (for trumpet and piano). Easton Music Company, 1962.
• Starer, Robert. Invocation (for trumpet and winds). Easton Music Company, 1983.
• Starer, Robert. The Mystic Trumpeter. New York: Tetra Music Corporation, 1984.
• Starer, Robert. Three Preludes for Trumpet & Organ. Easton Music Company, 1987.
  
  

  Writings by Starer

• Robert Starer Home Page. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://robertstarer.com.
• Starer, Robert. “Composing with the Soloist in Mind.” New York Times, May 1, 1988. https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/01/arts/music-composing-with-the-soloist-in-mind.html..
• Starer, Robert. Continuo: A Life in Music. London: Deutsch, 1987
• Starer, Robert. “Continuo.” New Yorker, January, 6, 1986. https://newyorker.com/magazine/1986/01/06/continuo.
• Starer, Robert. “Music for the Young.” Music Journal 31, no. 8 (Oct 1, 1973): 18. ProQuest.
• Starer, Robert. Rhythmic Training. Los Angeles: Universal Music Pub. Group, 1969.
• Starer, Robert. The Music Teacher. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1997.
• Starer, Robert. “Writing an Opera is a Composer’s Ultimate Challenge.” New York Times, April 29, 1990. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/29/arts/music-writing-an-opera-is-a-composer-s-ultimate-challenge.html.
  
  

  Other

• Godwin, Gail. Evenings at Five: A Novel and Five Stories. New York: Ballantine Books, 2004.
• Havas, Valerie. “A Novel Approach.” Hudson Valley, September 2003.
• Havas, Valerie. “Composing a Life.” Hudson Valley, November 1997.
• Hedwig, Douglas. 2022. Interviewed by Allison McSwain. December 16, 2022. Phone call.
• Wendland, Kristin Florence. “The Major Choral Works of Robert Starer and Their Place in American Music.” PhD diss., City University of New York, 1991. ProQuest.

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