Benjamin Lees died of heart failure on Monday, May 31 at North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital in Glen Cove, New York at the age of 86.

Lees’s work rose to prominence in 1954 when the NBC Orchestra performed his Profile for Orchestra in a national broadcast. He was later awarded Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, allowing him to live in Europe for seven years and present his works throughout the continent. Upon his return to the United States in 1962, Lees was appointed Professor of Composition at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where he served until 1964. He later taught at both the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School of Music. In 1972, Lees was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra to write the music to the text of E.B. White’s “The Trumpet of the Swans.” In 1985, Lees was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to write a piece that would commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, Symphony No. 4 ‘Memorial Candles’. Symphony No. 5, commemorating the arrival of Swedish immigrants to Delaware in the 17th century, was recorded, along with his Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3, for Albany Records and earned him a 2004 GRAMMY nomination. A recording of his Violin Concerto by Elmar Oliveira on Artek Records was nominated for a GRAMMY in 2009. His music has been performed around the world over the years at venues such as Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and in Monaco at a performance celebrating the 500th anniversary of the kingdom. In 2009 Naxos Records released a new recording of his String Quartets Nos. 1, 5 and 6, performed by the Cypress String Quartet.

Benjamin Lees was born January 8, 1924 in Harbin, Manchuria to Russian parents. He and his family immigrated to San Francisco the following year, then moved to Los Angeles in 1939. At age 15, Lees began studying piano harmony and theory, and began composing with his teacher, Marguerite Bitter. After serving in the army during World War II, Lees entered the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1945. Lees continued his composition studies with George Antheil until 1954.

When asked about his approach to composition, he was quoted as saying, “There are two kinds of composers. One is the intellectual and the other is visceral. I fall into the latter category. If my stomach doesn’t tighten at an idea, then it’s not the right idea.”

Lees was commissioned to write pieces through his early 80’s and continued writing until his recent death. He is survived by his daughter, Jan Rexon, and his wife, Leatrice Lees.

Jerry,

Wanted to make sure this didn’t get by you:

Tomorrow (Ed:  now tonight) the Contemporary Museum’s Mobtown Modern music series will be  presenting the complete Rite of Spring arranged for modern big band. The 7:30pm set will be livestreamed online by Radar Redux (http://www.radarredux.com/live/) so all can attend, even those not in Baltimore! More info at http://mobtownmodern.com

Best wishes,
Brian Sacawa
Curator, Mobtown Modern Music Series
Contemporary Museum

John Luther Adams has been named the 2010 winner of the $100,000 Michael Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition. The announcement was made today at the Northwestern University Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music. The biennial award honors classical music composers of outstanding achievement who had a significant impact on the field of composition. Past winners include John Adams (2004), Oliver Knussen (2006) and Kaija Saariaho (2008).

Frank J. Oteri, his own bad self, has the details.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet has had to cancel his Apple Store appearance tonight because of exhaustion from repeated delays in flying from Europe to the United States due to “le vulcan.”  His arms are apparently too tired to box with Jobs. Ok, ok.

However, the The New Yorker‘s Alex Ross and The Bad Plus’ Ethan Iverson will end their The Rest is Noise tour in New York  replacing Thibaudet at the Upper West Side Apple Store at 6:30pm.  Details about program can be found on The Rest is Noise blog: http://bit.ly/aTQn87.  Alex has promised not to play the piano.

“I was overjoyed by this news,” Hilary said. “It was both artistically and intellectually rewarding to collaborate with Jennifer on this concerto, and she put so much energy into the work. She has been a wonderful colleague throughout the whole process, attending nearly every performance of the piece as well as the recording sessions in Liverpool last spring. From a performer’s perspective, there’s no substitute for that kind of support. Congratulations, Jennifer!”

Violin Concerto was premiered on February 6, 2009 in Indianapolis, where it was met with great critical acclaim. To date, Hahn has performed Higdon’s Violin Concerto with the commissioning orchestras; with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (May 29 and 30, 2009), with whom she also recorded the piece; with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (January 7-9, 2010); and with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (January 21-23, 2010).  Hahn will play the work with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on May 13-16, 2010, and with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra on February 14, 2011 at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and February 15, 2011 at New York’s Carnegie Hall. These performances will mark the concerto’s Dallas, Philadelphia, and New York premieres, respectively.

Hahn’s recording of Higdon’s Violin Concerto will be released internationally, paired with the Tchaikovsky concerto, by Deutsche Grammophon in September 2010.

After the premiere in Indianapolis, Hahn interviewed Higdon about the composition process and the first performances.   Part 1 is above.   You’ll find more of Higdon interview on Hahn’s YouTube channel.