Alvin Etler

Alvin Derald Etler (February 19, 1913 - June 13, 1973) was an American composer and oboist.

A student of Paul Hindemith, Etler is noted for his highly rhythmic, harmonically and texturally complex compositional style, taking inspiration from the works of Bartók and Copland as well as the syncopated rhythms of jazz. He did his formal studies at the University of Illinois, the Cleveland Institute of Music and Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio,

Though Etler's later works are the progenies of serialism and the Post World War II compositional rationale, these works tend to have distinct tonal references. Like his mentor Paul Hindemith he embraced the "neo-Baroque" concepts of form and polyphonic writing.

Etler's views on the creative process also reflects those of Hindemith when he states: "A composer creates music because it is a function of the whole person similar to other spiritual and physical functions. If he is compelled to perform this function with sufficient intensity, and is likewise endowed with certain requisite sensibilities and intellectual vigor, then his work is apt in turn to perform its own function relative to society and to the development of the art he practices." The idea of art in relationship to the society in which it is conceived and presented echoes Hindemith's perspectives on the role of art and artists in developing a culture that manifests the best attributes of humanity.

Though he played with the Indianapolis Symphony in 1938, he eventually abandoned his orchestral life in order to focus on his increasingly successful compositional career (which earned him two Guggenheim Fellowships during this period). In 1942 he joined the faculty at Yale University as conductor of the university band and instructor of wind instruments, where he began his studies with Hindemith. In 1954 he won the Young Composers Award of the American Federation of Music Clubs and was the first recipient of the Yale Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1963.

He was a respected teacher at Cornell University and the University of Illinois before accepting a position at Smith College, which he held until his death.

Important Works

Etler received several important commissions from major orchestras and a number of these works received their premieres by prominent conductors including Fritz Reiner, who conducted the premiere of his the Symphonietta in 1941, and his Passacaglia and Fugue in 1947 with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and George Szell, who commissioned the Concerto in One Movement for the Cleveland Orchestra in 1957. His Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra was premiered by the Japan Philharmonic in 1960 and was subsequently performed in 1962 by both the New York Philharmonic, under the baton of Leonard Bernstein, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Erich Leinsdorf.

His Concerto for Brass Quintet, String Orchestra and Percussion and his Sonic Sequence for Brass (both composed in 1967), were recorded by the National Orchestra Association under conductor John Barnett for CRI.

His large scale works include:

Music for Chamber Orchestra (1938)

Symphonietta (1941)

Passacaglia and Fugue (1947)

Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (1948)

Symphony (1951)

Dramatic Overture for Orchestra (1956)

Concerto for Wind Quintet and Orchestra (1960)

Concerto for Brass Quintet, String Orchestra and Percussion (1967)

Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra (1970)

Other notable chamber and solo works include his two woodwind quintets (from 1955 and 1957), a bassoon sonata, the 1963 "Quintet for Brass Instruments", and "Fragments" for woodwind quartet.

Etler is also the author of Making Music: An Introduction to Theory, an introductory-level theory text published posthumously in 1974.

Reference

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Alvin Etler" American Composers: A Biographical Dictionary, by David Ewen, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1982