LXXVII. HIGDON, Jennifer (1962- )
Higdon grew up in Georgia and Tennessee, listening to The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkle. She pretty much taught herself how to play the flute when she was in high school -- but even at that point, she had had very little exposure to classical music.
She went to Bowling Green, where she continued her flute studies. Her teacher encouraged her to try composition, but she knew nothing of music theory -- chords, intervals -- nothing!
She caught up quickly, began to write little pieces -- and eventually landed at the Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia, where she studied with Ned Rorem, and later with George Crumb at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her PhD in composition.
Talk about coming a long way in a hurry!
Eventually, she found herself teaching a talented young violinist by the name of Hilary Hahn.
This concerto is dedicated to her. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010.
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The first movement is a clever play on the street address of the Curtis Institute -- 1726 Locust Street. Higdon uses sevenths, seconds, and sixths as the dominating intervals in this movement.
The second movement is named after the Chaconne, a Baroque form which varies simple harmonic progressions. Probably the most famous Chaconne is from the fifth movement of J.S. Bach's Violin Partita #2.
Higdon says she imagined Hilary running in the Olympics as she was composing this concerto. Fly Forward, indeed.
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Hahn is miraculous, as usual.
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