Michael Rosenzweig (composer)

Merton Barrow provided him a thorough grounding on which he was able to develop his compositional gifts and conducting skills.

He then studied composition with Donald Martino at New England Conservatory of Music. They gave him a substantial scholarship.

One year later he was permitted to enrolled in a London University MMus part-time programme. He graduated 13 months later, and the only internal London University masters degree awarded without A levels or undergraduate degree was conferred on him. This went through full senate meeting three times.

Columbia University then invited him to enter their doctoral programme on full scholarship and stipend. He studied composition with Chou Wen-chung, Jack Beeson, and Patricia Carpenter.

Michael Rosenzweig is cited as one of the very few notable students of Prof Beeson. He is also cited as one of the very small group of Prof Chou's notable students.

See: List of music students by teacher: T to Z#Chou Wen-chung.

He is one of only two cited as notable students of both.

Beeson was the only American to study composition with Bartók, Chou was the editor of all of Varèse's scores, Carpenter was Arnold Schoenberg's assistant at UCLA for the last 12 years of his life).

Michael Rosenzweig also studied theory with Patricia Carpenter and George Perle.

He studied choral conducting with Fritz Weisse of the Berliner Konzert-chor, where he was the assistant and the musical director of the Youth choir, whose Philharmonie debut he conducted. He also studied orchestral conducting with Lawrence Leonard and with Emanuel Hurwitz, whom he saw regularly for analysis and coaching for several years until the latter's death in November 2006.

While assistant at the Berliner Konzertchor, he conducted the Berlin Philharmonie debut of the Berliner Konzertchor Youth Choir and he conducted the Blacher Ensemble, the new music ensemble from the Berlin Hochschule der Kunste in their international venue debut, as well as other orchestras and ensembles in major venues and festivals, performing both standard repertoire and contemporary music, including several premieres.

In the UK he has conducted the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia featuring Gervase de Peyer as soloist, the London Strings (at St James's Piccadilly) with Yonty Solomon, and Buckingham and District Music Society as well as performances of contemporary works by several composers.

In Central and Eastern Europe he has conducted the Moravian Philharmonic,[2] the Slovak State Philharmonic, Sudety Philharmonic in Wałbrzych,[3] Poland, the State Philharmonic of Iaşi[4] and Vidin State Philharmonic among others. He has also conducted the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra. Included have been performances, premieres and recordings of a wide range of contemporary music.

He conducted the European premiere of Gervase de Peyer's new realization of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto and has also worked with Professor Yonty Solomon, Professor Borislava Taneva and Neil Black, among others as soloist. Since June 2008, Michael Rosenzweig has been the Principal Guest Conductor of the Vidin State Philharmonic - Sinfonietta Vidin since September 2010.

His awards for composition include the Greater London Arts Council Young Composer's Award and the Gaudeamus Foundation, won twice in a row, coming both first and second the first time. He held the DAAD Berliner Kunstlerprogramm Fellowship for music in 1990.[5] This award has been made to Stravinsky, Sessions, Carter, Ligeti, Penderecki, Dallapiccola, Ginastera, Reich, Pärt, Reich and others at this level.

Works have been commissioned by the BBC, the London Sinfonietta,[6] the Divertimenti String Orchestra, Nina Beilina.

Rosenzweig's String Quartet No. 2 (1989) was commissioned in October 1988, by the BBC for the Arditti Quartet and delivered in April 1989. It was first performed and recorded in June 1995, and broadcast by the BBC Radio 3 on 3 January 2009 .[7]

• Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 Pt 1 Vidin Phil/Michael Rosenzweig on YouTube
• Home Page