DEBORAH HAYES
The composer and teacher Ruth Shaw Wylie (1916-1989) contributed to the remarkable development of American music in the middle decades of the twentieth century.
She earned a PhD in composition at Eastman in 1943 and established her career as professor of composition at Wayne State University. She won the recognition and support of Detroit musicians and critics, performed widely with the improvisation ensemble she founded and directed, and was active in the midwestern University Composers Exchange.
In 1969 she retired from teaching and moved west to the Rocky Mountains to enjoy nature and wilderness. In Estes Park, Colorado, she produced memorable scores and attracted the attention of musicians in the Denver-Boulder area, including the University of Colorado. She was writing music and advising performers up until a short time before her death.
This account is based on her music, her writings and interviews, and the observations of her colleagues, students, performers, critics, friends, and family. Musical analysis, score examples, and a forty-page catalog of her works and performances chronicle her consolidation of American neoclassicism and avant-garde experimentation in her own personal style.
Ruth Shaw Wylie: The Composer and Her Music
• Table of Contents
Illustrations ix
Foreword by William K. Kearns xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xxi
• Chapter 1. Seeking the White Raven 1
• Chapter 2. Early Years and Education 11
• Chapter 3. The Young Professor 24
• Chapter 4. Return to Detroit 34
• Chapter 5. A Personal Style 56
• Chapter 6. The Improvisation Ensemble 77
• Chapter 7. Theorizing a Style 95
• Chapter 8. Transitions 106
• Chapter 9. After Academia 122
• Chapter 10. A Colorado Composer 140
• Chapter 11. Renewal 156
• Chapter 12. Final Years 174
• Chapter 13. In Retrospect 184
• Appendix A: Catalog of Works and Performances 191
• Appendix B: Classified List of Works 233
• Appendix C: Honors and Awards 236
• Appendix D: Beach Agate Pebbles 239
• Sources
• Index
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List of Works
1940 The Wanderer (unnumbered)
1941 Suite for String Orchestra (unnumbered)
1941 String Quartet No. 1, op. 1
1941 Suite for Orchestra, op. 2
1942 Suite for Chamber Orchestra, op. 3
1942 Five Easy Pieces, op. 4
1942 Carol : “I sing of a maiden,” op. 5
1943 Symphony No. 1 “Archaic,” op. 6
[As Univ of Missouri faculty member:]
1945 Sonata No. 1 for piano, op. 7
1946 String Quartet No. 2, op. 8
1947 Song And Dance for clarinet and piano, op. 9
1947 Sonatina for piano, op. 10
1948 Symphony No. 2, op. 11
[As Wayne State University faculty member: 24 titles]
1949 Five Preludes, op. 12
1950 Five Madrigals, op. 13, no. 1
1950 God’s Grandeur, op. 13 no. 2
1951 Holiday Overture, op. 14
1951 Spring Madness [op. 14b]
1952 Concerto Grosso, op. 15 = Concerto Grosso No. 1
1953 Seven Wishful Duets For Two Wistful Recorders [op. 16b]
1953 Sonata No. 2 for piano, op. 16 no. 1
1953 Wistful Piece, op. 16 no. 2
1954 Sonata for Viola and Piano, op. 16 no. 3 = Viola Sonata no. 1
1953 Light, op. 16 no. 4
1956 String Quartet No. 3, op. 17
1956 Toward Nowhere [17b]
1956 Facade (ballet), op. 18 no. 1
1958 “ ... in Just Spring” (e.e. cummings), wm’s chorus and str orch., op. 19 no. 1
1959 Six Little Preludes for Piano, op.19, no. 2
1960 Sonata for Flute and Piano, op. 20 (pub. 1974)
1961 Ballet, “The Ragged Heart,” op. 21
1965 Echo, op. 22
1966 Soliloquy for Left Hand Alone, op. 23
1966 Theme Music for ‘Keep Michigan Beautiful’ Campaign [23b]
1967 Clarinet Concertino, op. 24 no. 1
1967 Involution, op. 24 no. 2
1968 Psychogram for piano, op. 25
1968 Music for Improvisation Ensemble (Charts devised 1963-68) [29b]
[Retired from teaching, living in Salt Lake City]
1970 Three Inscapes, op. 26
1971 Five Occurrences, op. 27
1972 Incubus, op. 28
[In Estes Park, Colorado: 18 titles]
1974 Imagi, op. 29
1975 Nova, op. 30 no. 1
1975 The Long Look Home, op. 30 no. 2
1976 Toward Sirius, op. 31
1977 Memories of Birds, op. 32 no. 1
1977 Airs Above The Ground, op. 32 no. 2
1978 Views From Beyond, op. 33 no. 1
1978 Mandala, op. 33 no. 2
1979 Terrae Incognitae, op. 34
1981 Music For Three Sisters, op. 35
1982 November Music, op. 36
1983 Scenes From Arthur Rackham, op. 37
1983 The White Raven, op. 37 no. 2
1983 String Quartet No. 4, op. 37, no. 3
1984 Shades of the Anasazi, op. 38 no. 1
1984 Flights of Fancy, op. 38 no. 2
1986 Concerto for Flute and Strings [39]
1988 Signs and Portents [40]
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