Frederic Rzewski

Frederic Rzewski

Birth : 1938-04-13, Westfield, Massachusetts, USA

Death : 2021-06-26

History

Frederic Anthony Rzewski (/ˈʒɛfski/ ZHEF-skee; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and virtuoso pianist. His major compositions, which often incorporate social and political themes, include Coming Together and the piano variations The People United Will Never Be Defeated!.

Profile

Frederic Rzewski

Movies

Turn Your Eyes To The Present
himself
Gerd Conradt sits with Frederic Rzewski to have a chat on music. This conversation takes place in Montiano, Italy on August 14th, 1999.
Rzewski Plays Rzewski
Self
Rzewski performs 36 Variations for Piano on "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" - the song by Sergio Ortega in this 2007 performance.
De Profundis
Music
De Profundis is a three part, hand/alternative-processed experimental film based on Oscar Wilde's prison letter De Profundis. Incorporating home movies from the 1920's and early gay male erotica along with images from Radical Faerie gatherings, queer pagan rituals, drag performances and images of confinement, this 65 minute film sets up a haunting investigation of queerness, masculinity, history and sexuality. These images are buttressed against a soundtrack composed of Wilde's aphorisms, a voice and piano setting of Wilde's prison letter, and multi-tracked interviews with a diverse group of contemporary gay men.
Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza
Music
A 47-minute black-and-white film by Theo Gallehr and depicts Il Gruppo in various candid stages - in interviews, setting up, recording, working with eachother, and performing onstage. The players showcased here include Bertoncini, Branchi, Evangelisti, Heineman, Kayn, Morricone, Vandor and Frederic Rzewski. It's interesting to watch the composers interact and perform spontaneously as it is to see them preparing the piano by tying horsehair around the strings and rubbing the interior with empty plastic bottles and vaccuum cleaner attachments.
Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza
Self
A 47-minute black-and-white film by Theo Gallehr and depicts Il Gruppo in various candid stages - in interviews, setting up, recording, working with eachother, and performing onstage. The players showcased here include Bertoncini, Branchi, Evangelisti, Heineman, Kayn, Morricone, Vandor and Frederic Rzewski. It's interesting to watch the composers interact and perform spontaneously as it is to see them preparing the piano by tying horsehair around the strings and rubbing the interior with empty plastic bottles and vaccuum cleaner attachments.