On July 19, 2023, members of The London Sinfonietta Academy, conducted by Geoffrey Patterson, performed Steven's Three Pieces for Two Violins at the Southbank Centre's Purcell Room in London. This was part of their Musicians of Tomorrow initiative and also included works by Pierre Boulez, Harrison Birtwhistle and Mark-Anthony Turnage along with two World Premieres by Kai Kubota-Enright and Sam Fernando.
New York City's Opus 71 Ensemble presented several of Gerber's chamber works on their concerts throughout their 2023-24 concert season. The events were held at Manhattan's Church of the Blessed Sacrament. Among the featured works were the Madam I'm Adam variations with pianist Addison Frei, alongside Frei's improvised variations on Gerber's original theme, the beautiful Spirituals, Book II for flute and viola, and Norma's Variations, inspired by the memory of his partner, Norma Hymes.
Saturday, June 8, 2024 Argentina's Ensamble Rosario, directed by Marisol Gentile, presented En torno a la figura del Mº Steven Gerber, Segunda Edicion, featuring several of Gerber's chamber works at Rosario, AR's Salon de Actos de la Facultad de Humanidades y Artes, as part of the 44th Simposia de Music Contemporanea. The program was repeated on Monday, June 10 at Buenos Aires's Sala Orestes Caviglia, Teatro Nacional Cervantes. Visit the Ensamble here.
See the trailer for the complete concert of performances by Ensamble Rosario, presented on June 10 at Teatro Nacional:
Watch a video of them performing Gerber's Five Canonic Duos for lute and bassoon, also presented on June 10, 2024 at Teatro Nacional:
June 14 and June 15, 2024, C4 Choral Composer/Conductor Collective performed composer Gerber's 20-minute epic Une Saison en Enfer, based on Rimbaud’s prose poem of the same name, and other compositions by C4 member composers based on Rimbaud's works. Event details here and here. Both performances were at Saint Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Ave in Manhattan.
On Saturday, June 10, 2023, Rosario, Argentina's Ensamble Rosario, directed by Marisol Gentile, presented a program featuring several of Steven Gerber's chamber works, including Three Songs Without Words for violin solo, Duet for Solo Clarinet and Elegy on the Name Dmitri Shostakovich, These were performed along with works inspired by Gerber's compositions, which included three works for octet, Aitana Kasulin's Recorridos Diversos (2022) based on Gerber's Her Dreams, Federico Miyara's Fantasía (2022), based on motifs from Sinfonía Nº 1 and Marisol Gentile's Juegos con Steven (2023), inspired by his Spirituals for flute and cello. Watch the program here:
On Thursday, May 18, 2023 @ 8:00pm at St. Peter's Church, 346 West 20th St., Manhattan, and Saturday, May 20 @ 8:00 pm at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, 487 Hudson St., also in Manhattan, C4 Choral Composer/Conductor Collective presented Steven's Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought, with texts from Shakespearean Sonnets 9, 30, 71,129 and 130, as part of their Sea Change concert of Shakespeare-inspired works.
The event also featured the World Premieres of Not to Beat by Ekaterina Khmelevskaya and Nobody Told You by Nauhuen Gattella, both commissioned for C4 with support from the Steven R. Gerber Trust. In addition, there was a dedicated recording session leading to high-quality recordings of both Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought and the new pieces.
Amernet's cellist Jason Calloway wrote this as part of the new album's program note, "The string quartets of Steven R. Gerber represent a deeply personal testament for the composer himself while serving as a spiritual bridge to us as performers and listeners in the years since his passing. My colleagues and I in the Amernet String Quartet knew Steve for the last two decades of his life, having first met him while we were students at Juilliard in the context of several local new music performances.”
Chamber Players International presented Steven Gerber's Two Lyric Pieces for Violin and String Ensemble, Bela Horvath soloist and String Quartet No. 6 on May 10, 2022 @ 7:30 PM at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music’s Mary Flagler Cary Hall, 450 W. 37th St in Manhattan.
Steven Gerber's Illuminations for SATB a cappella were performed by Ensemble Musicatreize on April 19, 2022 @ 8:30 PM at Collégiale Saint-Didier in Avignon, France and on April 20 @ 8 PM at Salle Musicatreize, 53 rue Grignan in Marseille as part of their Voix étranges programs. These performances were made possible, in part, by a grant from the Steven Gerber Trust.
The Amernet String Quartet has recorded Gerber's String Quartet's No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, along with his Spirituals for String Quartet. The pieces were recorded in December 2021 in the studio of Florida International University in Miami, where the ensemble is in residence.The CD will be released later in 2022.
If you didn't see the original February 26, 2021 broadcast, The English Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Woods, conductor presented a special Composer Portrait concert celebrating the music of Steven Gerber. You can still see it here. Featured works included Two Lyric Pieces for Violin and Strings (2005), with soloist Emily Davis, Sinfonietta No. 1 and No. 2, and much more.
Maestro Kenneth Woods with the English Symphony Orchestra and English String Orchestra have recorded Steven Gerber's Lyric Pieces, Sinfoniettas 1 and 2, as well as his String Sinfonias 1 and 2 for Nimbus Records.
Hear an excerpt from Sinfonietta, No. 1: III. Presto (arr. Daron Hagen) at here, a bit from String Sinfonia, No. 1: I. Moderato at here and part of Two Lyric Pieces for Violin and Strings: II. Passacaglia at here.
On Wednesday, January 13, 2021 @ 7:30 PM EST The Gerber Trust presents the online premiere of the October 2016 chamber music concert celebrating Steven's life and music, filmed at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan. The program is:
Elegy on the Name "Dmitri Shostakovich" for Solo Cello (1991) - (originally for solo viola) – Cyrus Beroukhim
Fantasy for Solo Violin (1967) – Kurt Nikkanen
Fantasy, Fugue, and Chaconne for Viola and Cello – Cyrus Beroukhim, viola and Amy Kang, cello
Five Greek Folksongs (after Ravel), for Violin and Piano - Kurt Nikkanen and Maria Asteriadou, piano
Three Pieces for Two Violins – Cyrus Beroukhim and Kurt Nikkanen
The Steven R. Gerber Trust has been established, and is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the music of Steven Gerber through the support and creation of projects, programs, and initiatives which elevate exposure to, increase interest in, and highlight aspects of, the composer's work.
The Steven R. Gerber Trust has begun a 3-year relationship with the London Sinfonietta and its Academy, whereby the Trust will support the training of young musicians in contemporary music performance, integrating Gerber's compositions into the program curriculum.
Haverford College (Gerber's alma mater) has archived all of the composer's manuscripts and personal materials and they are now available for research and biographical use and reference at the College Library. This collection contains five series: “Compositions,” “Business,” “Personal,” “Other Composers,” and “Audiovisual.” The Compositions series consists of nine subseries, all related to Gerber compositions. The first six subseries are divided by the type of musical work, including “Orchestral,” “Chamber,” “Vocal,” “Choral,” “Piano,” and “Other Solo.” They contain sketches, drafts, revisions, and final copies of many of Gerber's compositions from 1967-2013. The seventh subseries, “Song Texts,” contains loose texts from Gerber’s vocal and choral works. The subseries “Unidentified Drafts,” consists of sketches, drafts, and excerpts that cannot be identified as belonging to a particular work. These are organized by type of work or placed into an “other” folder if the draft cannot be categorized. The final series, “Computer Files,” contains three disks of Finale and PDF files of Gerber scores.
Fresh Inc Festival is a program for emerging artists ages 18-32 seeking to build careers in music. In 2018, their composers wrote writing pieces responding to Steven Gerber's interest in folk sources in more than one of his compositions. (Fresh Inc is run by Chicago's Fifth House Ensemble). Funds from the trust help offset composer tuition expenses and allowed the Festival to accept 24 composer participants for the first time rather than 16. Gerber's Five Greek Folksongs and Three Folksong Transformations served as centerpieces of some of the June festival's final concerts at Fresh Inc, surrounded by 24 new works inspired by his example.
In December 2017, The League of Composers/ISCM awarded two composers the Steven R. Gerber Composition Prize - Gra-V for fl/bass fl, cl/bass cl, vn, vc, perc, pf, by Vasiliki Krimitza and DEPO FLUX: concerto grosso for vn, va, cb, a.sax, elec. gtr, & ch. orch, by Ken Steen.
Musica Reginae performed Gerber's Elegy on the Name Dmitri Shostakovich for Solo Viola as well as his 5 Greek Folksongs for violin and piano, on November 18, 2017 at The Church in the Gardens in Forest Hills, Queens, NY. Performers included the ensemble's Executive and Artistic Director, pianist Barbara Podgurski joined by members of the MRP Chamber Players. Cyrus Beroukhim, violinist, and Junah Chung, violist.
The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (COP) in collaboration with the American Composers Forum and with support from the Steven Gerber Trust, launched their first ever composer residency. The 2017/18 composer-in-residence was Adam Vidiksis. This program, sponsored by the Trust, supports the work of composers with orchestras and in their communities.
In partnership with the Steven R. Gerber Trust and Downtown Music at Grace, The Phoenix Concerts presented the premiere of six Gerber Trust commissions on December 12 and 13, 2017. New works by Kathryn Alexander, Gabriel Bolaños Chamorro, Kyong Mee Choi, Daron Hagen, Libby Larsen, and Paula af Malmborg Ward were paired in concert with pre-existing works by Steven Gerber. The program centered on three poems - one each on earth, water, and air. Featuring baritone Jorell Williams, mezzo-soprano Re'ut Ben-Ze'ev, and soprano Gilda Lyons with collaborative pianist Mila Henry, each vocalist performed a single poem set by multiple composers on this program of premieres.
In spring, 2013 Albany Records released a new CD of most of Gerber's piano music, played by the composer, and his "Duo in 3 Movements" for violin and piano, played by Gregory Fulkerson and Jennifer Rinehart.
World premiere of "Two Lyric Pieces" for violin and string orchestra took place at Strathmore Hall by the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Piotr Gajewski with Elena Urioste, violin in March, 2013
NAXOS has issued a new CD of nine of Steven Gerber's solo and chamber works, spanning the period 1967-2001, all performed by violinist Kurt Nikkanen, along with violinists Cho-Liang Lin and Cyrus Beroukhim, cellist Brinton Smith, and pianist Sara Davis Buechner.
Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted the San Francisco Symphony in the world premiere of Steven Gerber's "Music in Dark Times," a 16-minute orchestral work written for and dedicated to Maestro Ashkenazy. There were 4 performances in March, 2009.
Arabesque Recordings released a CD of three of Gerber's orchestral works in September, 2007. Spirituals for string orchestra, Clarinet Concerto, and Serenade Concertante for two violins, string orchestra, and harp, are performed by the Saint Petersburg State Academic Symphony with Vladimir Lande, conductor; Jon Manasse, clarinet; and Jose Cueto and Natalia Malkova, violins.
Gerber's Duet for Solo clarinet received its world premiere at Bargemusic, Brooklyn, N.Y., by Alex Fiterstein on July 7, 2006.
Steven Gerber's Symphony No. 2 received its world premiere on March 26, 2006 by the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Boico.
The Lark Ascending commissioned from Gerber Five Canonic Duos for oboe and bassoon and premiered it in October 2006 at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City.
Steven Gerber's "Fanfare for the Voice of A-M-E-R-I-C-A" was one of three featured pieces by American composers at the 2005 conference of the American Symphony Orchestra League (ASOL) in Washington, D.C. The Fanfare was performed at the new Strathmore Hall in Bethesda, Maryland on June 17 by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Piotr Gajewski, conductor, as part of the conference.
In January, 2005, Jon Manasse, clarinettist, and the National Philharmonic Orchestra under Piotr Gajewski, conductor, gave the world premiere of Gerber's Clarinet Concerto at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Center in Rockville, Maryland.
"Fanfare for the Voice of A-M-E-R-I-C-A," commissioned by Voice of America for its 60th anniversary, was premiered at VOA's auditorium on a 9/11 memorial concert by the University of Maryland Brass Ensemble, Milton Stevens conducting.
"Triple Overture" for violin, cello, piano, and orchestra received its world premiere performances on March 13 and 14, 2004 by the Long Island Philharmonic, David Wiley, conductor.
Gerber's Symphony No. 1 received its U.S. premiere on September 28, 2002 by The Louisville Orchestra, Robert Franz conducting. Dirge and Awakening received its U.S. premiere in March, 2003 by the Skokie Valley Symphony, conducted by Daniel Boico.
The world premiere of Gerber's String Quartet No. 5 was given by the Amernet Quartet in November, 2003 at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center.
At the request of the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Gerber has written a new version of "Spirituals" for string quartet. The first version of the work was for string orchestra, the second version was for clarinet and string quartet.
Four orchestral works of Gerber were released on Chandos in June, 2000: Symphony No. 1, Dirge and Awakening, Viola Concerto, and Triple Overture, performed by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Sanderling, conductor, with Lars Anders Tomter, viola, and the Bekova Sisters Trio. This CD has received excellent reviews throughout the United States and Great Britain (see Reviews).
Concertante Chamber Players commissioned Steven Gerber to write a new work for them for clarinet and string quartet. They gave the first performances in early 2001 at Merkin Hall (New York City) and the Library of Congress, and in Harrisburg and Baltimore. The work, entitled "Spirituals," has also received several performances in Berlin, Indianapolis, Odessa, and Kiev.
In late 2000 KOCH International Classics released a CD of three orchestral works of Steven Gerber, his Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, and Serenade for String Orchestra, with soloists Kurt Nikkanen and Carter Brey and the National Chamber Orchestra under conductor Piotr Gajewski. The NCO received a grant from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music for this recording, and the recording sessions took place after two performances of each work by the orchestra during its 1999-2000 season.
On February 11 and 12, 2001 the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Kirk Trevor, gave the U.S. premieres of Gerber's Serenade Concertante for two violins, string orchestra, and harp.
Violinist Tatyana Grindenko gave the first performance of a work written for her by Steven R. Gerber, Serenade Concertante, in Moscow in April, 1999. Ms. Grindenko, a frequent collaborator with Gidon Kremer (Schnittke's Concerto Grosso and Arvo Pärt's Tabula Rasa were written for the two of them), has been a champion of Mr. Gerber's music, performing his Violin Concerto in Talinn with the Estonian National Philharmonic, in Knoxville with the Knoxville Chamber Orchestra, and numerous times in Russia. Serenade Concertante, as well as the composer's Three Pieces for Two Violins, was written at her request and is dedicated to her. Serenade Concertante was performed in Rachmaninoff Hall at the Moscow Conservatory with the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin (Misha Rachlevsky, music director), which performed Gerber's Serenade for String Orchestra at Merkin Hall, New York City, in October, 1998.
Elegy on the Name "Dmitri Shostakovich" for solo viola was recently released on the French label Suoni e Colori, on a CD in tribute to Shostakovich containing many of Shostakovich's works plus homages to him by Gerber and Schnittke (See Discography).
Violist Yuri Bashmet gave the world premiere of Steven R. Gerber's Viola Concerto at Bashmet's festival in Tours, France in July, 1997. The work, written for and dedicated to Bashmet, uses a melody derived from the letters B-A-S-H-M-E-T as a theme for a set of variations in the second movement.
