Gerd Albrecht, German Conductor Is Dead at 78

NYTimes By MARGALIT FOX

Mr. Albrecht, a German, had a volatile run as the first non-Czech to lead the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Gerd Albrecht (19 July 1935 – 2 February 2014) was a German conductor. He was a first-prize winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors at age 22. His first post was as a repetiteur at the Stuttgart State Opera. Later, he became Senior Kapellmeister at the Mainz Municipal Theatre, and Generalmusikdirektor in Lübeck. He also held posts at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and the Hamburg State Opera....Wikipedia

Riziero "Riz" Ortolani (25 March 1926 – 23 January 2014)

In the early 1950s Ortolani was founder and member of a well-known Italian jazz band. He wrote his first score for Paolo Cavara and Gualtiero Jacopetti's pseudo-documentary Mondo Cane, whose main title-song More earned him a Grammy and was also nominated for an Oscar as Best Song. The success of the soundtrack of Mondo Cane led Ortolani to score films in England and the United States such as The 7th Dawn (1964), The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), The Glory Guys (1965) and The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966). Another renowned track was his main-title for the movie O Cangaceiro (1970).

Ortolani scored all or parts of over 200 films, including German westerns like Apache's Last Battle (Old Shatterhand, 1964) and a long series of Italian giallos, spaghetti westerns, Eurospy films, Exploitation films and mondo films. Notable films scored by Ortolani include Il Sorpasso (1962), Io ho paura (1977), Castle of Blood (1964), Anzio (1968), The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968), Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso (1972), Africa Addio (1966), Addio Zio Tom (1971), House on the Edge of the Park (1980), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), and the first series of La Piovra (1984). More wikipedia Bio

Influential MSU composition professor H. Owen Reed dies at 103

Montana composer David Masl

anka, now a grey eminence in the music world at 70, was still searching for his musical voice in the 1970s when he came to Michigan State University. His life changed when he found a kindly but demanding teacher with a gentle Missouri accent, H. Owen Reed. “It’s one of those huge accidents of fate,” Maslanka said. “He was monumental in my growth as a composer.” Reed died Jan. 6 in Athens, Ga., at age 103. He taught at MSU from 1939 to 1976 and remained a vital presence almost until his death.

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Claudio Abbado 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014

Claudio Abbado, a conductor whose refined interpretations of a large symphonic and operatic repertory won him the directorships of several of the world’s most revered musical institutions — including La Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic — died on Monday, January 20, 2014. He was 80.NYTimes Obit
Warm, loving and generous in his relationships, Claudio Abbado inspires tremendous devotion and loyalty in his loved ones.

Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (Italian: [ˈklaudjo abˈbaːdo]; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, and principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra from 1989 to 2002. He was a Senator for life in the Senate of Italy from 2013 to 2014...Wikipedia

Marta Eggerth, 'the Callas of Operetta,' Dies at 101

Marta Eggerth, an operetta star in Europe and the United States who was almost certainly the last living link to the grand musical confections of Franz Lehar and Emmerich Kalman, died on Thursday, December 26, 2013 at her home in Rye, N.Y. Marta Eggerth was a Hungarian-born singer/actress from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz...She was 101....NYTimes Obit
A coloratura soprano, Miss Eggerth was often called “the Maria Callas of operetta” for her vocal facility, great charm and sheer ubiquity — in opera houses, on the concert stage, in the movies and on Broadway — in the 1930s and long afterward. Wikipedia

Jazz flutist-Sax player Yusef Lateef, dies...93.

Grammy-winning musician and composer Yusef Lateef, one of the first to incorporate world music into traditional jazz, has died Monday 23 DEC 2013 at his home in Shutesbury in western Massachusetts. He was 93. Lateef, a tenor saxophonist known for his impressive technique, also became a top flutist. He was a jazz soloist on the oboe and played bassoon. He introduced different types of flutes and other woodwind instruments from many countries into his music and is credited with playing world music before it was officially named. From Wikipedia Bio: Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston, October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community after his conversion to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam in 1950. Although Lateef's main instruments were the tenor saxophone and flute, he also played oboe and bassoon, both rare in jazz, and also used a number of non-western instruments such as the bamboo flute, shanai, shofar, xun, arghul and koto. He is known for having been an innovator in the blending of jazz with "Eastern" music. Peter Keepnews, in his New York Times obituary of Lateef, wrote that the musician "played world music before world music had a name."

Herman "Trigger" Alpert passed away on Sunday, December 22, 2013.

Herman "Trigger" Alpert (born September 3, 1916) was an American jazz double-bassist. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Alpert attended Indiana University in the late 1930s and moved to New York City, where he played with Alvino Rey in 1940 and with Glenn Miller soon after. Over the course of the 1940s he played with Tex Beneke, Benny Goodman, Bud Freeman, Ella Fitzgerald, Muggsy Spanier, Roy Eldridge, Louis Armstrong, Ray McKinley, Bernie Leighton (1945–46), Frank Sinatra, Woody Herman, and Jerry Jerome. In the 1950s he worked with Artie Shaw, Coleman Hawkins, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Mundell Lowe, Don Elliott, Gene Krupa, and Buddy Rich. He released one album as a bandleader on Riverside Records in 1956, entitled Trigger Happy!. Tony Scott, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Joe Wilder, Urbie Green, and Ed Shaughnessy all appear on the album. In 1970 he left music and took up photography. - Wikipedia

Chico Hamilton (born Foreststorn Hamilton, September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013)

Great musician was an American jazz drummer and bandleader.

Chico Hamilton recorded his first album as leader in 1955 with George Duvivier (double-bass) and Howard Roberts (jazz guitar) for Pacific Jazz. In same year Hamilton formed an unusual quintet in L.A. featuring cello, flute, guitar, bass and drums. The quintet has been described as one of the last important West Coast Jazz bands. The original personnel included flutist Buddy Collette, guitarist Jim Hall [who died December 10, 2013], cellist Fred Katz [whi died September 7, 2013] and bassist Jim Aton, who was later replaced by Carson Smith. Hamilton continued to tour, using different personnel, from 1957 to 1960. The group including flutist Paul Horn and John Pisano was featured in the filmSweet Smell of Success in 1957. The same group, this time including Eric Dolphy appeared in the film Jazz on a Summer's Day in 1960.  Wikipedia Bio

Jim Hall, Master Jazz Guitarist Who Played With the Greats, Dies at 83

James Stanley Hall (December 4, 1930 – December 10, 2013) was an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger.

Hall's musical style develops with every new album and collaboration he engages in. His approach to music is unique - he views music as a way to break all barriers, not limited to music, as well as to share his discoveries with others. Music is a vehicle of peace for Hall and he therefore makes it a goal to reach out to others and communicate his music, teaching seminars all over the world. He is innovative and always interested in new modes of musical expression to further his ability...from Wikipedia Bio

Conrad Susa, 78, Composer and Teacher, Dies

Conrad Susa, a composer for the voice, for the theater and for the operatic stage, where voice and theater converge, died on Nov. 21 2013, at his home in San Francisco. He was 78. NYTimes 

Conrad Stephen Susa (April 26, 1935 – November 21, 2013) was an American composer, particularly known for his operas. His 1973 chamber opera, Transformations, set to texts from the poems of Anne Sexton, is one of the most frequently performed operas by an American composer and was one of the featured operas of the 2006 Wexford Opera Festival. His other compositions include choral works and incidental music for various plays. His music is published by the E.C. Schirmer Music Company.
Susa was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania and educated at Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Juilliard School, where his teachers included William Bergsma, Vincent Persichetti and, by his own claim, P. D. Q. Bach, a character created by American composer Peter Schickele. In 1988 he joined the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he served as Chair of the Composition Department....from Wikipedia Bio

John Tavener dead at 69

John Tavener, a British composer known for his meditative, sometimes passionate sacred works and colorfully scored orchestral pieces — including the popular cello concerto “The Protecting Veil,” and the haunting “Song for Athene,” which was performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales — died on Tuesday, 12 November 2013,  at his home in Child Okeford, in southern England. He was 69.

The British composer John Tavener in 2007 at his home in Dorset, in southern England. Mr. Tavener, a composer informed by Orthodox Christianity, was heard throughout the world in his elegy, performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales...NYTimes Obit | Home Page

Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was a British composer, known for his extensive output of religious works, including The Whale, "The Protecting Veil" and "Song for Athene". He began as a prodigy; in 1968, at the age of 24, he was described by The Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year", while The Times said he was "among the very best creative talents of his generation." During his career he became one of the best known and popular composers of his generation. Tavener was knighted in 2000 for his services to music and won an Ivor Novello Award...Wikipedia

Oscar Castro-Neves dies at 73

Famous bossa nova guitarist and orchestrator was well known from age 16, Oscar Castro-Neves toured with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz and orchestrated music for films and TV. Oscar Castro-Neves, was a Brazilian guitarist, arranger, and composer who is considered a founding figure in Bossa nova. He was born in Rio de Janeiro as one of triplets and formed a band with his brothers in his youth. 

Wikipedia Bio

Fred Katz dies at 94; musician, composer

brought cello to jazz Pianist and cellist Fred Katz, who studied under Pablo Casals, was a high school dropout who scored Roger Corman films, backed Lena Horne and Tony Bennett, and taught college anthropology...LATimes | Wikipedia

Marian McPartland, Jazz Pianist and NPR Radio Staple, Dies at 95

Ms. McPartland, an articulate spokeswoman for music, was on the radio for more than 30 years. She recorded for labels like Savoy and Capitol. 

Margaret Marian McPartland, OBE (20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English-born jazz pianist, composer, and writer. She was the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio from 1978 until she stepped down at the end of 2011.

  Wikipedia | NYTimes Obit

Traditional POP singer Eydie Gorme has died

Eydie Gorme, a popular nightclub and television singer as a solo act and as a team with her husband, Steve Lawrence, has died. She was 84. Gorme, who also had a huge solo hit in 1963 with "Blame it on the Bossa Nova," died Saturday, August 10, 2013, at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas following a brief, undisclosed illness. Gorme was a successful band singer and nightclub entertainer before joining Steve Allen's local New York television show in 1953. 

 Eydie Gormé August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013 She was an American singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. She earned numerous awards, including the Grammy and the Emmy. She retired in 2009 and died in 2013; Steve Lawrence continues to perform as a solo act. Wikipedia

Regina Resnik, Metropolitan Opera Star, Dies at 90

Regina Resnik (August 30, 1922 – August 8, 2013) was an American mezzo-soprano operatic singer

NYTimes Obit
She started a dramatic career ten months after earning her B.A. in Music at Hunter College. The role was Lady Macbeth under Fritz Busch in December, 1942 with the New Opera Company. A few months later, she sang Fidelio and Micaela under Erich Kleiber in Mexico City. In between she sang Santuzza with the fledgling New York City Opera and, performing "Ernani, involami", won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air and her contract with that company for the 1944-45 season. More from Wikipedia

Bruno Bartoletti, Maestro Who Shaped Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dies at 86

Bartoletti was considered a superb interpreter of the 19th- and early-20th-century music of Italian masters. NYTimes Obit Bruno Bartoletti (Sesto Fiorentino, 10 June 1926 – Florence, 9 June 2013) was an Italian operatic conductor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory and contemporary works. He studied at the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, and made his debut in that city conducting Rigoletto in 1953. After conducting throughout Italy, he would become in turn artistic director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1957–64) and the Rome Opera (1965–73). He became permanent conductor at the Copenhagen Opera (1957–60), and at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1956, becoming its artistic director in 1964. He is invited at the Glyndebourne Festival, the Salzburg Festival, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, also appearing at the Royal Opera House in London, the Paris Opera, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. His career was exclusively dedicated to opera, and he conducted several world premieres of works by composers such as Lodovico Rocca, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Alberto Ginastera and Krzysztof Penderecki, and took part in several opera recordings. He also devoted himself to teaching at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. Wikipedia

Composer, conductor pop music BOB THOMPSON (1924-2013)

Bob Thompson (born Robert Lamar Thompson, August 24, 1924, San Jose, California - died May 21, 2013, in Los Angeles He was a composer, arranger, and orchestra leader from the 1950s through the 1980s. Active in Los Angeles, Thompson was a recording artist for RCA Victor, scored film and television soundtracks, and wrote commercial jingles. He composed, arranged, and conducted orchestra for such artists as Rosemary Clooney, Mae West, Julie London, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Duane Eddy, Judy Garland, Jerry Lewis, Van Dyke Parks, Phil Ochs, and many others. Wikipedia Thompson is considered a prime exponent of what has belatedly been termed "space age pop," or "space age bachelor pad music." This style of breezy, experimental orchestral music became popular in the 1950s and 1960s following the introduction of the long-playing microgroove record and the advent of high-fidelity and stereo home audio systems, which allowed enhanced sonic reproduction. The writer and arranger provided the hi-fi soundtrack for a swinging-bachelor lifestyle. ON THE ROCKS | OFFICIAL SITE Thompson was one of the foremost composers and arrangers of what came to be known as "Space Age bachelor pad" music – tunes that allowed hi-fi buffs to turn the lights down low, mix the perfect martini and show off their tweeters and woofers. With cascading strings, upbeat rhythms and – as in his piece "Mmm Nice!" – breathy female singers, Thompson's music set a mood, but was more than mood music. Thompson, 88, who also wrote and arranged radio and TV commercials, died May 21, 2013 in a Los Angeles nursing home, family members said. He had Alzheimer's disease. In the late 1950s, he signed with RCA Victor to create such albums as "On the Rocks," with a cover featuring a bikini-clad model lolling in a giant cocktail glass. They were designed to appeal to swinging young guys who wanted to test their stereos and, if they were lucky, their testosterone. Born Aug. 22, 1924 in San Jose, Robert Lamar Thompson grew up in rural Auburn, Calif., a town his parents thought healthier for a boy with asthma. He started learning piano at 10, teaching himself at a fairground on one he found under a tarp. Thompson studied music for a year at UC Berkeley but later said he learned more at KGO, a San Francisco radio station where he worked his way up from pageboy to arranger for the house orchestra. He tried composing during a brief stint in Paris but, looking for steadier work, he headed back to California and wound up playing at a piano bar in Los Angeles. He held a variety of odd musical jobs, accompanying Mae West on tour and writing the 1955 "Criswell Predicts," a swinging tribute to the busty vamp's favorite psychic. Thompson also arranged several albums for Rosemary Clooney and worked with Bing Crosby. But Thompson drew his inspiration from Maurice Ravel, Duke Ellington, and George Gershwin, said his son, who, until he was in his 20s, never heard his father discuss his pop albums.

Paul Olefsky, a Cellist and Educator, Dies at 87

Paul Olefsky, a cellist celebrated for his rich tone, impeccable musicianship and commitment to the work of contemporary composers, died on Saturday,1 June 2013, in Austin, Texas. He was 87. MORE, NYTimes | University of Texas, Austin | Legacy.com Obit

Henri Dutilleux, Modernist Composer, Dies at 97

•  Dutilleux, Modernist Composer, Dies at 97

NYTimes Obit
Henri Dutilleux (French: [ɑ̃ʁi dytijø]; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His work, which has garnered international acclaim, follows in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in an idiosyncratic style. Wikipedia