A Midwest native (WI, MN), Marga Richter earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition from The Juilliard School. She has written over 150 works, encompassing virtually every genre. Her orchestral music has been performed by more than 50 orchestras including the Atlanta, Oklahoma, and Milwaukee Symphonies and the Minnesota Orchestra, and recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
She has received two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships (for orchestral pieces), commissions from MGM Records, The Harkness Ballet, The Eastern Music Festival, and more, and awards from Meet The Composer, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund, and ASCAP.
NEW YORK DEBUT CONCERT
“Her most valuable attributes are an original sense of rhythm, of drama in choice of materials and…an ability to make her own forms grow from the very nature of her materials and ideas.” — Peggy Glanville-Hicks – New York Tribune – 02/04/51
CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND VIOLAS, CELLOS AND BASSES
“I do not recall hearing a new piano concerto with such keen interest since the second concerto of Ravel was unveiled… It communicates a sense of adventure. It goes places.”
— Alfred Frankenstein – San Francisco Chronicle – 12/12/57
LANDSCAPES OF THE MIND I – CONCERTO FOR PIANO WITH ORCHESTRA
“It is an extraordinary piece…Over its 30-minute length…(it) challenges, compels, soothes, stimulates, and ultimately enthralls.” — Derrick Henry – The Atlanta Journal/The Atlanta Constitution – 03/22/86
VARIATIONS AND INTERLUDES ON THEMES FROM MONTEVERDI AND BACH – CONCERTO FOR PIANO, VIOLIN AND CELLO
“..there’s something wild and very strange about it, something inimitable, personal, unforgettable: this music doesn’t sound like anybody else’s…and the way the composer’s mind works…is likewise distinctive.” — Michael Redmond, music critic
A full-length biography, Marga Richter by Sharon Mirchandani, was published in 2012 by the University of Illinois Press.
Albums
Playing on the Edge
Catalog Number: NV6249
Described as having “Versatility and flair with lively improvisations” by the New York Times and being “always compelling and always exhilarating” by Imperfect Fifths, NYC-based Sirius Quartet is only the most natural choice for showcasing the genius of five genre-bending contemporary composers. Navona Records’ PLAYING ON THE EDGE brings inspiration and experience from all walks of life into one string quartet collection with the music of composers Jennifer Castellano, Ian Erickson, Brian Field, Marga Richter, and Mari Tamaki.
Sparks
Catalog Number: NV6050
