David Loeb Music - Compositions

DAVID LOEB

List of Compositions

Although David Loeb began composing at the age of six, he destroyed everything he had written prior to beginning his studies at Mannes (not to mention some things written much later). Nevertheless the works written since then now number well over one thousand, and he continues to produce new compositions in diverse media frequently. Moving back and forth between residences in New York and Kyoto and often making shorter trips from both places actually increases his output rather than slowing it down. Changes of climate, cuisine, culture, language, art, and above all music seem to provide considerable stimulation for creativity.

The largest portion of his output, as one naturally would expect, is for conventional Western instruments, ranging from unaccompanied solos and vocal and chamber pieces to compositions for orchestra. He also has composed extensively for East Asian instruments (mostly Japanese) and for early Western instruments (mostly for viols). He takes particular interest in combining instruments from different categories, finding the challenges of reconciling their very different modes of expression far more attractive than simply presenting those differences merely for the sake of obtaining abrupt surface contrasts. Of course composing such pieces convincingly requires a most thorough study of many traditions, which has been a continuous process since he began composing for these instruments more than a half-century ago. An important part of that study was the mastering of various traditional systems of notation, since sometimes one must prepare pieces in traditional tablature notation for the benefit of certain players, often highly versatile and capable musicians who do not read scores in Western notation well enough to perform from them.

Lists of published and recorded compositions will be found elsewhere in this site.

(A more detailed list will be posted in the future)