podcast 52-Fred Lerdahl

Composer Conversations with Daniel Vezza

Fred is a New York based composer whose music has been commissioned and performed by major chamber ensembles and orchestras. His seminal book A Generative Theory of Tonal Music, co-authored with linguist Ray Jackendoff, is a founding document for the growing field of the cognitive science of music. He studied at Lawrence University, Princeton, and Tanglewood. He has taught at UC/Berkeley, Harvard, and Michigan, and since 1991 has been Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University, where he directs the composition program. Three of his works composed since 2000 - Time after Time for chamber ensemble, the Third String Quartet, and Arches for cello and chamber orchestra – have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in music. You can listen to more of his music at www.fredlerdahl.com.

In out conversation we talk about his time studying at Tanglewood and with Milton Babbitt at Princeton, the differences in his approach to composing and music theory, and the changing academic landscape in the field of composition.