Journeys: an interview with composer Gary William Friedman
He once performed a comic bit with Judy Garland. He grew up playing woodwinds in dance bands. As a composer, he’s won OBIE and DRAMA DESK awards, been nominated for Tony awards, written ballets, liturgical works, operas, orchestral music, film scores, award-winning jazz songs, and now he’s written a piano concerto.
Meet Gary William Friedman. With a career that began in the last half of the 20th century and is still thriving today, Friedman’s music spans many different genres and reflects the melting pot of styles, stories, musical tastes, and life experiences that have formed him as a composer and a person. “Journeys,” the piano concerto that is the title composition of this lovely album which includes a string quartet and a cantata, is rich with the strong lyricism of Friedman’s songwriting, the storytelling of his lifelong immersion in theater, and the musical influences of his love of all styles of music. He’s unafraid of lush, Romantic phrases, and in the opulent line of his phrases, one finds beautiful moments, poignancy, and hope. It’s an honor to feature Gary William Friedman and his music on No Dead Guys.
I read that you were first exposed to music through your mother, who sang “Yiddish chestnuts” on local radio. At what age did you develop an interest in creating music yourself and what was your first instrument?
The Brooklyn home of my youth was constantly filled with music. My mom had a lovely deep voice and would accompany herself on the Accordion. She appeared on local radio programs as well as family gatherings.
Those emotional Yiddish songs like “My Yiddishe Momme”, and “Bei Mir Bist Du Shein”, still remain with me and move me to this day.
I started out playing Alto Sax, Clarinet and Flute on various gigs like local dances and celebratory events going on to play with the Catskill Mountain hotel bands.
My favorite memory is when I performed a comic bit with Judy Garland at the famed Concord Hotel. She got a kick out of that skinny kid in the band (me) partially hidden behind a big Baritone Sax which I was playing at the time for her appearance. My interest in composing music, however, came later on.
How old were you when you began composing music and what was your first composition?
After my sophomore year at Brooklyn College (BC), I took a break to join The Blue Chips, a quartet which performed throughout the US in venues from beer joints to Reno hotels. We were four guys who functioned as an ‘act’ which included jazz-influenced instrumental and vocal arrangements of pop songs as well as Peter Lorre imitations.
However, after six months of traveling around the country I grew disenchanted with the grind and realized that it was time for me to reach for more meaningful goals in life and in music. After a performance in Festus, Missouri, I quit the band and returned to BC to finish college and pursue my life as a composer.
I began to study music privately with several different teachers – the first of whom was Isadore Gordon, a man who along with Stravinsky was the only living surviving pupil of Rimsky Korsakov. None of the private teachers inspired me to continue with them.
When I became acquainted with the brilliant composer Jan Meyerowitz who was teaching composition at BC, I knew he was the mentor and teacher for me. It took much to convince him to take me on as a private student. He would try to put me off by telling me I was too fragile and too pale to withstand the rigors of serious study! I persisted – and he finally agreed to take me on.
My first musical composition was Woodwind Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon.
Your storied career has gained you many awards, most notably OBIE and DRAMA DESK awards and five Tony nominations for the 1970 groundbreaking musical The Me Nobody Knows. What inspired you to write a musical about the lives of low-income children in New York?
Upon completing two years of postgraduate work at BC, I obtained a substitute teacher’s license which enabled me to ‘keep the lights on’. I taught in various schools in different areas of the city, giving me firsthand insights into the thoughts and feelings of young people.
Herb Schapiro, with whom I was working on an opera and who was also a teacher in his own right, shared with me that he was having his students recite on the streets of Trenton, NJ excerpts from a new paperback entitled “The Me Nobody Knows” - a compilation of touching, funny and scary poems and stories written by young people living in what was then called a ‘ghetto’.
I sensed the potential for a musical and inherently knew this might be a meaningful moment for me.
Tell me a bit about your work as a film composer. How did you break into it and which of your many soundtracks is your favorite?
While having lunch with a friend at the Friar’s Club in NYC, my music publisher who was also there told me to call him. Later, when we spoke, he told me that he’d recommended me to score a film for an upcoming television film.
I was subsequently hired as composer for My Two Loves - my first film, starring Lynne Redgrave and Mariette Hartley. This opened the door to my composing scores for several films for television and theatrical release.
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be A Bump in The Night, starring Christopher Reeve.
Given your decades of success in so many genres of music, including critically acclaimed jazz recordings with your wife, vocalist and lyricist, Stevie Holland, what drew you to begin writing classical concert works?
The very first LP I purchased as a young kid back in Brooklyn was the Mercury Records recording of Aaron Copland’s Third Symphony with Antal Dorati conducting the Minneapolis Symphony. I hasten to share that in my zeal to own it, I forgot that I didn’t have a record player on which to play it!
While in those early jazz band years, I made several attempts to compose but I simply didn’t have the tools.
It wasn’t until I returned to Brooklyn College and began studying composition that Classical Music became my desired genre.
However, I never forsook my need and desire to continue writing songs.
Congratulations on the release of your second classical album, Journeys! Tell me about your decision to put a piano concerto, a string quartet, and a cantata on the same album. In what ways do you feel these pieces best complement each other?
Thank you.
The emotional arc of each piece comes from a very personal place, which I hope is the connective thread.
The Piano Concerto, “Journeys”reflects substantial life challenges and memories, while “Palimpsest String Quartet” examines musical and motivic influences which I wanted to re-examine and complete.
“Butterfly Cantata”, is at once a celebration of the human spirit, while also being my personal cry for the world to never be apathetic towards genocide.
I found the entire album to be a wonderful celebration of gorgeous melodies and sweeping, hopeful moments, especially your piano concerto, “Journeys.” Was this your first concerto? If so, what inspired you to compose it?
Thank you for your kind words, Rhonda.
My first concerto was “Passages”, a clarinet concerto. With “Journeys”, I was eager to explore working with a much larger orchestral canvas, as the inspiration I was drawing from was the journeys of my life thus far.
I understand that you’re primarily a woodwind player. How challenging was it to write a concert level piano work?
I’ve studied writing for every instrument, in addition to taking advanced piano lessons at age forty. All my compositional work flows directly from inside my head to pencil and score paper.
I’d say that composing a piano concerto is as ultimately challenging and demanding as composing any of my works. An overriding ‘reason’ and motivation for the piece comes first, followed by deep concentration and dedication of time and energy.
All three movements of “Journeys” overflow with lush lines and sweeping melodies that feel very cinematic. How much did story influence this music, if at all?
Each of the movements of “Journeys”, though not ostensively ‘programmatic’, touch upon specific events in my life. The first movement is influenced by youthful promise and vigor reflected with the opening ascending solo piano figure. The second movement reflects the middle years of dealing with the loss of a spouse. The blessings of renewed hope, love, and survival are reflected in the third movement.
Your second movement of “Journeys” was particularly poignant and full of tenderness and warmth. Did your song writing background influence the first piano entrance? If so, how?
My songwriting is mostly influenced by lyrics. The second movement of “Journeys” came from a particular time of struggle and loss which left me questioning the true meaning of life.
After over 50 years of compositional success, what do you feel are the underlying influences and themes that connect all your works?
The Yiddish songs of my youth and their melismatic beauty, jazz, Charlie Parker, Gil Evans’s arrangements, the twelve-tone world of Schoenberg, the brilliance of Stravinsky, the brashness of Bernstein, and the endless discoveries in my creative collaboration with unique and inspirational Stevie Holland; all of these influences inspire and motivate me to continue learning and creating, and to hopefully compose works that are meaningful, exciting and original.
What advice can you offer other composers who wish to make a career for themselves in multiple musical genres?
Stay focused and remain unafraid to forge ahead alone.
Listen to your own heart.
Seek to venture upon untrod paths.
Remember that ‘rejection’ comes with the territory.
Never forget that if one is given the gift of talent, share it, and reap the joys of your efforts.
American composer Gary William Friedman has led a storied musical life, bridging the genres of classical, jazz, film, television, ballet, opera, and theatre. Perhaps best known for the 1970 groundbreaking musical The Me NobodyKnows, which received OBIE and DRAMA DESK Awards for best musical and five TONY nominations, he has never contented himself to writing in one field; his versatility has allowed him to be equally respected as a classical artist and as a popular and commercially viable composer.
Journeys marks the second album of classical works recorded by Friedman released on the 150 Music label. His previous release was Colloquy, which was released in 2008 to glowing critical reviews. “Friedman is a composer whose forays into musical theatre and liturgical works bleed into his ‘contemporary classical,’” wrote Kraig Lamper in the American Record Guide. “It fails to hinder him and, instead, fleshes out his efforts…” And in Fanfare Magazine, Robert Schulslaper echoed this idea: “Gary William Friedman impresses as a composer who has mastered his craft… his music successfully combines accessibility with artistic integrity, lyricism with abstraction, and abundant heart with refined design.”
Other recently recorded classical works include “Reflections”, a chamber work performed by the Palisades Virtuosi on Albany Records New American Masters, Volume 6. His orchestral, operatic and dance works have been commissioned and performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Lancaster Music Festival, the Columbus Symphony and The Festival at Sandpoint, Idaho.
EARLY LIFE
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Gary William Friedman was first exposed to music from hearing his mother sing Yiddish chestnuts on local radio. During his teenage years, he was influenced by Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, and Alban Berg, but also curious about the pioneering jazz of Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker, and Tito Puente. He learned to play saxophone, clarinet, and flute and worked in local jazz groups as well as in the show bands of the Catskill Mountain resorts. While attending Brooklyn College, Friedman studied composition privately with Hall Overton. He received his bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College and continued to study composition privately for four years with Jan Meyerowitz. After completing his post-graduate studies in education at Brooklyn College, he worked as a New York City licensed teacher, in various public schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan. He enrolled at Columbia University to study electronic music composition with Vladimir Ussachevsky, at the Columbia-Princeton Laboratory. From there he embarked on an path of performing, arranging, and writing music for decades to come. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Brooklyn College in 2024.
OPERAS
Friedman has written three operas: “Mordecai,” (libretto by Robert Reinhold) premiered in concert at the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City in 1979; “Waning Powers” (libretto by Gerald Walker), premiered in concert, January 14, 1986, at the Vineyard Theater in New York City, and “Teddy,” (libretto by Herb Schapiro), which was developed in collaboration with and performed in concert in 2002 by Encompass New Opera Theatre in New York City.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
Symphonic works include “Haskalah,” which premiered with the Columbus Symphony (1984), and “Accordion Samba,” commissioned by The American Accordionists' Association and premiered December 9, 2005, at Elebash Recital Hall in New York City. In 2010 he was invited, as "Maestro of the Moment", to conduct an evening of his works, with the Davenport Pops Orchestra, at Yale University. “Ligeia,” the first movement of a triptych, a chamber work inspired by the short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, had its world premiere with the Pit Stop Players at The DiMenna Center for the Arts in NYC, October 30, 2011.
The two subsequent movements, “The Raven” and “A Dream Within a Dream,” were premiered by the Pit Stop Players in 2015 and 2016.
BALLETS
Friedman has scored several ballets, including “The Pied Piper,” choreographed by Mercedes Ellington, which was commissioned and performed by Tales and Scales. It premiered at the Lancaster Music Festival, July 1994, and was subsequently presented by the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, March 12, 1995.
His ballet “Puss N' Boots” (1998), choreographed by Melinda Baker, was commissioned and conducted by Gary Sheldon for the Lancaster Music Festival. It was subsequently performed at the Festival at Sandpoint, Idaho in August 2008.
LITURGICAL WORKS
“Celebration,” a contemporary setting of the traditional Jewish Friday Night Hebrew Service, initially commissioned by RogerStevens for The Kennedy Center (1971), had its premiere, October 19, 1973, at Temple Israel of the City of New York. “Song of Songs,” a liturgical work scored for cantor, choir and orchestra, was commissioned and performed in 1988, by Cantor Nate Lam, at Stephen Wise Synagogue, Los Angeles, CA, and “An AmericanS'Lichot,” commissioned and performed by Cantor Jack Chomsky in 1983 at Congregation Tifereth Israel, Columbus, OH. “An American S'Lichot” continues to receive performances on the S'lichot holy day, at synagogues throughout the UnitedStates. Notable performances include 2014 at the Washington Hebrew Congregationin D.C., where Friedman conducted Cantors Mikhail Manevich and Susan Bortnick.
MUSICALS
Friedman's musicals include Taking My Turn, winner of the Outer Critic's Circle Award in 1983, featuring a cast that included Margaret Whiting, Marni Nixon, and Cissy Houston. It was subsequently presented on PBS Television's Great Performance Series. The Last Supper, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's completion of the famous mural, premiered Off-Broadwayat St. Luke's Theater in 2000. It has been performed in church and community theatres around the country annually.
FILM
Film scores include "Full Moon High"(Feature, 1981), starring Alan and Adam Arkin, "Who Gets the Friends"(T.V., 1988), starring Luci Arnaz and Jill Clayburgh, and "Bump in theNight" (T.V., 1991), starring Christopher Reeve. In 1975 Friedman served as Music Director for television's "The Electric Company,” for which hewrote over sixty songs, including the popular "Spider Man Theme Song".
THEATRE
Another facet of Friedman’s career took shape in the 1960s, when he allied himself with Ellen Stewart’s legendary LaMama Theatre and composing numerous scores for plays by Paul Foster, Tom Eyen, and Jean-Claude van Itallie, among others. With the 1971 Broadway triumph of The Me Nobody Knows, he experienced international success. The musical went on to be performed throughout the world, in cities such as Hamburg, London, Paris and Johannesburg. Two songs from the show; "Light Sings" recorded by the Fifth Dimension, and "This World" recorded by the Staples Singers, became top 'pop singles'. In 1980, the show was produced as a 'live' special for a “Showtime” television presentation. It was introduced and hosted by James Earl Jones. The musical continues to be performed in stock and amateur venues.
COLLABORATION WITH STEVIE HOLLAND
From 2000 to the present, Friedman has co-produced, composed original material, and created the arrangements for several internationally acclaimed jazz recordings by his wife, vocalist and lyricist, Stevie Holland. Their album, Before Love Has Gone (150 Music), was chosen by USA Today as a Top Critic’s Pick of The Year, 2008.
Together Friedman and Holland created the one-woman musical Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter, for which Friedman also wrote the arrangements and original music. The work had its Off-Broadway premiere in 2013 at the York Theatre, starring Holland and directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. Love, Lindacontinues to be performed across the globe. It was filmed in 2021, earning awards at independent festivals and is streaming on Amazon Prime / BroadwayHD.