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🎶 Happy 100th Birthday, Richard Faith (March 20, 1926 – February 28, 2021)
Today we celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of one of American music’s most quietly indispensable voices. Born in Evansville, Indiana, Richard Faith came of age as a concert pianist — making his solo debut with the Chicago Symphony at just 22 — before a Fulbright Grant took him to Rome’s Accademia di Santa Cecilia to deepen his craft as a composer. From there, he spent nearly three decades as Professor of Piano at the University of Arizona, shaping generations of musicians and producing an extraordinary body of work.
A neo-romantic and above all a melodist, Faith wrote music of rare lyrical warmth in an era when much of the classical world was pulling in the opposite direction. His catalog spans over 120 songs, 4 operas, 16 orchestral works, 3 piano concerti, and more than 60 chamber pieces — instrumental music published primarily by Musik Fabrik — earning him annual ASCAP awards throughout the 1980s. The importance of his vocal music was cemented by Dr. William J. Lavonis, Professor of Voice at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, whose landmark 1991 doctoral dissertation, The Songs of Richard Faith, became the foundation for the acclaimed Leyerle Publications song volumes that brought his music to singers across the country.
Here is the first movement of his Suite for clarinet and piano — music that reflects everything that made Faith distinctive: melodic generosity, harmonic richness, and a deep belief that beauty still had something to say.
For the 100th anniversary of Erik Satie's death on July 1, 2025, Musik Fabrik is proud to present three major new publications honoring his legacy:
1. A monumental album of previously unpublished fragments by Satie, meticulously completed and arranged by James Nye, one of the foremost contemporary scholars of Satie's oeuvre. This collection has just been recorded by the celebrated pianist Alexandre Tharaud, offering a revelatory look into the lesser-known corners of Satie's musical imagination.
2. A new series of editions by Satie expert Robert Orledge, including for the first time the solo piano version of La Belle Excentrique. Long known in its orchestral and four-hand versions, this transcription brings fresh intimacy to one of Satie's most whimsical works.
3. The premiere publication of Gymnopédie by Germaine Tailleferre, a work only recently rediscovered in a film score. This evocative homage reflects Tailleferre's deep admiration for Satie, who often referred to her as "his musical daughter." The piece now takes its rightful place in the centennial celebrations, bridging generations of French modernism.
New Works by Katharine Rawdon: A Flutist's Intimate Soundworld
In Places I Go in My Sleep, Rawdon explores dreamlike states through solo flute, weaving contemporary techniques with historical allusions.
Cerulean Voyage captures the stillness and longing of early pandemic days, with bass flute and piano in meditative interplay.
Music for Bunko offers a playful, theatrical journey inspired by Ed Fuentes' mockumentary, showcasing Rawdon's flair for character and humor.
Road to Mathura is a spiritual voyage for flute and cello, blending Eastern and Western influences in a quest for redemption.
These pieces affirm Rawdon's commitment to expressive, boundary-pushing music, inviting performers and listeners alike to experience her unique artistic vision.
Discover more about Katharine Rawdon and her work here on our site.
New article about Tailleferre's two "Paris" ballets is here
