Music Department Faculty
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick
Professor
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick
D.M.A.
Contact
Telephone: 617-552-2514
Email: ralf.gawlick@bc.edu
Education
- B.M. University of California, Santa Barbara
- M.M. University of Texas at Austin
- D.M.A. New England Conservatory
Courses
MUSA 1200 Introduction to Music
MUSA 1100 Fundamentals of Music
MUSA 2100 Harmony
MUSA 2209 Twentieth Century Music
MUSA3100 Chromatic Harmony
MUSA 3106 Counterpoint
MUSA 3120 Seminar in Composition
MUSA 3126 Tonal Composition
Office Hours
Fridays 1:00-2:00 p.m. for students, all others by appointment
Department
Biography
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick is a German-American composer of Romani-Kurdish descent. His works include solo, chamber, orchestral, electro-acoustic, film and choral music, traversing a wide range of styles and often exploring aspects of his complex international heritage. His music has been commissioned and championed by a wide range of artists and organizations, attracting international acclaim from audiences and critics. In recent years his electro-acoustic work Herzliche Grüße Bruno ~ Briefe aus Stalingrad, eight-voice Missa Gentis Humanæ, song cycle Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände), Kinderkreuzzug cantata and autobiographical string quartet Imagined Memories have exemplified his remarkably diverse output, with its frequent references to the highlights of the Western musical canon and rigorous compositional standards. Gawlick’s most recent composition, an oratorio entitled O Lungo Drom (The Long Road), was commissioned by the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien and is dedicated to Romani Rose, Chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma. His music, published by several firms, has been performed internationally (in venues including Konzerthaus Berlin, Vienna’s Musikverein, New York’s Carnegie Hall) and is recorded on the Musica Omnia, Perfect Noise and Decca Eloquence labels in composer-supervised performances by the works’ dedicatees. Gawlick is currently working on Die Ursitory, an opera based on Matéo Maximoff’s novel of the same name. This opera contains many "firsts": Die Ursitory is the first novel written by a Rom, on a Romani theme, and now set to music by a Romani composer. In this way, Maximoff's seminal story receives a unique realization from within, rather than being viewed through the lens and stereotypes of non-Roma, as in all previous operas with Roma (G*psy) themes. A professor at Boston College, Ralf Gawlick lives in Newton, MA, with his wife and fellow musician, Basia.
Compositions
O Lungo (D)rom op.22 (2020-2021) Soprano, Baritone, Flute, Clarinet, Cimbalom, Piano, String Quartet, 60 min.
(Texts drawn from Maya, Mãnuš, Schöpf, Iliaz, Makhotin, Stojka, Haliti, Smith, Krasnici, Lagrene, Papusza, Loleshyte, Maximoff) Commissioned by the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien in conjunction with the Documentation and Cultural Center of German Sinti and Roma in Heidelberg, Germanny
Herzliche Grüße Bruno ~ Briefe aus Stalingrad (Eine musikalische Gedenkstätte) op.21 (2017-2018)
Baritone, 2 Pianos, Sound Montage, 53 min.
Imagined Memories (Bîranînên Xeyalî) op.20 (2014 - 2016) String Quartet, 46 min.
Commissioned by the Hugo Wolf Quartet
Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände) op.19 (2012-2013) Soprano, Guitar, 55 min.
Commissioned by Anne Harley and the Rose Augustine Foundation
Sorores (Frauenpartita) op.18 (2011) Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Violin , Cello, 26 min.
Commissioned by Etoile Productions and Boston College
Suscipe Domine op.17a (2011) Alto, Violin, Cello, 9 min.
(Text: St. Ignatius)
Commissioned by T. Frank Kennedy, S.J., and the Jesuit Institute, Boston College
Quando il Fiume Giallo si acchiararà (Frammenti ricciani) op.17 (2011) Alto, Violin, Cello, 28 min.
(Text: Matteo Ricci and St. Ignatius)
Commissioned by Jeremy Clarke, S.J., Boston College
Missa gentis humanæ op.16 (2008-2010) Eight-voice a cappella chorus (CCAATTBB), 53 min.
(Texts drawn from the Ordinary of the Mass, Borges, Virgil, Brecht, Dostoevsky, Plautus, Herbert, Scott and the
Gospel of St. John)
Commissioned by Michael Noone and Ensemble Plus Ultra
Published by ECS Publishing, Boston, MA
Berlin Suite op.15 (2009) String Quartet, 26 min.
Commissioned by the German Embassy (Washington D.C.) and Boston College
Ich schreite kaum… op.14 (2006-2007) Small Orchestra, 11 min.
Commissioned by Kirk Trevor and the Missouri Symphony Orchestra
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata) op.13 (2004-2005) Children’s Choir, Sanctus bells, Clarinet, String Trio (Vln,Vla,Vc), Organ, 38 min.
(Text: Bertolt Brecht)
Commissioned by Jacek Sykulski and the Poznan Boys Choir
Published by ECS Publishing, Boston , MA
Zrodlo (The Source) op.12 (2004) Soprano Solo, Chorus (SATB), Large Orchestra, 12 min.
(Text: Karol Woytyla)
Commissioned by the Moniuszko Society
Glocken-Spiel op.11 (2004) Piano Quartet, 16 min.
…de la mas sabrosa y agradable vida… op.10 (2003) Large Orchestra, 16 min.
Commissioned by Max Hobart and the Boston Civic Symphony Orchestra
At the still point of the turning world op.9 (2001-2002) Solo Cello, 14-50 min.
(variable durations attributed to formal possibilities)
Commissioned by Composers in Red Sneakers
Chamber Triptych opp.6-8:
Sonata-Mazur (Aus der Ferne…) op.8 (2000-2001) Violin and Piano, 25 min.
Concerto Concertante per Sei Instrumenti op.7 (1998-1999) 2 Pianos and String Quartet, 27 min.
Mysteriun doloris quintae (Tropen-Kreuz) op.6 (1996-1997) Solo Piano, 21 min.
Published by Brazinmusikanta Publications, Amityville, NY
An die Nachgeborenen (3) op.5 (1995) Low male voice, 3 Oboes, 3 Tenor Trombones,
String Trio (vln, vla, vc), 15 min.
(Text: Bertolt Brecht)
Sinfonietta op.4 (1994) Chamber Orchestra, 25 min.
Trio op.3 (1993) Violin, Cello, Piano, 18 min.
Treny op.2 (1993) Baritone and Piano (Text: Jan Kochanowski) 20 min.
Satz für Streichquartett op.1 (1992) String Quartet, 11 min.
Music for Film
Music for “Dziad i Baba” (DVD) – Independent animation film by Basia Goszczynska (2011), 7 min.
Music (Berlin Suite) for “Berlin Holocaust Memorial” (DVD) – film documentary by John Michalczyk for Jacques Salmanowitz Program (2010), 4 min.
Music (Berlin Suite) for “Writing on the Wall: Remembering the Berlin Wall” (DVD) – film documentary by John Michalczyk and Ronald Marsh (2009), 57 min.
Recent Performances
Berlin Suite & Sorores, 30th anniversary concert commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall: Berlin Walls (What still devides us), Chestnut Hill, September 2019
Richard Shaughnessy, cl; Diane Heffner, bass cl; Omar Chen Guey Katherine Winterstein, vlns; Noriko Futagami, vla; Rafael Popper-Keizer, vc
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children's Chorus and Chamber Ensemble); 'Gedenkkonzert: 80 Jahre Kriegsbeginn in Europa', Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund, Jost Salm, conductor, Dortmund, Germany, September 2019
Kollwitz-Konnex (... im Frieden seiner Hände), Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, July 2019
Anne Harley, soprano; Steve Thachuk, guitar
Kollwitz-Konnex (... im Frieden seiner Hände), Toronto Summer Music Festival, Toronto, Canada, July 2019
Anne Harley, soprano; Steve Thachuk, guitar
Herzliche Grüße Bruno - Briefe aus Stalingrad, world premiere, Newton, MA, March 2019
Bradford Gleim, baritone; Chi-Chen Wu, pianos; Sound Montage
Imagined Memories, Architektur-Hören (Post am Rochus) Konzert Zyklus, Vienna Austria, October 2018
Hugo Wolf Quartet
Mysterium doloris quintae (Tropen-Kreuz), Thailand International Composition Festival, Salaya, Thailand, August 2018
Moritz Ernst, pno
Mysterium doloris quintae (Tropen-Kreuz), Hirschberg, Germany, March 2018
Moritz Ernst, pno
Imagined Memories, Salon Topak, Vienna, Austria, January 2018
Hugo Wolf Quartet
Imagined Memories, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria, January 2018
Hugo Wolf Quartet
Mysterium doloris quintae (Tropen-Kreuz), Chestnut Hill, MA October 2017
Moritz Ernst, pno
Sonata-Mazur (Aus der Ferne…), Chestnut Hill, MA, March 2017 Duo 209: Rachel V. Huang, vln; Tatiana Thibodeaux, pno
Sonata-Mazur (Aus der Ferne…), Scripps College, CA, October 2016
Duo 209: Rachel V. Huang, vln; Tatiana Thibodeaux, pno
Imagined Memories, Pfaffenhofen-an-der-Ilm, Germany, MA, June 2016
Hugo Wolf Quartet
Imagined Memories, Carnegie Hall, New York, MA, April 2016
Hugo Wolf Quartet
Imagined Memories, world première, Chestnut Hill, MA, April 2016
Hugo Wolf Quartet
Glocken-Spiel, New Music by Boston College Composers, Boston, MA, October 2015
Charles Dimmick, vln; Ashleigh Gordon, vla; Rafael Popper-Keizer, vc; Sarah Bob, pno
Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände), Boston GuitarFest X ‘The Eternal Feminine’, Boston, MA, June 2015
Anne Harley, soprano; Eliot Fisk, guitar
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), ‘Gedenkkonzert: 70 Jahre Kriegsende in Europa’, Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund, Ensemble Ghiribizzo, Jost Salm, conductor, Dortmund, Germany, May 2015
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), ‘Gedenkkonzert: 70 Jahre Kriegsende in Europa’, Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund, Jan-Hendrick Jensch, conductor, Lübeck, Germany, May 2015
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), West Coast première, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Valerie Sainte-Agathe, conductor, San Francisco, CA, April 2015
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), West Coast première, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Valerie Sainte-Agathe, conductor, Berkeley, CA, April 2015
Berlin Suite, west coast première, Quartet Euphoria, Claremont, CA, November 2014
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), 11th International Festival of Boys Choir, Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund, Gütersloh Knabenchor, Poznan Boy’s Choir, Jacek Sykulski, conductor, Dortmund, Germany, August 2014
Missa gentis humanæ (select movements), ‘Bach at One’ Concert Series at Trinity Wall Street Episcopal Church, New York, NY, April 2014
Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Julian Wachner, conductor
Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände), Scripps College, Claremont, CA, March 2014
Anne Harley, soprano; Eliot Fisk, guitar
Missa gentis humanæ, world premiere, Chestnut Hill, MA, February 2014
Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Julian Wachner, conductor
Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände), European premiere, Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln, Germany, April 2013 Anne Harley, soprano; Eliot Fisk, guitar
Kollwitz-Konnex (…im Frieden seiner Hände), world premiere, Chestnut Hill, MA, April 2013
Anne Harley, soprano; Eliot Fisk, guitar
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), European premiere, Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund, Jost Salm, conductor, Dortmund, Germany, June 2012
At the still point of the turning world, Boston College Music in the Afternoon Concert Series, Chestnut Hill, MA, April 2012
Rafael Popper-Keizer, vc
Sorores (Frauenpartita), premiere, Chestnut Hill, MA, February 2012
Richard Shaughnessy, cl; Diane Heffner, bass cl; Blanka Bednarz, vln; Rafael Popper-Keizer, vc
Suscipe Domine, Chestnut Hill, MA, July 2011
Daniela Tosic, alto; Guiomar Turgeon, vln; Sarah Freiberg Ellison, vc
Quando il Fiume Giallo si acchiararà (Frammenti ricciani), premiere, Chestnut Hill, MA, April 2011
Daniela Tosic, alto; Gabriela Diaz, vln; Rafael Popper-Keizer, vc
Kinderkreuzzug arrangement (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund, Jost Salm, cond., Dortmund, Germany, July 2010
Kinderkreuzzug (Cantata for Children’s Chorus and Chamber Ensemble), premiere, Boy Choir of the Choral Academy Dortmund, Youth pro Musica, Treble Chorus of New England, Ensemble Glockenspiel, Valerie Becker, musical director, Chestnut Hill and Concord, MA, April 2010
Berlin Suite, premiere, Hawthorne String Quartet, Chestnut Hill, MA, March 2010
Berlin Suite (selections), Cohasset, MA, February 2010
Serena Lofftus, vln; Devon Maloney, vc
Musica Moderna Faculty Recital, Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano, Mysterium doloris quintae (Tropen-Kreuz), Sonata-Mazur (Aus der Ferne…)
Blanka Bednarz, vln; Rafael Popper-Keizer, vc; Gloria Chien, pno; Jennifer Blyth, pno; Kanako Nishikawa, pno, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, March 2009
Trio for violin, violoncello and Piano, Atma Trio, GA, March 2009
Trio for violin, violoncello and Piano, Atma Trio, GA, March 2009
Sonata-Mazur (Aus der Ferne…), Penn State University, PA, February 2009
Blanka Bednarz, vln; Jennifer Blyth, pno
Sonata-Mazur (Aus der Ferne…), Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, February 2009
Blanka Bednarz, vln; Jennifer Blyth, pno
Boston College Composers Forum, Mysterium doloris quintae (Tropen-Kreuz), Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, February 2009
Gloria Chien, pno