Jonathan Kramer, 61; Theorist, Composer Blended Musical Styles
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Jonathan Kramer, 61, a musical theorist and composer with a flair for mixing styles, died June 3 of leukemia at a New York City hospital.
Kramer, who taught composition and theory at Columbia University, was known for his provocative musical writings, particularly a 1988 book on time perception called “The Time of Music.”
His compositions were noted for their eclecticism. In a 2003 review of “Notta Sonata” in the Village Voice, Kyle Gann praised Kramer’s ability to combine techniques that might clash in another composer’s hands.
Kramer was a native of Hartford, Conn., who earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a master’s and doctorate from UC Berkeley. He taught at Berkeley, Oberlin, Yale and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music before joining the Columbia faculty in 1988. He was also program annotator for the Cincinnati Symphony and other orchestras for many years.
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