Eric Salzman

Eric Salzman
Salzman at the Cell Theater in 2011 for the Center for Contemporary Opera atelier of his opera, Big Jim and the Small-Time Investors.
Born	(1933-09-08)September 8, 1933 New York City, U.S.
Died	November 12, 2017(2017-11-12) (aged 84) New York City, U.S.
Education	Columbia University (BA) Princeton University (MFA)
Occupation(s)	Composer, producer, author, music critic
Years active	1958–2017

Eric Salzman (September 8, 1933 – November 12, 2017) was an American composer, scholar, author, impresario, music critic, and record producer. He is best known for his contributions to 'New Music Theater,' a concept he advanced through both his compositions and writings. He established it as an independent art form, distinct from grand opera and popular musicals^[1], both aesthetically and economically. He co-founded the American Music Theater Festival and was, at the time of his death in 2017, Composer-in-Residence at the Center for Contemporary Opera.^[2]

Salzman's one true opera, Big Jim and the Small-Time Investors (written and revised between 1985 and 2017), was developed in workshops at CCO in 2010 and 2014. It received its world-premiere production at Symphony Space in 2018, five months after his death, praised by Opera News as "truly a fine piece of post-modern creative work."^[3] Performers of his works include the New York Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic; conductors Pierre Boulez, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Dennis Russell Davies and Lukas Foss; ensembles Western Wind and Kronos Quartet; soloists Philip Langridge, Mary Thomas, Elise Ross, Stanley Silverman, Alan Titus, Rinde Eckert, Igor Kipnis, Paul Zukofsky, Theo Bleckmann, Thomas Young; actors Stacy Keach, John O'Hurley and Paul Hecht.