Tobias Picker

Picker was born in New York City on July 18, 1954, the son of painter and fashion designer Henriette Simon Picker and news-writer Julian Picker, and the cousin of film executive David V. Picker, businessman Harvey Picker, former CEO of The American Film Institute Jean Picker Firstenberg, art-patron Stanley Picker,{{cite web|url=https://www.stanleypickertrust.org/house-and-collection/ |title=House and Collection|publisher=The Stanley Picker Trust|access-date=September 24, 2020}} filmmaker Jimmy Picker,{{cite web|url=http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/056-17/ |title=Jimmy Picker, Producer|publisher=Academy Awards|access-date=September 24, 2020}} and economist Kenneth Rogoff. At the age of eight, he began composing and studying the piano:

{{blockquote|I was raised by my teachers on a diet of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schuman, and eventually Brahms, my favorite. There was always some "modern" music thrown in.... With the discovery of each new composer a new world opened up for me. It wasn't really until I discovered the music of Charles Wuorinen with whom I began studying at eighteen that I finally was exposed to Carter (with whom I later studied) and Boulez and Stravinsky and Stefan Wolpe.{{cite web|url=https://sequenza21.com/picker.html |title=An Interview with Tobias Picker|publisher=Sequenza 21|access-date=September 17, 2020}}}}

Picker started composing in 1962, and, that same year, began corresponding with composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who encouraged his studies. Three years later, Picker was taken into the preparatory division of the Juilliard School of Music for instruction in piano and theory. At the age of eighteen, Picker was an improvising pianist for Martha Graham at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance,{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000042554 |title=Picker, Tobias|year=2001|publisher=Grove Music|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.42554|access-date=September 17, 2020|last1=Slice|first1=John Van der|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0}} and, that same year, he enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Charles Wuorinen. After graduating in 1976, he returned to the Juilliard School of Music to take instruction in composition from Elliott Carter and, afterwards, pursued graduate studies at Princeton University with Milton Babbitt.

In 1976, at the age of twenty-two, Picker was commissioned to compose "Sextet No. 3" by Speculum Musicae, which premiered at Alice Tully Hall.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/22/archives/concert-speculum-musicae-presents-old-and-new.html|title=Concert: Speculum Musicae Presents 'Old' and New|last=Schonberg|first=Harold C.|newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 22, 1977 |author-link=Harold C. Schonberg|access-date=July 9, 2018}} Soon after, in 1978, the premiere of Rhapsody for Violin and Piano led New Yorker critic Andrew Porter to deem Picker "a genuine creator with a fertile, unforced vein of invention".{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/11/20/1978-11-20-160-tny-cards-000112275|magazine=The New Yorker|title=Musical Events|date=November 13, 1978|access-date=September 21, 2020|author=Andrew Porter|author-link=Andrew Porter (music critic)}} "A genuine creator with a fertile, unforced vein of invention." By the age of thirty, Picker had been recognized with numerous awards, including fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Joseph H. Bearns Prize (Columbia University), a Charles Ives Scholarship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.{{cite web|url=https://en.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/tobias-picker|work=Schott Music|title=Tobias Picker|access-date=September 21, 2020| quote= By the age of thirty, Picker was the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Bearns Prize (Columbia University), a Charles Ives Scholarship, and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. ... He received the prestigious Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1992 and was elected to lifetime membership in the Academy in 2012. ... The Encantadas (for actor and orchestra) features texts drawn from Herman Melville's poetic descriptions of the Galapagos Islands and was recorded by the Houston Symphony with Sir John Gielgud; it has been performed throughout the world in seven languages.}}

Picker's Symphony No. 1 premiered at the San Francisco Symphony in 1983, and, that same year, Picker was the soloist in his Piano Concerto No. 2: Keys to the City, commissioned by the city of the New York for the Brooklyn Bridge Centennial.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/25/nyregion/a-concerto-to-the-beat-of-the-city.html|title=A concerto to the beat of the city |work= The New York Times|last=Page|first=Tim|date=May 25, 1983 |author-link=Tim Page (music critic)|access-date=September 19, 2020}} Later that year, Picker's "The Encantadas" was premiered by the Albany Symphony Orchestra. In 1985, Picker was appointed the first composer-in-residence of the Houston Symphony where he introduced his most popular orchestral work, Old and Lost Rivers, as well as two symphonies and other concerted works.{{Cite news |last=Zinn |first=Joshua |date=February 24, 2017 |title=Picker, Paganini, And The Piano {{!}} Houston Public Media |url=https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/arts-culture/2017/02/24/189392/picker-paganini-and-the-piano/ |access-date=July 9, 2018 |work=Houston Public Media}} In 1988, pianist Ellen Masaki premiered his Piano Concerto No. 2: Kilauea, which was commissioned and performed by the Honolulu Symphony.{{Cite news |last=Maltby |first=Joseph |date=January 11, 1988 |title=Picker's premiere 'splendid' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/honolulu-star-bulletin-pickers-premiere/168327027/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |via=Newspapers.com}} In 1992, Picker was awarded the Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Music.

In 1993, Picker began composing his first opera, Emmeline, commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera, with a libretto by J. D. McClatchy; Emmeline premiered in 1996.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/arts/music/12emmeline.html|title=Tobias Picker's Oedipal Opera at Dicapo Theater|last=Smith|first=Steve|access-date=July 9, 2018|work= The New York Times|date=September 11, 2009 }} In 1998, two years after the debut of Emmeline, Picker's second opera, Fantastic Mr. Fox premiered at the Los Angeles Opera.{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/1998/more/news/mr-fox-bows-in-l-a-1117488504/|title='Mr. Fox' bows in L.A.|last=Hofler|first=Robert|date=November 16, 1998|work=Variety|access-date=July 9, 2018}} Fantastic Mr. Fox was recorded by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera in 2019 and released on Albany Records; this album won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.{{Cite news|url=https://operawire.com/composer-profile-tobias-picker-dynamic-american-composer/|title=Composer Profile: Tobias Picker, Dynamic American Composer|last=Salazar|first=David|work=Opera Wire|access-date=September 12, 2020}}{{Cite web|title=Review|url=https://www.gramophone.co.uk/reviews/review|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Gramophone}}{{cite news|last=Madonna|first=Zoë|date=January 27, 2020|title=Boston Modern Orchestra Project wins Grammy for Fantastic Mr. Fox|newspaper=The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/01/27/arts/boston-modern-orchestra-project-wins-grammy-fantastic-mr-fox-opera/|access-date=2020-11-12}} A consortium of The Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, and Opéra de Montréal commissioned Picker's third opera, Thérèse Raquin, which debuted in 2001.{{Cite news|last=Midgette|first=Anne|author-link=Anne Midgette|date=February 19, 2007|title=Some Advice for Spurned Lovers: Decline Invitations for Boat Trips|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/arts/music/19dica.html|access-date=June 16, 2020}} In 2005, The Metropolitan Opera debuted Picker's fourth opera, An American Tragedy, based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser; a revised version was premiered at The Glimmerglass Festival in 2014.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/classical-music/glimmerglass-festival-an-american-tragedy-july-25|title=Glimmerglass Festival: An American Tragedy (July 25)|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=September 19, 2020}}

In 2010, Picker composed a ballet, Awakenings, for the Rambert Dance Company, inspired by the work of Oliver Sacks.{{Cite news|url=http://www.rambert.org.uk/performances/awakenings/|title=Awakenings – Rambert|work=Rambert|access-date=July 9, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-oliver-sacks-tobias-picker-2086659.html|title=How We Met: Oliver Sacks & Tobias Picker|last=Harries|first=Rhiannon|work=The Independent|access-date=September 19, 2020}} That same year, he co-founded Opera San Antonio, where he served as artistic director from 2010 to 2015.{{Cite news|url=https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/2/News/Tobias_Picker_Opera_San_Antonio.html|title=Tobias Picker to Depart From Artistic Director Post at Opera San Antonio|publisher=The Metropolitan Opera Guild|work=Opera News|access-date=September 9, 2020}} In 2012, Picker was elected to a lifetime membership of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.{{cite web|url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/franzen-chabon-and-lahiri-named-to-the-american-academy-of-arts-and-letters/ |title=Franzen, Chabon and Lahiri Named to the American Academy of Arts and Letters|work=The New York Times|date=March 9, 2020|access-date=September 14, 2020}} Picker's fifth opera, Dolores Claiborne, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, premiered at the San Francisco Opera in September 2013; soon after, in 2015, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis mounted a new production of Emmeline, which garnered positive reviews.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-20|title=Opera: Powerful St. Louis revival of Tobias Picker's 'Emmeline'|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/architecture/2015/06/20/opera-powerful-st-louis-revival-of-tobias-pickers-emmeline/|access-date=2020-11-11|website=Dallas News}}{{Cite news|last=Waleson|first=Heidi|date=2015-06-22|title=Emmeline, Richard the Lionheart and La Rondine Reviews|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/emmeline-richard-the-lionheart-and-la-rondine-reviews-1435009116|access-date=2020-11-11}}{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Sarah Bryan|title=Opera review: 'Emmeline' is powerful stuff at Opera Theatre|url=https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/culture-club/opera-review-emmeline-is-powerful-stuff-at-opera-theatre/article_92b4a2b8-edd7-5c7e-9c03-75c0e86e815f.html|access-date=2020-11-11|website=STLtoday.com|date=June 14, 2015 }} Picker was appointed artistic director of Tulsa Opera from 2016 to 2022.{{Cite web|title=Artistic Director – Tulsa Opera|url=https://tulsaopera.com/about-us/artistic-director/|access-date=July 9, 2018|website=tulsaopera.com}} His tenure at Tulsa Opera would see the selection of Lucia Lucas as the first transgender opera singer to have a leading role on the American stage{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2019/05/30/727846231/they-know-that-i-m-the-real-deal-transgender-baritone-makes-opera-history|title='They Know That I'm The Real Deal': Transgender Baritone Makes Opera History|last=Shapiro|first=Ari|work=NPR|access-date=September 3, 2022}} (for which she is featured in James Kicklighter's documentary film, The Sound of Identity),{{Cite web|date=2020-08-20|title=The Sound of Identity {{!}} Film Threat|url=https://filmthreat.com/reviews/the-sound-of-identity/|access-date=2020-11-19}}{{Cite web|date=2020-08-21|title=Q & A: Director James Kicklighter on His Film "The Sound of Identity"|url=https://operawire.com/q-a-director-james-kicklighter-on-his-film-the-sound-of-identity/|access-date=2020-11-19|website=Opera Wire}}{{Cite web|author=MarBelle|date=2020-09-07|title=How James Kicklighter Captured TransOpera Singer Lucia Lucas' Historic Tuls Performance in The Sound of Identity|url=https://directorsnotes.com/2020/09/07/james-kicklighter-the-sound-of-identity/|access-date=2022-09-11|website=Directors Notes}}{{Cite web|title=The Sound of Identity, a Film Review|url=https://www.transgenderpartners.com/tgp-blog/2017/6/5/the-sound-of-identity|access-date=2020-11-19|website=TransGenderPartners.com|date=September 11, 2020 }}{{Cite web|website=The Independent Critic|title=The Sound of Identity Begins Indie Festival Journey|url=https://theindependentcritic.com/the_sound_of_identity|access-date=2020-11-19}}{{Cite web|date=2020-08-24|title=Seems More About Arts Production Than Gender Identity – Just As It Should Be|url=https://insidethearts.com/buttsintheseats/2020/08/24/seems-more-about-arts-production-than-gender-identity-just-as-it-should-be/|access-date=2020-11-19|website=Butts In the Seats}} a baseball-themed production of Rigoletto adapted for an open-air baseball stadium to accommodate the gathering restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic,{{Cite news|url=https://www.tulsapeople.com/the-voice/opera-at-the-ballpark/article_6113586e-028f-11eb-816b-4f4342e50f60.html|title=Opera at the ballpark|last=Bruce|first=Kyra|work=Tulsa People|access-date=September 1, 2022}} "Greenwood Overcomes," a concert with new works by African-American composers to honor the memory of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921,{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-road-we-came-and-greenwood-overcomes-reviews-commemorating-black-history-and-artistry-11620250763|title='The Road We Came' and 'Greenwood Overcomes' Reviews: Commemorating Black History and Artistry|last=Waleson|first=Heidi|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Cite web|title="Greenwood Overcomes", from Tulsa Opera|url=https://www.classicalwcrb.org/show/upcoming-in-concert-broadcasts/2022-05-16/greenwood-overcomes-from-tulsa-opera|access-date=2022-09-01|website=classicalwcrb.org}} as well as a Thaddeus Strassberger-directed production of Salome.{{Cite news|url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/show/studiotulsa/2022-04-28/tulsa-opera-presents-salome|title=Tulsa Opera presents "Salome"|last=Watts|first=James|work=Tulsa Public Radio|access-date=September 8, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://tulsaworld.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/tulsa-native-brings-unique-vision-to-salome-opera/article_026144dc-bc26-11ec-9224-a78676fd87e1.html|title=Tulsa native brings unique vision to 'Salome' opera|last=Watts|first=James|work=The Tulsa World|access-date=September 8, 2022}}

In 2022, Picker's opera Awakenings, based on Awakenings, Oliver Sacks's 1960's chronicle of his efforts to help the victims of an encephalitis epidemic,{{Citation | first = Fiona | last = MacCarthy | authorlink=Fiona MacCarthy |newspaper = The Times | date = 5 December 1985 | title = Travels round a couch}} premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.{{Cite news|url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2020-02-13/awakenings-opera-premiering-in-st-louis-came-from-couples-mutual-inspiration|title=Awakenings Opera Premiering In St. Louis Came From Couple's Mutual Inspiration|last=Fenske|first=Sarah|work=St. Louis Public Radio|access-date=May 1, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2022/6/Features/Re-Awakenings.html|title=Re-Awakenings|last=Cohn|first=Fred|work=Opera News|access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/arts/music/awakenings-opera-oliver-sacks.html|title=An Oliver Sacks Book Becomes an Opera, With Help From Friends|last=Barone|first=Joshua|work=The New York Times|date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0ccs1k4|title=Awakenings opera opens three decades after Hollywood movie|last= Brook |first=Tom|work=BBC|access-date=September 3, 2022}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/opera-theatre-of-saint-louis-tobias-picker-awakenings-oliver-sacks-stewart-wallace-michael-korie-harvey-milk-carmen-rondula-gaitanou-aryeh-lev-stollman-susanna-phillips-adrienne-danrich-andres-acosta-katharine-geoldner-jarrett-porter-james-robinson-roberto-kalb-george-moscone-dan-white-thomas-glass-cesar-andres-parreno-nathan-stark-jonathan-johnson-kyle-sanchez-tingzon-carolyn-kuan-sarah-mesko-yunuet-laguna-adam-smith-christian-pursell-rachael-nelson-cordelia-chisolm-daniela-candillari-11656366785|title='Awakenings', 'Harvey Milk' and 'Carmen' Review: Two Poignant Premieres and an Old Favorite|last=Waleson|first=Heidi|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=September 3, 2022}} The East Coast premiere of Awakenings was performed by Odyssey Opera in partnership with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, conducted by Gil Rose and directed by James Robinson, on February 25, 2023, at the Huntington Theater.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/oliver-sacks-gets-an-opera|title=Oliver Sacks Gets An Opera|last=Orbey|first=Eren|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=February 20, 2023|access-date=February 27, 2023}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/27/arts/awakenings-is-stuff-dreams/|title='Awakenings' is the stuff of dreams|last=Madonna|first=A.Z.|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=February 27, 2023|access-date=February 27, 2023}}

Picker's Lili Elbe, starring Lucia Lucas, premiered in October, 2023, at Theater St. Gallen.{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Lili Elbe: Oper von Tobias Picker und Aryeh Lev Stollman|url=https://www.konzertundtheater.ch/lili-elbe/|access-date=2023-06-11|website=tobiaspicker.com|date=June 14, 2023}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Lili Elbe|url=https://konzertundtheater.ch/lili-elbe/|access-date=2023-06-11|website=konzertundtheater.ch|date=June 10, 2023}}{{Cite web|title=Living Authentically|author=Charles Shafaieh|url=https://operanews.com/Living_Authentically/|access-date=2022-09-11|website=Opera News}}{{Cite news|title=Lucia Lucas: The BBC Music Magazine Interview|author=Richard Cannon|url=https://www.classical-music.com/magazine/issues/may-2023/|access-date=2023-09-11|website=BBC Music Magazine}}

{{Main|List of compositions by Tobias Picker}}

Picker's symphonic music, including the tone poem Old and Lost Rivers, has been performed by major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, The Munich Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. His piano concerto Keys to the City (written for the Centenary of the Brooklyn Bridge) is recorded on Chandos with his cello concerto and the orchestral work And Suddenly It's Evening.{{Cite web|title=Picker: Keys to the City/ And Suddenly It's Evening/Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Orchestral & Concertos Contemporary Chandos|url=https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2010039|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Chandos Records}} Following this release, BBC Music Magazine proclaimed Picker's recent music "one of the glories of the current musical scene".{{Cite web|url=https://www.shumanassociates.net/artist.php?id=tobiaspickercomposer&aview=bio|title=Tobias Picker|website=Shuman Associates|access-date=September 15, 2020}}

The Encantadas (for narrator and orchestra) features texts drawn from Herman Melville's descriptions of the Galápagos Islands. It was recorded on Virgin Classics by the Houston Symphony Orchestra with narration by Sir John Gielgud.

Other works include Tres sonetos de amor, settings of Neruda love poems in versions for baritone and orchestra, and voice and piano; and The Blue Hula, a work for chamber ensemble. Picker's complete orchestral catalogue includes three symphonies, four piano concertos and concertos for violin, viola, cello and oboe.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-29-ca-pasles29-story.html|title=Three Sonnets in Search of a Setting|last=Pasles|first=Chris|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=September 21, 2020}}

Picker has also composed numerous chamber works. In 2009, the [https://www.americanstringquartet.com/ American String Quartet] commissioned and premiered his String Quartet No. 2 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York.{{cite web |url=http://www.americanstringquartet.com/premieres.htm |title=Commissions & Premieres |publisher=American String Quartet |access-date=December 14, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215190241/http://americanstringquartet.com/premieres.htm |archive-date=December 15, 2016 }} In that same year, the pianist Ursula Oppens premiered Picker's Four Etudes for Ursula and Three Nocturnes for Ursula at Baisly Powell Elebash Recital Hall, also in New York.{{cite web |url=http://www.schott-music.com/news/archive/show,3810.html |title=Ursula Oppens Performs World Premiere of Tobias Picker's 'Three Nocturnes for Ursula' |website=www.schott-music.com |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911123553/http://www.schott-music.com/news/archive/show,3810.html |archive-date=11 September 2012 |url-status=dead}} In 2011, Picker was featured in a Miller Theatre Composer Portrait Concert, featuring the Signal Ensemble, Sarah Rothenberg, and the Brentano String Quartet, who premiered his Piano Quintet "Live Oaks".{{cite web|url=http://www.millertheatre.com/Events/EventDetails.aspx?nid=1472|title=Nine Rivers – Part I: Leukosis|website=Millertheatre.com|access-date=December 14, 2016}}

• Emmeline (1996): The Santa Fe Opera commissioned and produced the world premiere of Picker's first opera, which was subsequently broadcast nationally on the PBS Great Performances series. The premiere recording was released on CD by Albany Records.{{Cite web|title=Albany Records: Emmeline|url=https://www.albanyrecords.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AR&Product_Code=TROY284-85&Category_Code=a-BS|access-date=2020-11-11|website=www.albanyrecords.com}}
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (1998): His second opera was an adaptation of Roald Dahl's book, commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Opera. Picker has written two more versions of this work: a version for chamber ensemble of seven instruments was premiered by Opera Holland Park in 2010.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/operahollandpark/fantasticmrfox/theproduction.aspx |title=Investec Opera Holland Park LondonInvestec Opera Holland Park |website=Rbkc.gov.uk |date= |access-date=December 14, 2016}} A version with reduced orchestration was written for the English Touring Opera, also in 2010.{{cite web |url=http://englishtouringopera.org.uk/news/fox-composer-meets-conductor/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723112716/http://englishtouringopera.org.uk/news/fox-composer-meets-conductor/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 23, 2012 |title=Fantastic Mr Fox: composer meets conductor |publisher=English Touring Opera |date=November 15, 2010 |access-date=December 14, 2016 }} The Boston Modern Orchestra Project's 2019 recording won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.{{Cite news|title=2020 Grammy Awards: The Full List Of Winners|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/26/799752326/2020-grammy-awards-the-full-list-of-winners|access-date=2020-11-11|website=NPR|date=January 26, 2020}}
• Thérèse Raquin (1999/2000): Picker's third opera (libretto by Gene Scheer) was commissioned by a consortium of companies, including The Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, and the Opéra de Montréal. Picker received a new commission from Opera Theatre Europe for a reduced-scale version of Thérèse Raquin, which was performed in March 2006 at the Linbury Studio of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.{{Cite web|title=You are being redirected...|url=https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2017/8/News/Lee_Blakeley_Admired_Opera_and_Theater_Director_has_Died.html|access-date=2020-11-12|website=www.operanews.com}} The premiere performance was recorded and released by Chandos in 2001.{{Cite web|title=Picker: Thérèse Raquin Opera Contemporary Chandos|url=https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209659|access-date=2020-11-11|website=Chandos Records}}
• An American Tragedy (2005/2006):{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.anamericantragedy-theopera.org/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20051103012140/http://www.anamericantragedy-theopera.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2005 |title=An American Tragedy – Theopera – An American Tragedy – Theopera |website=Anamericantragedy-theopera.org |date= |access-date=December 14, 2016 }} Based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser, with a libretto by Gene Scheer, Picker's fourth opera was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera.{{cite web |url=http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=1258 |title=The Key to Tobias > Opera News > the Met Opera Guild |access-date=April 3, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028004221/http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=1258 |archive-date=October 28, 2007 }} The world premiere took place on December 2, 2005, and featured Patricia Racette, Nathan Gunn, Susan Graham, and Dolora Zajick in principal roles. The production was directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by James Conlon.{{cite web|url=http://www.therestisnoise.com/2005/12/tobias_pickers_.html |title=Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise: Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy |publisher=The Rest Is Noise |date=December 26, 2005 |access-date=December 14, 2016}}
• Dolores Claiborne (2013): The San Francisco Opera premiered Picker's fifth opera with a libretto by J. D. McClatchy, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, in 2013.{{cite web|last=Johnson |first=Lawrence A. |url=http://theclassicalreview.com/2012/01/san-francisco-opera-to-present-three-american-world-premieres-in-2013/ |title=San Francisco Opera to present three American world premieres in 2013 |publisher=The Classical Review |date=January 18, 2012 |access-date=December 14, 2016}}
• Awakenings (2022): Picker's sixth opera, based on Awakenings by Oliver Sacks, with a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman, was commissioned by The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.{{cite web|url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2020-02-13/awakenings-opera-premiering-in-st-louis-came-from-couples-mutual-inspiration |title='Awakenings' Opera Premiering In St. Louis Came From Couple's 'Mutual Inspiration'|publisher=St. Louis Public Radio|date=February 13, 2020|access-date=September 14, 2020}}
• Lili Elbe (2023), with a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman, starring Lucia Lucas as Lili Elbe,{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Lili Elbe: Oper von Tobias Picker und Aryeh Lev Stollman|url=https://tobiaspicker.com/opera/lili-elbe|access-date=2023-06-11|website=tobiaspicker.com|date=June 14, 2023}} premiered in 2023 at Theater St. Gallen.{{cite web|url=https://tobiaspicker.com/opera/lili-elbe|title=Lili Elbe|publisher=tobiaspicker.com|access-date=January 11, 2022}}

File:Pickerandsacks.jpg]]Picker composed the ballet, Awakenings (2010), inspired by Awakenings by his long-time friend, Oliver Sacks,{{cite web|author=|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-oliver-sacks-tobias-picker-2086659.html|title=How We Met: Oliver Sacks & Tobias Picker|work=The Independent|date= September 25, 2010|access-date=October 2, 2020}} and commissioned by the Rambert Dance Company. The piece was premiered by Rambert in Salford, UK, in September 2010. Rambert toured the work around the UK with over 80 performances in the 2010–11 season.{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.theballetbag.com/2010/09/21/rambert-awakenings/ |title=Rambert Dance Company: The Making of Awakenings|publisher=The Ballet Bag |date= |access-date=December 14, 2016}}

• Opera Without Words/The Encantadas (Naxos, 2020)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (BMOP Sound, 2019){{Cite web|title=Tobias Picker: Fantastic Mr. Fox {{!}} BMOP|url=https://www.bmop.org/audio-recordings/tobias-picker-fantastic-mr-fox|access-date=2020-11-12|website=www.bmop.org}}
• Invisible Lilacs (Tzadik Records, 2014)
• Keys To The City (Wergo, 2008)
• Old and Lost Rivers (Virgin Classics. 2007)
• Songs and Encores (Bridge Records, 2006)
• Symphony No. 2, String Quartet No. 1 (First Edition, 2004)
• Keys To The City, And Suddenly It's Evening, and Cello Concerto (Chandos, 2003)
• Thérèse Raquin (Chandos, 2001)
• Emmeline (Albany Records, 1998)
• The Encantadas (Virgin Records, 1998)

Additional recordings of the composer's music are available on Sony Classics, Virgin, Nonesuch Records, Ondine, Bridge and First Edition, among others.

Directors most often associated with Picker's operas are Francesca Zambello (Emmeline, An American Tragedy, Thérèse Raquin),{{cite web |url=https://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=745|title=Francesca Zambello|publisher=Bard College|date= May 23, 2015|access-date=September 27, 2020}} James Robinson (Dolores Claiborne, Emmeline, Awakenings),{{cite web|url=http://www.aspenmusicfestival.com/students-welcome/admissions/artist-faculty/james-robinson|title=James Robinson|publisher=Aspen Music Festival and School|access-date=September 27, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and Lee Blakeley,{{Cite news|url=https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2017/8/News/Lee_Blakeley_Admired_Opera_and_Theater_Director_has_Died.html|title=Lee Blakeley, 45, One of the Most Admired Opera and Theater Directors of his Generation, has Died|last=Driscoll |first=F. Paul|access-date=September 27, 2020}} as well as librettists J. D. McClatchy (Emmeline, Dolores Claiborne){{Cite news|last=Fox|first=Margalit|author-link=Margalit Fox|title=J. D. McClatchy, Poet of the Body, in Sickness and Health, Dies at 72|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-04-12|date=April 11, 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/obituaries/jd-mcclatchy-poet-of-the-body-in-sickness-and-health-dies-at-72.html}} and Gene Scheer (Thérèse Raquin and An American Tragedy).{{cite news|last=Tommasini|first=Anthony|author-link=Anthony Tommasini|title=Dreiser's Chilling Tale of Ambition and Its Price|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 5, 2005|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/05/arts/music/05trag.html}} He collaborated with Roald Dahl's biographer, Donald Sturrock, on Fantastic Mr. Fox,{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/1998/more/news/mr-fox-bows-in-l-a-1117488504/|title='Mr. Fox' bows in L.A.|last=Hofler|first=Robert|date=1998-11-16|work=Variety|access-date=2018-07-09}} and most recently Aryeh Lev Stollman on Awakenings, as well as poets Richard Howard{{cite web|url=https://www.eamdc.com/news/bridge-records-releases-quotsongs-and-encoresquot-featuring-songs-of-tobias-picker/|title=Bridge Records Releases "Songs and Encores" Featuring Songs of Tobias Picker|publisher=Schott Music|date=December 1, 2006|access-date=September 27, 2020}} and W. S. Merwin.{{Cite news| last = Agarwala| first = Sudeep| title = Concert Review: When Sound Worlds Collide|newspaper= The Tech| access-date = 2020-09-27| date = March 6, 2009| url = https://thetech.com/2009/03/06/collagenewmusic-v129-n10}} Picker's conductor collaborators have included Leon Botstein,{{cite web |url= https://americansymphony.org/the-american-1980s/|title= The American 1980's |author= |date= 2020 |website= The American Symphony Orchestra Archives | publisher= ASO |access-date= December 4, 2020}} Peter Ash,{{Cite news| last = Griffiths| first = Paul | title = Opera Review; Foxes, Hedgehogs, Rats and Humans | work = The New York Times| date = December 17, 1998 | access-date = 2020-10-15| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/17/arts/opera-review-foxes-hedgehogs-rats-and-humans.html}} James Conlon,{{Cite news| last = Bernheimer | first = Martin | title = American Tragedians | work = Opera News| access-date = 2020-10-15| url = https://www.operanews.com/operanews/issue/article.aspx?id=1432&issueID=55}} Sergiu Comissiona,{{cite web |url= http://www.bruceduffie.com/comissiona.html |title= Interview|author=Bruce Duffie |date= 1996 |website= bruceduffie.com |publisher= Bruce Duffie |access-date= October 17, 2020}} Edo de Waart,{{cite web |url= https://www.eamdc.com/psny/composers/tobias-picker/works/symphony-no-1-2/|title= Symphony No. 1 |author= |date= 1983 |website= eamdc.com | publisher= European American Distribution Corporation |access-date= October 17, 2020}} Lukas Foss,{{cite web |url= https://en.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/tobias-picker/|title= Tobias Picker |author= |date= 2020 |website= Schott-Music.com | publisher= Schott |access-date= October 17, 2020}} Giancarlo Guerrero,{{cite web |url= https://www.naxos.com/person/Giancarlo_Guerrero/97170.htm|title= GIANCARLO GUERRERO |author= |date= 2007 |website= Naxos.com | publisher= Naxos Music |access-date= October 17, 2020}} James Levine,{{Cite news| last = Milzoff| first = Rebecca | title = 'Tragedy' Comes to the Met | work = New York Magazine| access-date = 2020-10-18| url = https://nymag.com/guides/fallpreview/2005/classicaldance/12840/}} George Manahan,{{cite news | url = https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/culture-club/opera-review-emmeline-is-powerful-stuff-at-opera-theatre/article_92b4a2b8-edd7-5c7e-9c03-75c0e86e815f.html| title=Emmeline is Powerful Stuff at Opera Theatre St. Louis | work=Saint Louis Post Dispatch | author=Sarah Bryan Miller | date=June 14, 2015 | access-date=2020-10-18}} Kurt Masur,{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/26/arts/review-music-masur-conducts-bruckner-ninth.html| title=Review/Music; Masur Conducts Bruckner Ninth | work=The New York Times| author= James R. Oestreich | date=September 26, 1992| access-date=2020-10-18}} Gil Rose,{{cite news |last=Waxberg |first=Greg |url=http://www.bmop.org/news-press/qa-composer-tobias-picker-winning-grammy-why-he-loves-opera |title=Q&A: COMPOSER TOBIAS PICKER ON WINNING THE GRAMMY & WHY HE LOVES OPERA|work=Boston Modern Orchestra Project |date=2020-04-11 |access-date=2020-10-18}} John Williams,{{cite web |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1013441|title= The London Symphony Orchestra |author= |date= 1998 |website= npr.org | publisher= NPR |access-date= October 18, 2020}} Pinchas Zukerman{{cite web |url=https://www.eamdc.com/news/tobias-pickerrsquos-emthe-encantadasem-in-boston/ |title=Tobias Picker's The Encantadas in Boston|work=Schott Music |date=1 September 2006 |access-date=18 October 2020}} and Christoph Eschenbach. He has also collaborated with pianists Jeremy Denk,{{Cite news| last = Seckerson| first = Edward | title = Picker Orchestral Works: Three concertante works in a familiar post-Gershwin style but with an individual twist| work = Gramophone| access-date = 2020-09-27| url = https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/picker-orchestral-works}} Peter Serkin,{{Cite news| last = Holland| first = Bernard| title = Review/Recital; Peter Serkin in a Showcase Of Original Pieces for Piano| work = The New York Times| access-date = 2020-09-27| date = September 26, 1992| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/13/arts/review-recital-peter-serkin-in-a-showcase-of-original-pieces-for-piano.html}} Emanuel Ax,{{Cite news| last = Holland| first = Bernard|authorlink=Bernard Holland| title = Classical Music in Review|newspaper=The New York Times| access-date = 2020-09-27| date = April 26, 1994| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/26/arts/classical-music-in-review-895733.html}} and Ursula Oppens, who has championed Picker's work since 1977,{{cite web|author=Tristan McKay |url=https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2019/01/5-questions-ursula-oppens-pianist-75th-birthday/|title=5 Questions to Ursula Oppens (pianist) on her 75th Birthday |publisher=I Care If You Listen|date= January 23, 2019|access-date=September 14, 2020}} as well as violist Paul Neubauer,{{cite web|url=https://www.santafechambermusic.com/artist-profile/paul-neubauer-viola/|title=PAUL NEUBAUER, VIOLA|publisher=Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival|access-date=October 15, 2020}} cellists Lynn Harrell{{cite news |last=Shen |first=Ted |title=HARRELL, MULLIGAN DISPLAY TEAMWORK AND VIRTUOSITY |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-07-24-9907240142-story.html |access-date=18 October 2020 |publisher=Chicago Tribrune |date=24 July 1999}} and Paul Watkins,{{cite news | url=https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/orchestral/picker-0/ | title=Picker: Keys to the City; And Suddenly It's Evening; Cello Concerto | work=BBC: Classical Music | author= BBC Music Magazine Staf| date=20 January 2012 | access-date=2020-10-18}} and flutist Carol Wincenc.{{cite web|url=http://www.nycpmusic.org/carol-wincenc|title=Carol Wincenc|work=New York Classical Players|date=February 1999|access-date=October 18, 2020}} The sopranos Judith BettinaCrutchfield, Will (26 February 1987). [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4D71F3FF935A15751C0A961948260&sec=&spon= "Recital: Judith Bettina"]. The New York Times. Retrieved 8 May 2019. and Patricia Racette{{cite web|url=https://operawire.com/composer-profile-tobias-picker-dynamic-american-composer/|work=Opera Wire|title=Composer Profile: Tobias Picker, Dynamic American Composer|author=David Salazar|date=July 18, 2020}} have been frequent collaborators. Picker has also worked with William Burden,{{cite web| url=https://culturevulture.net/music/an-american-tragedy-tobias-picker/ | author=Karren Alenier | title=An American Tragedy – Tobias Picker |publisher=Culture Vulture |date=December 12, 2005 |access-date=October 17, 2020}} Gerald Finley,{{cite web| url=https://nyphil.org/about-us/artists/gerald-finley | work=New York Philharmonic | title=Gerald Finley}} Elizabeth Futral,{{Cite web |url=https://mnopera.org/biography/elizabeth-futral/|title=Elizabeth Futral|access-date=2020-10-18}} Susan Graham, Nathan Gunn, Lucia Lucas,{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lucia-lucas-transgender-opera-singer_n_5ccb699ee4b0d123955094c0|title=Transgender Opera Singer Makes US Debut in Don Giovanni|date=2019-05-02|website=HuffPost|access-date=2019-10-05}} Jennifer Larmore,{{cite web|url=https://www.cedillerecords.org/artists/jennifer-larmore/|title=Jennifer Larmore|publisher=Cedille Records|date= January 23, 2019|access-date=October 14, 2020}} Diana Soviero,{{Cite news| title = Picker Thérèse Raquin: An energetic new opera ably performed| work = Gramophone| access-date = 2020-10-18| url = https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/picker-thérèse-raquin}} and Dolora Zajick.{{cite news|title=Dolora Zajick Withdraws From Upcoming World Premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne at San Francisco Opera; Patricia Racette to Sing Title Role|work=Opera News|date=August 26, 2013|url=https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2013/8/News/Zajick_Dolores_Claiborne.html|access-date=October 17, 2020}}

File:Tobias Picker Wedding Portrait.jpg, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg]]

Picker's partner since 1980 has been Aryeh Lev Stollman. They were married on March 9, 2016, in a ceremony officiated by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court.{{Cite web |last=Buono |first=Alla Vita |date=October 24, 2013 |title=The World Premiere of Dolores Claiborne, an Opera by Tobias Picker |url=https://gevmag.com/2013/10/24/the-world-premiere-of-dolores-claiborne-an-opera-by-tobias-picker/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 19, 2020 |website=GEV Magazine |archive-date=July 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730154554/http://gevmag.com/2013/10/24/the-world-premiere-of-dolores-claiborne-an-opera-by-tobias-picker/ }}{{Cite web|last=Lebrecht|first=Norman|author-link=Norman Lebrecht|date=April 20, 2016 |title=US Composer is Married by Supreme Court Justice |url=https://slippedisc.com/2016/04/us-composer-is-married-by-supreme-court-justice/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 19, 2020 |website=Slipped Disc|archive-date=April 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411132530/https://slippedisc.com/2016/04/us-composer-is-married-by-supreme-court-justice/ }}

Picker has Tourette syndrome.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/02/arts/music-a-composer-freed-by-opera-to-be-tonal-and-tuneful.html|work= The New York Times |title=A Composer Freed by Opera To Be Tonal And Tuneful|last=Schwarz|first=K. Robert|date= May 2, 1999 |access-date=September 19, 2020|quote= It was a signal moment in the rebirth of tonality. When the curtain rose on Tobias Picker's first opera, Emmeline, in 1996, the orchestra conjured an atmosphere of grim foreboding, circling endlessly around a single, brooding chord. As if to emphasize his immersion in the dark realm of B flat minor, Mr. Picker prefaced the score with a device long scorned by modernists: a key signature.}} He has mentioned that there are "tourettic" elements in his music. Picker appeared in a BBC Horizon television documentary, titled Mad But Glad, exploring a link between Tourette's syndrome and creativity,{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/madbutglad/highlights/index_textonly.shtml |title=Horizon – Mad But Glad |publisher=BBC |date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=December 14, 2016}} and has been involved in mentoring programs for children with Tourette's.{{cite web |url=http://www.tsanj.org/tsanj/in-action/nl/docs/tsanj_nl6.pdf |title=TSANJ partners with Rutgers on Tourette syndrome clinic |website=Tsanj.org |access-date=December 14, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215135240/http://www.tsanj.org/tsanj/in-action/nl/docs/tsanj_nl6.pdf |archive-date=February 15, 2006}} Picker has tics which he says disappear when he is composing, playing the piano, or conducting. He has said, "I live my life controlled by Tourette's...but I use music to control it. I have harnessed its energy—I play with it, manipulate it, trick it, mimic it, taunt it, explore it, exploit it, in every possible way."Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, revised and expanded (New York: Random House, 2007), p. 252. {{ISBN|978-0-676-97979-4}} Sacks wrote of the inspiration he took from Picker's music in the preface to his book, The Island of the Colorblind, saying he "owe[d] a special debt to Tobias Picker's version of The Encantadas", and that "whenever, in the writing, memory failed me, listening to the piece operated as a sort of Proustian mnemonic, transporting me back to the Marianas and the Carolines".Oliver Sacks, The Island of the Colorblind, illustrated edition, (New York: Vintage, 1998), p. xxi. {{ISBN|9780375700736}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.tobiaspicker.com/|Tobias Picker's official website}}
• [https://en.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/tobias-picker/ Tobias Picker at Schott Music]
• [http://www.operanews.com/?id=1258&issueID=50/ Tobias Picker featured in Opera News]
• [http://www.therestisnoise.com/2005/12/tobias_pickers_.html Review] of An American Tragedy (opera) by Alex Ross
• [http://www.bruceduffie.com/picker.html Interview with Tobias Picker], March 9, 1994

{{Tobias Picker}}

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Category:1954 births

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Opera

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