Michael Torke With his two best-known early pieces,
Ecstatic Orange and
Yellow Pages, written in 1985 while still a composition student at Yale,
Michael Torke practically defined post-Minimalism. At 23, Torke cut short his graduate study to begin his professional career in New York City, where he was soon signed by Boosey & Hawkes, became an exclusive recording artist with Argo/Decca Records and began his five-year collaboration with Peter Martins and the New York City Ballet. Highlights since then include:
Color Music (1985-89);
Javelin, recorded both for Argo and for John William’s
Summon the Heroes, the official 1996 Olympics album;
Four Seasons, commissioned by the Walt Disney Company to celebrate the millennium;
Strawberry Fields, whose “Great Performances” broadcast was nominated for an Emmy Award; and two evening-length story ballets,
The Contract and
An Italian Straw Hat, for James Kudelka and the National Ballet of Canada. In 2003, Torke founded Ecstatic Records and acquired the rights to re-issue the Decca/Argo catalog of his works. Most recently, the label has released
Tahiti, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's 10/10 Ensemble. His opera,
Pop-pea, commissioned by Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, premiered there in May 2012.