The First Ten Years

When Kirchner retired from Harvard University in 1989 at age seventy, he had no intention of reducing his professional activity. He planned to continue composing and performing, and he was optimistic that he would be even more productive. For four years he continued to conduct summer concerts with the Harvard Chamber Orchestra, and, freed from teaching duties, he was now able to accept more invitations for guest appearances and short residencies. In spite of the health crises that both he and Gertrude suffered in the coming decade, Kirchner also completed four major works during this period: Music for Orchestra II; Music for Cello and Orchestra; Piano Trio No. 2; and Of Things Exactly As They Are, a cantata for soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra. When Gertrude passed away in January 1999 after a brave battle with a brain tumor, the trauma of her long illness and death resulted in a period of reduced productivity for Kirchner, thus marking the conclusion of the first phase of his retirement.

Retirement from Harvard gave Kirchner the time and energy to accept many of the high-profile opportunities involving travel that he received. In 1989, and again in 1991, he was invited to be one of the featured composers at the prestigious Aldeburgh Festival on the southeast coast of England. In June 1989, Kirchner spent two weeks there, rehearsing and performing. The first concert included his Piano Trio No. 1 and The Twilight Stood (which he performed with soprano Beverly Hoch). On the second program, with members of the London Sinfonietta, he conducted his Music for Twelve and Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9. In the final concert Oliver Knussen conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in the first British performance of Kirchner’s Music for Orchestra. These three concerts also featured works by Kirchner’s younger colleague and friend, Peter Lieberson. Lieberson had taught at Harvard from 1984 to 1988, when he resigned to become international director of the Buddhist Shambhala Training Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Thus, it was a special pleasure for the two composers to spend time together again.