Some of her work during this period was written for her husband, violinist Joseph Zwilich, who played in the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera.[3] He died in 1979, after which Taaffe Zwilich refocused her compositional efforts on "communicating more directly with performers and listeners," softening her somewhat harsh, jagged style.[3][4]
Her Symphony No. 1 (Three Movements for Orchestra) was premiered by the American Composers Orchestra in 1982, conducted by Gunther Schuller.[3] It won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize,[3] after which her popularity and income from commissions ensured that she could devote herself to composing full-time.[4] From 1995–99, she was the first occupant of the Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall;[7] while there, she created the "Making Music" concert series, which focuses on performances and lectures by living composers, a series that is still in existence.[8]
Taaffe Zwilich's compositional style is marked by an obsession with "the idea of generating an entire work – large-scale structure, melodic and harmonic language, and developmental processes – from its initial motives."[4] In addition to large scale orchestral works like Symbolon (1988), Symphony No. 2 (Cello Symphony) (1985), and Symphony No. 3 (1992), she has written a number of notable, smaller-scale concertos. These include works for trombone (1988), bass trombone (1989), flute (1989), oboe (1990), bassoon (1992), horn (1993), trumpet (1994) and clarinet (2002). She has also written a small number of choral works and song cycles. Her music was conducted by Pierre Boulez at Juilliard in 1975. Her major breakthrough came after winning the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for her Symphony No. 1. Following this, she was commissioned to work on two more symphonies, for the San Francisco Symphony and for the New York Philharmonic's 150th anniversary. Symbolon has been performed in Europe, Asia, and America.[11]
Symphony No. 5Concerto for Orchestra (2008, commissioned by the Juilliard School; premiere October 27, 2008, Carnegie Hall, Juilliard Orchestra, James Conlon, conductor)
Other symphonic works
Symposium (1973)
Passages (1982)
Prologue and Variations, for String orchestra (1983)
Millennium Fantasy (Piano Concerto No. 2) (2000; commissioned for Pianist Jeffrey Biegel, project featuring 27 orchestras in the USA; premiere with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Jesus Lopez-Cobos conductor; recorded for Naxos with the Florida State University Orchestra, Alexander Jimenez conductor
Partita (Violin Concerto No. 2) for violin and string orchestra (2000)
Rituals for five percussion players and orchestra (2003) (Invocation; Ambulation; Remembrances; Contests)
Shadows (Piano Concerto No. 3) (2011; commissioned for pianist Jeffrey Biegel, 8 orchestras in the US, Canada and England; premiere with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor; October 28/29, 2011)
Commedia dell'Arte (Violin Concerto No. 3) for violin and string orchestra (2012)
Concerto Elegia (Elegy, Soliloquy and Finale) for flute and string orchestra (2015)
^Slonimsky, Nicolas (1978). "Zwilich, Ellen Taafe". Baker's Biographical dictionary of musicians (6th ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. p. 1955. ISBN0-02-870240-9.
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