Stanley Silverman

Stanley Silverman is an American conductor, guitarist, and composer of film scores, theatrical works, and chamber music. His collaborations with pop artists such as Sting, James Taylor, and Paul Simon have earned major awards and critical acclaim. Silverman was born in New York in 1938, and his parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. He spent his childhood in the Bronx, where he attended public schools until the early '50s. After graduating from the High School of Performing Arts, in Manhattan, he was accepted at Boston University, where he earned his B.A. in music. Later he completed his M.M. in composition at Mills College, and he studied with Leon Kirchner and Darius Milhaud. He also received instruction from Henry Cowell, Vladimir Ussachevsky, and Roberto Gerhard. While still in college, Silverman played the guitar in a jazz quintet, and he was very active as a concert guitarist throughout the 1960s. He also taught at Tanglewood University and was appointed music director of the Lincoln Center Repertory Theater in 1965. Two years later, he was invited by Glenn Gould to compose for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Silverman composed Elephant Steps in 1968, which brought several awards and established his career as a composer. By the early '70s, his talents as a musical director and composer were in high demand. In 1972, he collaborated with Arthur Miller, and composed the incidental music for The Creation of the World and Other Business, and they also completed the musical Up from Paradise, which received its premiere the following year, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Silverman was appointed musical director for Joseph Papp's production of The Threepenny Opera in 1976, which received high praise from critics and several major award nominations. It was also around this time that he composed the film scores Nanook of the North, Simon, Eyewitness, and I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can. He directed Black Sea Follies in 1986, and in 1989 he composed Piano Trio No. 1: In Celebration. In a departure from the world of musical theater, Silverman's collaboration on James Taylor's 1997 release Hourglass led to a Grammy Award for Best Pop Album. He also collaborated with Paul Simon in 2000 on the album You're the One, which received a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year. Around 2018 and 2019, Silverman's music was performed at several concerts around the world in honor of his 80th birthday. His music was also featured in the 2023 release In Celebration, The Piano Trios of Stanley Silverman, performed by Sting and the Kalischstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. Silverman remains active as a musician and as a creative consultant based in New York.
© RJ Lambert /TiVo