Our finest composer for the lyric stage.
A genuine creator with a fertile unforced vein of invention.
Tobias Picker, born in New York City in 1954, has been described by The Wall Street Journal as “our finest composer for the lyric stage” and by BBC Music Magazine as displaying “a distinctively soulful style that is one of the glories of the current musical scene.” His operas include Emmeline (Santa Fe Opera), Fantastic Mr. Fox (LA Opera), Thérèse Raquin (Dallas Opera), An American Tragedy (Metropolitan Opera) Dolores Claiborne (San Francisco Opera), Awakenings (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis), and Lili Elbe (Konzert und Theater St. Gallen). His eighth opera, Safe Haven, is scheduled to premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2027.
Picker’s catalog also features three symphonies; concertos for violin, viola, cello, oboe, and piano - most notably his Piano Concerto No. 2, Keys to the City, commissioned by the City of New York for the Brooklyn Bridge Centennial; a ballet; and the tone poem, Old and Lost Rivers. His chamber music comprises numerous works, including two string quartets and two piano quintets. His orchestral music has been performed by major ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic and the orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia, as well as the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Tonhalle -Orchester Zürich. Fantastic Mr. Fox (BMOP Sound) received the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
Tobias Picker’s music is published exclusively by Schott.
Learn more at tobiaspicker.com.
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Tobias Picker's newest work named the "Best World Premiere of 2023."
A genuine creator with a fertile unforced vein of invention.
Our finest composer for the lyric stage.
Displaying a distinctively soulful style that is one of the glories of the current musical scene...One of the most consistently interesting among the present generation of US theatre composers.
The opera is a fitfully inspired creation. Picker’s harmony flirts with traditional tonality without falling prey to cliché, his orchestration achieves both transparency and power, and his crowd scenes skillfully set solo voices against a booming chorus and a churning orchestra. It’s a pleasure to listen to him put one idea in front of another.
An iridescent experience, moving in its truthfulness.
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