Death of an American composer, 89

The death has been announced of Martin (Marty) Boykan, a month short of his 90th birthday.

He composed with an awareness of serial technique, founded the Brandeis Chamber Ensemble and served for a year as pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His greatest influence was as a teacher at Brandeis.

James Ricci writes:

Marty Boykan was a fabulous composer, teacher, and mentor – not only to me, but to countless musicians who were fortunate enough to study with him at Brandeis over the 50+ years of his tenure there. He was without a doubt the finest musician I have ever encountered. He could sight-read an array of complex music that composition students would bring into class. Private lessons and classes with him were always riveting, insightful, and intense…

I’ll never forget the semester-long class in 1980 where Marty took a deep dive into the intricate details of Schoenberg’s String Trio. It provided a profound and enhanced perspective that I had never encountered in an analysis class before. Marty knew the entirety of the inner-workings of the piece by heart, and spoke about it with an authority that was probably clearer than what Schoenberg would have articulated about the music himself.