Stuart Saunders Smith died on June 3, 2024. He composed more than 300 works, with instrumentation that included percussion and non-percussion instruments, and ensembles of various sizes from small to large.
According to Robert McCormick, “The music of Stuart Saunders Smith is unique, eclectic, often esoteric and always full of surprises. Perhaps even more important is the originality and diversity of each of his compositions, His writing includes several major percussion-theatre works, musical mobiles, music for unspecified instrumentation, music of indeterminacy, mixed chamber works, and music of rhythmic complexity. His literature has required the percussionist-performer to develop new contrapuntal techniques, interpretive and listening skills of a new music language. His special emphasis on vibraphone literature is considered by many scholars to be without peer as a contribution in the development of masterpiece literature for the instrument. His soli for vibraphone, such as ‘Plenty’ and ‘New England’ are among the few works that extend both an intellectual and emotional range for the instrument. His composition ‘The Authors’ for solo marimbist with spoken text is among the most unique and landmark works for solo marimba.”
Benjamin Toth said that Smith’s Links series of vibraphone essays “single-handedly advanced the repertoire for vibraphone, thanks to its complex yet lyrical nature. It should be noted that Stuart’s work has also brought much needed attention to instruments like the glockenspiel and drumset, as well as the snare drum.”
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