Julia Wolfe

by Robert Cummings Julia Wolfe is ranked among the more important composers stylistically linked to post-minimalism. Though her music falls under that broad and somewhat nondescript tag, it is quite eclectic and almost defies classification. The listener notices a range of disparate elements in her works, from rock and minimalist influences to features such as long pauses, as in the chamber piece Lick (1994), and various extreme uses of sound, as in Window of Vulnerability (1991), which achieves massive, some might say, deafening decibel levels. She has also incorporated microtonal elements and natural sounds emanating from both rural and urban sources. Wolfe has written for orchestra, chamber ensemble, solo keyboard, and for theater and film. Her works have been available on a variety of labels, including Cantaloupe, Elektra/Wea, and Point Music.