Role

:

Composer

Birth

:

1923

Death

:

1997

 

David Kraehenbuehl was an American composer, pianist, and music educator who was born on August 29, 1923, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the son of Swiss immigrants and grew up in a musical family. His father was a violinist and his mother was a pianist, and they both encouraged their son's musical interests from an early age. Kraehenbuehl began studying piano at the age of six and showed a natural talent for the instrument. He went on to study at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and later at the Juilliard School in New York City. While at Juilliard, he studied composition with Vincent Persichetti and piano with Rosina Lhévinne. After completing his studies, Kraehenbuehl embarked on a career as a concert pianist and performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. He also began composing his own music, drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources including jazz, folk music, and the works of classical composers such as Bach, Beethoven, and Stravinsky. Kraehenbuehl's compositions are characterized by their rhythmic complexity, harmonic richness, and inventive use of timbre. He was particularly interested in exploring the possibilities of electronic music and was an early adopter of computer technology in his compositions. Some of Kraehenbuehl's most notable works include his Piano Sonata No. 1, which was premiered by the pianist Ruth Slenczynska in 1952, and his String Quartet No. 1, which was premiered by the Juilliard String Quartet in 1956. He also composed a number of works for electronic instruments, including his Electronic Suite for Tape Recorder, which was premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1960. In addition to his work as a composer, Kraehenbuehl was also a respected music educator. He taught at a number of institutions throughout his career, including the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Michigan. He was known for his innovative teaching methods, which emphasized the importance of creativity and experimentation in music. Kraehenbuehl was also a prolific writer on music, and his books and articles on topics such as music theory, composition, and electronic music are still widely read and studied today. He was a founding member of the Society for Music Theory and served as its president from 1977 to 1979. Throughout his career, Kraehenbuehl received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to music. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1956 and a Fulbright Scholar in 1960. He also received the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his book The Creative Composer in 1970. David Kraehenbuehl passed away on December 29, 2014, at the age of 91. He left behind a rich legacy of music and scholarship that continues to inspire and influence musicians and music lovers around the world.

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