Role

:

Composer Conductor  

Country

:

United States of America

Birth

:

June 9, 1938 in New York City, NY

Death

:

March 12, 2020 in New York City, NY

Period

:

Contemporary

Genre

:

Avant-Garde

 

 

Chamber

 

Charles Wuorinen was an American composer who was born on June 9, 1938, in New York City. He was the son of a violinist and a music teacher, and he grew up in a musical family. Wuorinen began playing the piano at a young age and showed an early interest in composition. He attended Columbia University, where he studied with Jack Beeson and Otto Luening. He also studied with Milton Babbitt at Princeton University. Wuorinen's early works were influenced by serialism, a compositional technique that uses a series of pitches to create a musical structure. His first major work, Symphony No. 1, was composed in 1959 and premiered in 1960. The symphony was well-received and established Wuorinen as a promising young composer. In the 1960s, Wuorinen became associated with the New York School of composers, which included John Cage, Morton Feldman, and Earle Brown. These composers were known for their experimental and avant-garde approaches to music. Wuorinen's works from this period, such as the String Quartet No. 1 and the Piano Sonata No. 1, were characterized by their complex rhythms and dissonant harmonies. In the 1970s, Wuorinen began to incorporate more tonal elements into his music. He also began to experiment with electronic music, creating works such as Time's Encomium and Synaxis. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his composition Time's Encomium. Wuorinen's later works continued to explore new musical territories. He composed several operas, including Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which was based on the novel by Salman Rushdie. He also wrote several works for orchestra, including the Symphony No. 4 and the Symphony No. 8. One of Wuorinen's most notable works is his Piano Concerto No. 4, which was composed in 2007. The concerto was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered by pianist Peter Serkin. The work is characterized by its complex rhythms and intricate textures, and it has been praised for its virtuosic piano writing. Wuorinen was also a respected teacher and music theorist. He taught at Columbia University, Rutgers University, and the New England Conservatory of Music. He wrote several books on music theory, including Simple Composition and The Craft of Musical Composition. Wuorinen passed away on March 11, 2020, at the age of 81. He left behind a legacy of innovative and challenging music that pushed the boundaries of classical composition. His works continue to be performed and studied by musicians and music lovers around the world.

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