Period

:

Modern

Genre

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Vocal

 

Ethel Luening was an American composer, performer, and teacher who made significant contributions to the world of classical music. Born on January 11, 1927, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Luening was the daughter of a music teacher and a violinist. She began her musical training at a young age, studying piano and violin with her parents. Luening attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1948. She then went on to study composition with Otto Luening (no relation) at Columbia University, where she earned a Master of Arts degree in 1950. While at Columbia, Luening also studied electronic music with Vladimir Ussachevsky, one of the pioneers of the genre. In the early 1950s, Luening began performing as a pianist and harpsichordist, often collaborating with her husband, the composer and conductor Otto Luening. She also began composing her own music, which was often experimental and avant-garde in nature. In 1952, Luening's composition "Fantasy in Space" was premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, marking her first major public performance. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Luening continued to compose and perform, often incorporating electronic music into her works. In 1959, she co-founded the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center with her husband and Ussachevsky, which became a leading center for electronic music research and composition. Luening also taught at Columbia University, the Manhattan School of Music, and the University of California, San Diego, where she was a professor of music from 1974 to 1992. Luening's music was often praised for its innovative use of electronic sounds and its incorporation of non-traditional instruments and techniques. In 1961, she won the Guggenheim Fellowship for Music Composition, which allowed her to travel to Europe and study with the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Luening also received numerous other awards and honors throughout her career, including the National Endowment for the Arts Composer's Grant in 1974 and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Music Award in 1980. Some of Luening's most notable compositions include "Rhapsodic Variations" for piano and orchestra, "Sonata for Flute and Piano," and "Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra." She also collaborated with her husband on several works, including the opera "Evangeline" and the ballet "The Seasons." Luening continued to compose and perform until her death on September 3, 2008, at the age of 81. She left behind a legacy of innovative and experimental music that continues to inspire and influence composers and performers today.

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