Role

:

Composer  

Birth

:

August 1, 1926

Period

:

Contemporary

 

 

Modern

Genre

:

Chamber

 

Karl Kohn was a renowned American composer and pianist, born on July 13, 1926, in Vienna, Austria. He was the son of a prominent lawyer and a talented pianist, who introduced him to music at a young age. Kohn's family fled Austria in 1938, following the Nazi invasion, and settled in New York City. Kohn began his musical studies at the age of six, and by the time he was a teenager, he was already performing in public. He studied piano with Rosalyn Tureck and composition with Roger Sessions at the Juilliard School, where he earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees. He also studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and Luigi Dallapiccola in Florence. Kohn's compositions were heavily influenced by his studies with Sessions, who emphasized the importance of structure and form in music. Kohn's early works were characterized by their use of serialism, a compositional technique that involves organizing musical elements based on a series of pitches or rhythms. However, Kohn later moved away from serialism and began incorporating tonal elements into his music. Kohn's music has been performed by many prominent orchestras and ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was also a prolific composer of chamber music, with works for various combinations of instruments, including string quartets, piano trios, and wind quintets. In addition to his work as a composer, Kohn was also a respected pianist. He performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He was particularly known for his interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach, and he recorded several albums of Bach's keyboard works. Kohn received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. One of Kohn's most notable works is his Symphony No. 3, which was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and premiered in 1967. The symphony is a large-scale work that incorporates elements of both serialism and tonality. It is divided into four movements, each of which explores a different musical idea. Another significant work by Kohn is his String Quartet No. 2, which was commissioned by the Juilliard String Quartet and premiered in 1960. The quartet is a complex and challenging work that showcases Kohn's mastery of serialism. It is divided into four movements, each of which explores a different aspect of the quartet's sound. Kohn continued to compose and perform well into his later years. He passed away on June 2, 2019, at the age of 92. His legacy as a composer and pianist continues to be celebrated by musicians and music lovers around the world.

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