Randall Thompson

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Randall Thompson (born April 21, 1899 in New York City , † July 9, 1984 in Boston ) was an American composer and music teacher who was best known for his choral works .

life and work

Thompson studied from 1916 at Harvard University a . a. with Ernest Bloch and Archibald Thompson Davison . A Damrosch scholarship enabled him to study at the American Conservatory in Rome from 1922 . After returning to the US, he settled in Greenwich Village and composed songs and music for revues such as The Straw Hat and Grand Street Follies .

In 1927 he became professor of music, organist and choir director at Wellesley College . He later taught at Harvard University, directed various madrigal choirs and the New York Juilliard Choir, and became a professor at Berkeley University , the University of Virginia and Princeton University . For two years he headed the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein were among his students. His study College Music (1935) brought about a fundamental reform of university music education in the USA.

Thompson composed three symphonies, two operas, other symphonic works and chamber music. However, it was mainly his choral works that became popular.

Memberships

In 1938 Thompson was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and in 1943 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Works

  • Pierrot and Cothurnus for orchestra, 1923
  • The Piper at the Gates of Dawn for orchestra, 1924
  • The Grand Street Follies , revue after Arthur Morgan , 1926
  • Jazz Poem for piano and orchestra , 1928
  • String quartet , 1941
  • Solomon and Balkis , opera based on Rudyard Kipling : The Butterfly that Stamped , 1941–42
  • The Nativity According to St Luke (Bible) , musical drama, 1960–61
  • String Quartet , 1967
  • The Italian Straw Has incidental music for Eugène Marin Labiche's piece
  • The Testament of Freedom , cantata
  • Odes of Horace for a cappella choir
  • Rosemary for female choir
  • Americana for mixed choir and piano
  • The Wind in the Willows for string quartet
  • Sonata for piano
  • Suite for piano

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Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Members: Randall Thompson. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed April 29, 2019 .
  2. ^ Members of the American Academy. Listed by election year, 1900-1949 ( PDF ). Retrieved September 29, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Thompson, Randall
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH July 9, 1984
Place of death Boston