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Virgil Thomson

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American composer and critic (1896–1989)

Person · Open Library

Born
1896
Died
1989
Works
91

Top works

  • Dix portraits
  • The state of music
  • Eighteen portraits
  • A Salute to Virgil Thomson
  • Music reviewed, 1940-1954

via Open Library + Wikidata

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
4,777
Total plays
26,859

Tags

contemporary classicalClassicalcomposeramerican20th Century

Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989) was an American composer from Kansas City, Missouri who was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music so often associated with the patriotic compositions of Aaron Copland. Thomson displayed an extraordinary intelligence at an early age. As a child, he befriended Alice Smith, granddaughter of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon faith. He attended Harvard University, and his tours of Europe with the Harvard Gl

via Last.fm · Virgil Thomson

Quotes

  • I got myself into a lovely little—shall we say controversy—with André Breton, by pointing out that the discipline of spontaneity, which he was asking his surrealist neophytes to adopt, was new for language but something that composers had been practicing for centuries.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA