Leon Kirchner
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Leon Kirchner (born January 24, 1919 in Brooklyn, NY) is an American composer of classical music. Member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Kirchner studied at the University of California, Berkeley with Ernest Bloch, Arnold Schoenberg, and Roger Sessions. He was professor of music at Harvard from 1961-1991.
Selected works
Opera
- Lily (1977), opera in 3 acts, libretto by the composer after Saul Bellow's novel Henderson the Rain King, cast: 3 male, 4 female roles; chorus
Orchestra
- Sinfonia (1951)
- Concerto for Piano No. 1 (1953), received Naumburg Award
- Toccata (1955)
- Concerto for Violin, Violoncello, 10 Winds, and Percussion (1960)
- Concerto for Piano No. 2 (1963)
- Music for Orchestra (1969)
- Music for Flute and Orchestra (1978)
- Orchestra Piece (Music for Orchestra II) (1990), formerly called 'Kaleidoscope'
- Music for Cello and Orchestra (1992), received Friedheim Award
- Of Things Exactly As They Are (1997), Soprano, Baritone; SATB Chorus; texts by Robinson Jeffers, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Wallace Stevens, and Robert Lowell
Chamber/vocal/solo
- Duo for Violin and Piano (1947)
- Piano Sonata (1948)
- Little Suite (1949) for piano
- String Quartet No. 1 (1949)
- Sonata Concertante (1952) for violin and piano
- Trio (1954) for violin, cello, and piano
- String Quartet No. 2 (1958)
- Fanfare (1965), for horn and two trumpets
- String Quartet No. 3 (1966), received Pulitzer Prize
- Words from Wordsworth (1966) for mixed voices a cappella
- Flutings for Paula (1973), for flute solo (with optional percussion)
- Fanfare II (1977), for brass ensemble
- The Twilight Stood (1982)
- Music for Twelve (1985)
- For Cello Solo (1986)
- For Violin Solo (1986)
- Illuminations (1986) for brass ensemble
- Five Pieces (1987), for piano solo
- For Violin Solo II (1988)
- Triptych (1988) for violin and cello (comprised of For Cello Solo and Two Duos for Violin and Cello)
- Two Duos (1988) for violin and cello
- Interlude (1989) for piano
- Trio II (1993) for violin, cello, and piano
- For the Left Hand (1995), for piano solo
- Duo No. 2 for Violin and Piano (2002)
- Interlude II (2003) for piano
- Piano Sonata No. 2 (2003)
External links
- [Biography at All Music Guide] by Blair Johnston
- [Biography at G. Schirmer]
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