He continued to compose and travel for performances and recording sessions. George Crumb, 1990 George Crumb: Black Angels (1970) Watch on Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Juan Pablo Izquierdo Black Angels is probably the only quartet to have been inspired by the Vietnam War. There were terifying things in the air they found their way into Black Angels. Though Crumb retired from teaching in 1997, he was appointed with David Burge to a joint residency at Arizona State University in early 2002. Thirteen images from the dark land Things were turned upside down. Inspired by both the sound and looks of his scores, numerous dance companies have choreographed his work. With the idea that his music should look as evocative as it sounds, the scores themselves are works of art, handwritten in spirals, appearing to be engraved on mutant staves, and in 1972’s Makrokosmos, written in the shape of a peace sign. As a child, he transcribed for his father and developed an appreciation for calligraphy. One of his best-known pieces, Black Angels, was recorded by the Kronos Quartet and featured string players bowing goblets.Ĭrumb was also known for his unique scores. Singers are often challenged with caterwauling vocal gymnastics. In some of his orchestral pieces, musicians – sometimes masked – are instructed to walk around the stage blowing air – but not notes – through their horns, and to leave and enter the stage during the piece.

Pianists must pluck the strings and employ a variety of items like chisels, paperclips and marbles to alter their sound. His compositions often require musicians to rethink the way they play. Echoes of Time and the River earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1968, and Star-Child (1977) won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Composition in 2001. Night of the Four Moons (1969) was inspired by the Apollo 11 lunar landing, while Black Angels (1970) evokes a dark, surreal soundscape of the Vietnam War. He cited both Béla Bartók and Claude Debussy as influences. Instead, he made use of found sounds and objects to create wildly original pieces. He joined the staff at the University of Pennsylvania in 1965 and remained there until 1997.Įarly in his career, Crumb said he was unable to compose in a traditional format. He taught at a college in Virginia before becoming a professor of piano and composition at the University of Colorado in 1958. He studied in Berlin as a Fullbright scholar, then returned to the U.S.

He graduated from Charleston’s Mason School of Music in 1950 and earned a master’s degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. What makes his music stunningly different is a combination of who he is and where he came from.Ĭrumb’s father, clarinetist George Henry Crumb, Sr., and his mother, cellist Vivian Reed Crumb, both played with the Charleston Symphony. He was one of a select few to have been awarded both a Pulitzer Prize for Music and a Grammy Award. Writing for orchestras and ensembles, Crumb won many awards, accolades and admirers. Born and raised in Charleston, composer George Crumb was recognized the world over as one of the 20th century’s most adventurous and exceptional composers.

George crumb black angels score