George Gershwin-9

American composer George Gershwin began his career in popular music -- he was a 'song plugger', his job was to sell new music. He worked in a part of New York City called 'Tin Pan Alley',  where many music publishers had offices.  He also studied classical music and wrote some of the most well known American music of the twentieth century: Rhapsody in Blue, Porgy and Bess, and An American in Paris. Here is some of his music:

I Got Rhythm- performed by George Gershwin

An American in Paris

Summertime (from the opera Porgy and Bess)

THIS IS THE LAST COMPOSER OF THE WEEK ENTRY UNTIL JANUARY 2017. 

Gabriela Lena Frank - 8

American composer Gabriella Frank was born in California in 1972. She is an active composer writing new music everyday! Her music has been commissioned (she was asked to create new music) and performed by The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Los Angeles Orchestra, and The King's Singers just to name a few. She is also an excellent pianist and has made several recordings. Listen to these examples of her music:

Coqueteos

Danza Peruana

Los Sombras de la Apus

and this is an interesting interview with the composer

Scott Joplin - 7

He's the most famous composer you've never heard of -- Scott Joplin was born near the end of 1867 (no one is sure of the actual date) in Northern Texas. His parents were emancipated (free) slaves, and gave Scott some of his earliest music lessons.

Scott taught himself to play the piano while his mother cleaned the houses of wealthy people who owned pianos (the Joplins did not have a piano at home). Later in his life he began to write music, and became known as "The King Of Ragtime" because of the style of music he created. An opera, music for ballet, and more than 44 ragtime dances for the piano are just a part of the music Joplin wrote in his life. Here are two of his most well known compositions:

The Entertainer

Maple Leaf Rag

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich-6

      

The very first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for music, Ellen has also been mentioned in "Peanuts":

As you can see she composed a piece of music called "Peanuts Gallery".

Another first for Ellen- she was the first woman to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts in Compositionfrom the Juilliard school! Today she is in great demand as a composer -- writing several new pieces of music every year. Here are some of her most popular compositions:

Symphony Number 1 (won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983)

Peanuts Gallery Part 1

Septet for Piano Trio and String Quartet (listen for the 'blue' sounds!)

Steve Reich-5

American composer Steve Reich uses Ostinatos in almost all of his music. He took piano lessons as a child and did not decide on a career in music until he was in college. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the 20th and 21st century, introducing the use of pre-recorded music in a concert and the use of ostinatos. He won a Grammy in 1990 and was awarded the Pulitzer prize for music in 2009.  Here are some examples of his music:

Different Trains - music for strings and recordings

So Percussion

Music For Pieces of Wood

Joan Tower-4

Joan Tower is one of the most well known American composers living or dead, and is also one of the most successful female composers ever! Many of her compositions have won awards including a Grammy. She is also an accomplished pianist. Joan was born in 1938 in New York. When she was a child her family moved to South America, she returned to the states many years later to go to college and continue her music career. Listen to the following examples:

For The Uncommon Woman

Petroushskates

Or Like A...An Engine

William Grant Still - 3

Born in Mississippi William Grant Still was the first African American composer to have music performed by a major symphony orchestra and the first African American to conduct (lead) a major symphony orchestra ( The Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1936). HIs music has been performed all over the world and is still very popular. Here are some examples:

Afro-American Symphony (first Movement)

Ennanga

Danzas De Panama

Clara Schumann-2

During her lifetime (1819-1896), Clara Schumann was known as a concert pianist--in fact, she was considered one of the greatest pianists of her day! As a child, she gave her first public performance at the age of eight, and at the age of eleven, she toured all over Europe. Since she performed the music of other composers, her own compositions were not often performed during her lifetime. Today, Schumann's  music is very well known, and now you know her music too!

Here are a few examples:

Scherzo in C minor

Trio (music for violin, cello, and piano)

Piano Concerto in A minor (this is a lengthy selection- the first few minutes will give you  a taste)

John Williams -1

Without a doubt John Williams is one of America's best known composers. He was born in 1932 to a musical family- his father played the drums.  He studied music in college and played in the US Air Force band. He started writing music for movies in the nineteen fifties. When he was 29 years old he won his first academy award ( one of many) for the movie "Fiddler on the Roof". He then wrote the music for "Jaws" winning another academy award. His most well known work is the music for "Star Wars" - this is music that is known around the world! He also wrote the music for the Harry Potter movies!

Here are some examples:

Indiana Jones

Jurassic Park

The Fiddler on the Roof