Composers

Amy Cheney (Mrs. H. H. A.) Beach
http://www.classical-composers.org/cgi-bin/ccd.cgi?comp=beach
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach was of the earliest recognized woman composers in the United States. This website offers a brief biography with links to other related sites.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/composer/beach.html
Another, longer biography of this important American composer, with an audio example of her music.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4823432
This site offers a link to a short National Public Radio program on Beach and her music.

http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/beach/index.html
This site offers a biography of the composer along with an audio excerpt from her Sonata in A Minor.

Leonard Bernstein
See below under Performers and Teachers

Elliott Carter
http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=2790
This website offers a number of resources for this important contemporary American composer, including a biography, an introduction to his music, a list of his compositions, a list of current performances of his music, a discography, and audio examples of his music.

http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/features/interview_carter.html
An interview with the composer, including both a transcript and the recorded interview itself, as well as an audio example of his music.

http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/carter/index.html
Offers a biography of the composer with an audio excerpt from his Symphony No. 1.

Aaron Copland
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/achtml/achome.html
Aaron Copland was one of the most important American composers of the 20th century. This site includes a number of resources on him, including catalogs of his musical sketches, correspondence, and writings, photographs, a list of his compositions, an illustrated timeline, and articles on his music.

http://www.dl.ket.org/humanities/music/copland.htm
This page contains a wealth of links to articles about Copland, reviews of his music, articles by the composer, and audio examples of his music.

http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=2748
This website offers a number of resources for Copland, including a biography, a list of his compositions, information on current performances of his works, a discography, audio examples, and more.

Henry Cowell
http://www.sc.edu/library/music/hc_bio.html
Henry Cowell was an important American composer of the 20th century. This site offers a biography of this American composer, as well as information on the Henry Cowell Collection at the University of South Carolina.

George Crumb
http://www.georgecrumb.net/
George Crumb is an important contemporary American composer. This, his official website, offers a list of his compositions, a discography, books, articles, and other writings by and about the composer, and more.

http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/crumb/index.html
Offers a biography of the composer, along with an excerpt from his Gnomic Variations.

Emma Lou Diemer
http://www.bmop.org/musicians/composer_bio.aspx?cid=171
Emma Lou Diemer is an important contemporary American composer; this site offers her biography.

George Gershwin
http://www.carolinaclassical.com/gershwin/index.html
George Gershwin was an American composer who was as comfortable writing music for Broadway and Tin Pan Alley as he was for the concert hall. This site offers a biography of the composer with an audio example of his Three Preludes for Piano.

http://americancomposers.org/gershwin.htm
A description of a concert of Gershwin’s music given by the American Composers Orchestra, with a history of each of the works performed.

http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/gershwin.html
This site offers a biography of Gershwin, an article about him by fellow composer Arnold Schoenberg, reviews of recordings of Gershwin’s music, recommended recordings, and external links to other Gershwin-related sites.

Roy Harris
http://www.royharrisamericancomposer.com/
This site, dedicated to Roy Harris, offers an in-depth biography, photographs of the composer, and links to external sites.

Jennifer Higdon
http://www.jenniferhigdon.com/
This is composer Jennifer Higdon’s official website. It offers a biography, a list of her compositions, a list of current performances, a discography, reviews of her music, and numerous links.

http://www.ascap.com/audioportraits/jenniferhigdon.html
This site offers audio examples of Higdon’s music, coupled with her commentary.

Paul Hindemith
http://www.hindemith.org/
Paul Hindemith, who was born in Germany and emigrated to the U.S., was one of the important composers of the 20th century. This is the official website for the Hindemith Foundation, which was set up after Hindemith’s death to encourage the performance of his music. The site offers an illustrated timeline of the composer’s life, a list of his compositions, and more. To access the English-language version of the site from the homepage, click on “Hindemith Foundation.” Some parts of the site are available only in German.

Charles Ives
http://www.charlesives.org/
Charles Ives was an early 20th-century American composer whose music exhibits both experimentalist and nationalist traits. This is the official website of the Charles Ives Society, which was set up to encourage continued research into Ives’ music. It offers a biography of Ives, a list of his works, photographs, suggested reading, external links, and more.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/Ives/index.htm
Another website dedicated to Charles Ives. It offers a biography, a survey of recordings of his music, a list of his works, photographs, quotes attributed to Ives, an essay on his music, current news about his music, a list of recommended books, external links, and more.

http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/ives/index.html
Offers a biography of the composer with an audio excerpt from his Three Places in New England.

Ulysses Kay
http://www.cbmr.org/pubs/kay.htm
Ulysses Kay is one of the premiere African-American composers in the U.S. This page offers his biography, a list of his compositions, and discussions of several of his important works.

http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Kay.html
Offers a biography of the composer, with a link to an audio example of his music.

John Knowles Paine
See below under Performers and Teachers

Walter Piston
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Piston
An article on this important 20th-century American composer. It includes numerous internal links to related articles, a list of some of his major works, and more.

http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=2775
Offers a brief biography of the composer, a list of works, a list of recent performances, and several audio examples.

http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/piston/index.html
This site offers a biography of the composer, along with an audio excerpt from his Symphony No. 4.

Ruth Crawford (Seeger)
http://www.pegseeger.com/html/rcsindex.html
Although the main website is the official site for Peggy Seeger, this page offers information about her mother, composer Ruth Crawford Seeger. On the page are links to the composer’s biography, photographs, a discography, reviews of her books, and articles about her and her music.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_27_tue_04.shtml
Offers an audio discussion of her and her music that was originally broadcast on the BBC Radio4.

Roger Sessions
http://www.uncwil.edu/music/sessionssociety/
Roger Sessions was an important 20th-century American composer. The official website of the Roger Sessions Society, which was founded to promote research in, and performance of, the composer’s music. It offers two biographies of the composer, a list of his principal works, and more.

http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/sessions/
Offers a biography of the composer and an audio file of this orchestra composition, The Black Maskers.

William Grant Still
http://www.williamgrantstillmusic.com/
William Grant Still is considered by many to be the dean of African-American composers. The website for William Grant Still Music offers a biography of the composer and lists of music it publishes, much of which was written by Still.

http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Still.html
Offers a biography of the composer, a discussion of some of his compositions, and links to other Still-related sites.

http://www.americanclassicalmusic.org/03/inductees/still/index.html
This site offers a biography of the composer along with an audio excerpt from his Symphony No. 2.

http://www.umich.edu/~afroammu/standifer/still.html
A transcription of an interview with the composer

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
http://www.presser.com/composers/zwilich.html
Offers a biography of this important American composer, as well as a list of her awards, her compositions, and recordings of her works, and excerpts of reviews of her music.

Performers and Teachers

Atlanta Symphony
http://www.atlantasymphony.org/
The orchestra’s official website, with biographies of the principle conductors and more.

Leonard Bernstein
http://www.leonardbernstein.com/
This is the official website for Leonard Bernstein, the famous American composer and conductor. It offers a biography, a discography, news of recent Bernstein-related events, photographs, audio examples, and more.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lbhtml/lbhome.html
This is the website for the Library of Congress’ Leonard Bernstein Collection. It offers articles on the composer, photographs, a timeline of the composer’s life, a bibliography, and more.

http://www.classicalnotes.net/features/bernstein.html
An extensive biography of the composer.

http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=2730
This website offers a biography of the composer, as well as a list of his compositions, Bernstein-related news and performances, a discography, and several audio examples.

Nadia Boulanger
http://www.nadiaboulanger.org/
Nadia Boulanger was the teacher of many important 20th-century composers, as well as a composer in her own right. The official website of Boulanger America offers articles on her, a list of her many students, and links to other Boulanger-related sites.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/sunmorn/stories/s1410193.htm
A transcript of a radio program episode on Boulanger that was aired on Australia’s Radio National program, Exhibit A.

Virginia Eskin
http://www.virginiaeskin.com/
This is pianist Virginia Eskin’s official website. It offers a biography, a discography, a schedule of her performances, reviews, and more.

Paul Freeman
http://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Freeman.html
This site offers a biography of this important African-American conductor, as well as information on some of his recordings.

http://chicagosinfonietta.org/about/about_pf.html
This page offers a biography and discography of the conductor.

Indianapolis Symphony
http://www.indyorch.org/
The official website of the Indianapolis Symphony, it offers a history of the orchestra, biographies of the music director and conductors, and more.

Lowell Mason
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Mason
An article on this important American hymn writer and music educator.

John Nelson
http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=383
A website with information on this American conductor. It includes a biography, a discography, and news and reviews of his work.

Carl Orff
http://www.orff.de/index.php?id=291&L=1
The official website of the Carl Orff Foundation, it offers a biography of this important German composer and music educator, as well as a discography, timeline, a list of some of his compositions, information on his activities as a music educator, and more.

Eugene Ormandy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Ormandy
A biography of the long-time music director of the Philadelphia orchestra, with numerous links to related articles.

Robert Spano
http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pghsymph.nsf/bios/Robert+Spano
This site offers a biography and photographs of Robert Spano, currently Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony.

London Symphony Orchestra
http://www.lso.co.uk/home/
The official website for the London Symphony Orchestra, it offers a history of the orchestra, as well as biographies of its conductors, a discography, and more.

New York Philharmonic
http://newyorkphilharmonic.org/
The New York Philharmonic is one of the premiere orchestras in the United States. This, their official website, offers a history of the orchestra, biographies of its music director and orchestra members, and more.

John Knowles Paine
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2000/05.04/paine.html
This article provides a biography of John Knowles Paine, who founded the first university music program in the United States at Harvard University in 1875.

Philadelphia Orchestra
http://www.philorch.org/styles/poa02e/www/index2.html
The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the premiere orchestras in the U.S. This, their official website, offers a history of the ensemble, a discography, a current concert calendar, and much more.

Michael Tilson-Thomas
http://www.sfsymphony.org/templates/mttover.asp?nodeid=59
This portion of the San Francisco Symphony website offers information on its music director, Michael Tilson-Thomas, including a biography, a discography, a timeline, and a list of current performances with the Symphony.

Miscellaneous

American Mavericks
http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/
A website devoted to 20th- and 21st-century music by American composers. Includes to continuous radio streams, discussions of this music, and numerous audio files of complete performances of selected works by American composers and interviews with American composers.

Curtis Institute of Music
http://curtis.edu/html/10000.shtml
This is the website for the Curtis Institute of Music, one of the premiere music conservatories in the U.S.

Harvard University Department of Music
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~musicdpt/
This is the website for Harvard’s Department of Music, the oldest university music program in the U.S. It offers a variety of information, including a history of the Department.

Oberlin Conservatory
http://www.oberlin.edu/con/
This is the website for the Oberlin Conservatory, the oldest continually-operating music conservatory in the U.S.

Peabody
http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/home.php
This is the website for the Peabody Institute, the oldest music academy in the U.S.