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Henry Cowell
Born: 11th March 1897, California, U.S.A
Died: 10th December 1965, New York, U.S.A
Nationality: American
Henry Dixon Cowell was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher, teacher and the husband of Sidney Robertson Cowell. Earning a reputation as an extremely controversial performer and eccentric composer, Cowell became a leading figure of American avant-garde music for the first half of the 20th century — his writings and music serving as a great influence to similar artists at the time, including Lou Harrison, George Antheil, and John Cage, among others. He is considered one of America's most important and influential composers.
Cowell was mostly self-taught and developed a unique musical language, often blending folk melodies, dissonant counterpoint, unconventional orchestration, and themes of Irish paganism. He was an early proponent and innovator of many modernist compositional techniques and sensibilities, many for the piano, including the string piano, prepared piano, tone clusters, and graphic notation.
Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cowell
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Further Reading: Cowell, H
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Americascapes from Robert Trevino and the Basque National Orchestra
1st Oct 2021
Four different voices from the melting-pot of early twentieth-century America come together to create a fascinating snapshot of a time of great change and innovation, ranging from melodious Romanticism to uncompromising atonality.
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Popular Works: Cowell, H
- Advertisement (4)
- Aeolian Harp (14)
- Amiable Conversation (3)
- Banshee (4)
- Dynamic motion (6)
- Exultation (8)
- Fabric (5)
- Homage to Iran (3)
- Hommage a Rudhyar (2)
- How Old is Song? (5)
- Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 2 (3)
- Invention (3)
- Irish Legends for piano, HC 354 (4)
- Irish Suite, for String Piano and Small Orchestra (2)
- Lilt of the Reel (3)
- Ostinato Pianissimo (3)
- Piece for Piano (3)
- Polyphonica, for Small Orchestra (2)
- Pulse for five players (3)
- Quartet "Euphometric" (3)
- Quartet Romantic (2)
- Return (3)
- Set of Five (2)
- Set of Four (4)
- Sinister Resonance (3)
- Sonata for Violin and Piano (1945) (4)
- St. Agnes Morning (3)
- Suite for Violin and Piano (2)
- Suite for Woodwind Quintet (3)
- Sweet Was the Song the Virgin Sung (2)
- The Banshee for piano (5)
- The Harp of Life (2)
- The Snows of Fujiyama (3)
- The Universal Flute (4)
- Three Irish Legends (5)
- Tiger (4)
- Trio in Nine Short Movements (3)
- Variations for Orchestra (3)
- Vestiges (4)
- What's This (2)
