George Crumb

Introduction

George Crumb Jr. was born in 1929 and was began experiencing music since birth. His father George Crumb was a renowned music and took him to all his of performances. Be it Sousa music concert, a symphony, or a local country music event, Crumb was perpetually surrounded by the beauty and colors of music. This is considered to be as one of the main reasons why music became the focal point of Crumb's life. At the age of seven, Crumb's father began to give his clarinet lessons. Two years later, Crumb began to learn to play the piano. At a very tender age, Crumb was deemed eligible to play in the family's music sessions, playing clarinet and later would go on to play chorus on the piano. His interested in piano meant his brother had to fill the void for flute (Gillespie, pp. 301).

Teaching Career

As an adult, Crumb took the profession of teaching at Hollins College, Virginia. From 1958 to 1959, Crumb taught music theory. It was his skill of playing the piano that took him to the University of Colorado, Boulder where he taught the instrument till the year 1964.

Major Contribution of George Crumb

During his time in Michigan, George Crumb was able to have two of his works published. These works included the Sonata for solo cells and his thesis on Variazioni for large scale orchestra. The Variazioni was considered by many as being unplayable; however it did not deter musicians from trying and performing it successfully at events. On the other hand, the Sonata does reveal the mature style of composition of Crumb, but it serves as an example of the work he was engaged in composing prior to finding his niche.

In the year of 1968, Crumb was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his work ...