Composer

Virgil Thomson

American composer and critic (1896–1989)

1896–1989

162 works and musical collections

Born: 1896
Died: 1989
Birthplace: Kansas City
Place of death: New York City
Citizenship / historical state: United States
Period (estimated from birth year): Modern

Biography

Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassicist, and a composer of "an Olympian blend of humanity and detachment" whose "expressive voice was always carefully muted" until his late opera Lord Byron which, in contrast to all his previous work, exhibited an emotional content that rises to "moments of real passion".

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Life and musical career

Occupations: conductor; composer; music critic; film score composer; journalist
Education: Harvard University
Teachers: Nadia Boulanger
Career institutions / employers: Federal Theatre Project
Recorded memberships: American Academy of Arts and Letters; American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Instruments played: organ
Genres: opera; symphony
Notable works: Lord Byron
Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship; National Medal of Arts; Pulitzer Prize for Music; Kennedy Center Honors; National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism
Languages used: English
VIAF ID: 79167878
ISNI: 0000000109192182
GND ID: 118802097
Library of Congress ID: n50012238
MusicBrainz ID: 0b0e4a44-b090-4f78-8db9-376dc32f407f

Recorded in Wikidata. Affiliations may refer to earlier stages of the composer's career.

In this catalogue

Common listed instruments: Piano, Voice, violin, Alto, bass
Genres represented: Classical
Source entries with composition dates: 0

These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.

Catalogue

Sheet music catalogue page 1 of 4

Instruments describe listed editions, including arrangements. Composition dates and keys appear where recorded; collection pages show their individual contents.

Works and musical collections with sheet music details
Title	Work details	Listed instruments	Sheet music
Scherzo With Chorale (Thomson V)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Dona Flor: Receiving (Thomson V)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Portrait Of Ladies (Thomson V)	See work details	Clarinet Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Madame Marthe-Marthine	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Alice Toklas (Vln/Pno)thomson V	See work details	Piano violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
The Squeeze Box (Thomson V)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Georges Hugnet	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Mrs. Chester Whitin Lasell	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Before Sleeping	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Karen Brown Waltruck: Intensely Two	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Anne-Marie Soulliere: Something of A Beauty	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Paul Sanfacon: On the Ice	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Preciosilla	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Mary Reynolds(Vln/Pno)thomson V	See work details	Piano violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
My Master Hath A Garden	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
The Owl And The Pussycat	See work details	bass Tenor Choir 1 more instruments Alto Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Richard Flender: Solid, Not Stolid	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Noah Creshevsky: Loyal, Steady, Persistent	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Betty Freeman: Dead Pan	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Duet: Clarita, Comtesse De Forceville	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
CANTICLE OF THE SUN, THE	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Bayou Pastoral (Thomson V)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Thou that dwellest in the garders	See work details	Piano Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Christn Berard Person (Thomson V	See work details	Clarinet Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Ruth Smallens	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Work & excerpts The Canticle of the Sun 1 excerpt listings	See work details	Check individual editions	View sheet music Contents & editions
Jerusalem, My Happy Home	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
The Pelican Chorus	See work details	bass Tenor Choir 1 more instruments Alto Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Bill Katz: Wide Awake	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
John Wright: Drawing	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Craig Rutenberg: Swinging	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Wheat Field At Noon	See work details	Orchestra Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Yes, My Love Is Good to Tell of	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
All Gone Are the Ships	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Vassilis Voglis: On The March	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Mark Beard: Never Alone	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Louis Rispoli: In A Boat	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Glynn Boyd Harte: Reaching	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Phillip Ramey: Thinking Hard	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Four	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
I am my beloved	See work details	Piano Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
By night	See work details	Piano Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Organ Voluntaries (3) Thomson V	See work details	Organ Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Christn Berard Soldier(Thomson V	See work details	Clarinet Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Senorita Juanita De Medina	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Miss Gertrude Stein	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Cliquet-Pleyel	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Cynthia Kemper (Vln/Pno)thomson	See work details	Piano violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details

Biographical record: Wikidata, matched on name and checked against dates held in the catalogue. The period label is an estimate from birth year. Authority record: VIAF 79167878. Portrait: Carl Van Vechten / Adam Cuerden, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.