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 3 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
Yvonne (Vln/Pno) Thomson V	See work details	Piano violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
The Akond Of Swat	See work details	bass Tenor Choir 1 more instruments Alto Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Norma Flender: Thoughts About Waltzing	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Sam Byers: with Joy	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Buffie Johnson: Drawing Virgil Thomson in Charcoal	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Travelling in Spain: Alice Woodfin Branliere	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Invention: Theodate Johnson Busy and Resting	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Dora Maar, or the Presence of Pablo Picasso	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Jamie Campbell: Stretching	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
James Patrick Cannon: Professional Revolutionary	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Squeeze Box, The	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
New Born Babe, The	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
At Fourteen:a Barnard	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Scherzo: P Rea	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
We Cannot Retrace Our Steps	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Love Song	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Sea Piece with Birds	See work details	Orchestra Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Let's take a walk	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Pange Lingua	See work details	Organ Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
English Usage	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
My Crow Pluto	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Pigeons On The Grass Alas	See work details	Baritone Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Portrait Of F.B. (Frances Blood)	See work details	Voice Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Edges (Portrait Of Robert Indiana)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Prelude	See work details	Organ Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
The Cat	See work details	Baritone Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Prayer To Venus	See work details	bass Tenor Alto Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Louisiana Story	See work details	Orchestra Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Acadian Songs And Dances	See work details	Orchestra Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Autumn Concertino For Harp Strings And Percussion	See work details	Harp strings Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Cantantes Eamus	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
The Feast Of Love	See work details	Baritone Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Man Of Iron (A Portrait Of Willy Eisehart)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Mass	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Voluntaries For Organ	See work details	Organ Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Plough That Broke The Plains	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Walking Song	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Dennis Davies (In A Hammock)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Malitte Matta (In Executive Suite)	See work details	Piano Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Psalm 123	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Psalm 133	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Psalm 136	See work details	See edition details Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
The Seine At Night	See work details	Orchestra Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Barcarolle (A Portrait Of Georges Hugnet)	See work details	violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
In A Bird Cage (A Portrait Of Lise Deharme)	See work details	Cello violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Tango Lullaby (A Portrait Of Mlle. Alvarez De Toledo)	See work details	Cello violin Classical	View sheet music Work & edition details
Bugles And Birds (Portrait Of Pablo Picasso)	See work details	Cello 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.