American Composers

George Gershwin

American composer from the United States who blended classical music with jazz and popular styles

Rhapsody in Blue

Work by George Gershwin (United States) for piano and orchestra blending jazz and classical elements

Concerto in F

Piano concerto by George Gershwin (United States) combining jazz idioms with symphonic form

An American in Paris

Orchestral work by George Gershwin (United States) inspired by his travels in France

Cuban Overture

Orchestral work by George Gershwin (United States) influenced by Afro-Cuban music

Ira Gershwin

Lyricist from the United States and brother of George Gershwin

Embraceable You

Song by George Gershwin (United States) with lyrics by Ira Gershwin

I Got Rhythm

Song by George Gershwin (United States) from the musical Girl Crazy

Girl Crazy

1930 Broadway musical by George Gershwin (United States)

Porgy and Bess

Opera by George Gershwin (United States) featuring an all–African American cast

Summertime

Song from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin (United States)

It Ain’t Necessarily So

Song from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin (United States)

Aaron Copland

American composer from the United States associated with nationalist and populist styles

Nadia Boulanger

Influential composition teacher in France who taught Aaron Copland

Symphony for Organ and Orchestra

Early symphony by Aaron Copland (United States) later revised as Symphony No. 1

El Salón México

First major populist orchestral work by Aaron Copland (United States)

Populist Style

Style used by Copland (United States) based on folk and folk-like themes

Billy the Kid

Ballet by Aaron Copland (United States)

Rodeo

Ballet by Aaron Copland (United States) featuring American Western themes

Appalachian Spring

Ballet by Aaron Copland (United States) that became his most famous work

The Tender Land

Opera by Aaron Copland (United States)

The Promise of Living

Chorus from The Tender Land by Copland (United States)

Leonard Bernstein

American composer and conductor from the United States

Young People’s Concerts

Televised educational concerts led by Bernstein (United States)

New York Philharmonic

Orchestra directed by Bernstein (United States) from 1958–1969

Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah”

Symphony by Bernstein (United States)

Prelude Fugue and Riffs

Jazz-influenced concerto by Bernstein (United States) premiered by Benny Goodman

West Side Story

Musical by Bernstein (United States) blending jazz and classical styles

Fancy Free

Ballet by Bernstein (United States)

Candide

Operetta by Bernstein (United States)

On the Waterfront

Film score by Bernstein (United States)

Arnold Schoenberg

Austrian-born composer from Austria who emigrated to the United States

Second Viennese School

Group led by Schoenberg (Austria) including Berg and Webern

Atonality

Music without a tonal center pioneered by Schoenberg (Austria)

Twelve-Tone Method

Compositional system developed by Schoenberg (Austria)

Suite for Piano Op. 25

First fully twelve-tone work by Schoenberg (Austria)

Klangfarbenmelodie

“Tone-color melody” technique developed by Schoenberg (Austria)

Five Pieces for Orchestra

Work by Schoenberg (Austria) featuring klangfarbenmelodie

Philip Glass

American minimalist composer from the United States

Minimalism

Style used by Glass (United States) emphasizing repetition and gradual change

Portrait Operas

Trilogy of operas by Philip Glass (United States)

Einstein on the Beach

Opera by Glass (United States) using numbers and solfege instead of a libretto

Satyagraha

Opera by Glass (United States) about Mahatma Gandhi

Akhnaten

Opera by Glass (United States) about the Egyptian pharaoh

Additive Process

Technique used by Glass (United States) where music gradually expands

Strung Out

Early minimalist work by Glass (United States)

Music in Fifths

Early minimalist work by Glass (United States)

The Truman Show

Film scored by Philip Glass (United States)

The Hours

Film scored by Philip Glass (United States)

Samuel Barber

American composer from the United States known for lyrical classicism

Adagio for Strings

Most famous work by Samuel Barber (United States)

String Quartet

Original source of Adagio for Strings by Barber (United States)

Piano Concerto

Large-scale concerto by Barber (United States)

Cave of the Heart

Ballet score by Barber (United States) based on Medea

First Symphony

Single-movement symphony by Barber (United States)

Dover Beach

Vocal work by Barber (United States)

Knoxville Summer of 1915

Nostalgic vocal work by Barber (United States)

Vanessa

Pulitzer Prize–winning opera by Barber (United States)

Antony and Cleopatra

Unsuccessful opera by Barber (United States)

Charles Ives

American modernist composer from the United States

Polytonality

Technique used by Ives (United States) featuring multiple key centers

Programmatic Music

Music that tells a story or depicts ideas used by Ives (United States)

Piano Sonata No. 2 “Concord”

Sonata by Ives (United States) based on transcendentalists

Symphony No. 3 “The Camp Meeting”

Pulitzer Prize–winning symphony by Ives (United States)

Three Places in New England

Orchestral suite by Ives (United States)

The Unanswered Question

Experimental orchestral work by Ives (United States)

John Cage

American experimental composer from the United States

Aleatoric Music

Chance-based composition associated with Cage (United States)

4′33″

Silent piece by John Cage (United States) using ambient sound

Music of Changes

Work by Cage (United States) created using the I Ching

I Ching

Ancient Chinese text used by Cage (United States) to determine musical content

Prepared Piano

Piano altered with objects inside the strings used by Cage (United States)

As Slow As Possible

Work by Cage (United States) being performed over centuries

John Adams

American minimalist composer from the United States

Nixon in China

Opera by John Adams (United States) about a presidential visit

Doctor Atomic

Opera by John Adams (United States) about the Manhattan Project

On the Transmigration of Souls

Memorial work by John Adams (United States) that won the Pulitzer Prize

Harmonium

Large choral-orchestral work by John Adams (United States)

Harmonielehre

Orchestral work by John Adams (United States)

Shaker Loops

Minimalist orchestral work by John Adams (United States)

Violin Concerto

Concerto by John Adams (United States)

Stephen Sondheim

American composer and lyricist from the United States

Musical Theater

Genre dominated by Stephen Sondheim (United States)

West Side Story

Musical with lyrics by Sondheim (United States) and music by Bernstein

Company

Musical by Sondheim (United States) exploring modern relationships

Sweeney Todd

Dark musical by Sondheim (United States) about revenge

Into the Woods

Musical by Sondheim (United States) combining fairy tales

Sunday in the Park with George

Musical by Sondheim (United States) that won the Pulitzer Prize