Paul Creston
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Paul Creston (born Giuseppe Guttoveggio October 10, 1906 in New York City – died August 24, 1985 in San Diego, California) was an Italian American composer of classical music.
Born in New York City, Creston was self‐taught as a composer. He was an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, initiated into the national honorary Alpha Alpha chapter. His work tends to be fairly conservative in style, firmly tonal (as opposed to atonal) in style, and with a strong rhythmic element. His pieces include six symphonies, a number of concertos, including two for violin, one for marimba, one for two pianos, one for accordion and one for alto saxophone, a fantasia for trombone and orchestra (composed for and premiered by Robert Marsteller), and a Rapsodie again for alto saxophone - written for famous virtuoso Jean-Marie Londeix. He also wrote a sonata for alto saxophone (dedicated to Cecil Leeson). Several of his works were inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman. Creston was the most performed American composer of the 1940s.[citation needed]
Several of Creston's works have become staples of the wind band repetoire. Zanoni, Prelude and Dance, and the Celebration Overture have been and still are on several state lists for contests across the USA.
Creston was also a notable teacher, with the composers Irwin Swack, John Corigliano, and Charles Roland Berry, accordionist/composer William Schimmel and the jazz musicians Rusty Dedrick and Charlie Queener among his pupils. He wrote the theoretical books Principles of Rhythm (1964) and Rational Metric Notation (1979).
[edit] List of selected works sorted by opus number
- Opus 1: Five dances, for piano
- Opus 4: Three poems from Walt Whitman, for cello and piano [1]
- Opus 5: Out of the cradle [2]
- Opus 8: String quartet [3]
- Opus 9: Sonata, for solo piano. [4]
- Opus 10: Three sonnets for medium voice and piano [5]
- Opus 12: Partita for flute, violin and strings [6]
- Opus 13: Suite for viola and piano. (1938?) [7] [8]
- Opus 14: Five two-part inventions for piano. [9]
- Opus 16: Threnody, for orchestra [10]
- Opus 17a: Two choric dances (1938) [11]
- Opus 17b: Two choric dances (1938) [12]
- Opus 18: Suite for violin and piano [13]
- Opus 19: Sonata for saxophone and piano (pub 1945) [14]
- Opus 20: Symphony no. 1 (1940) (premiered February 22, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) [1]
- Opus 21b: Concertino for marimba and band [15]
- Opus 24: Five little dances, for piano. [16]
- Opus 26: Concerto for saxophone and orchestra
- Opus 28: Pastorale and tarantella [17]
- Opus 29: Two Preludes and Dances for piano
- Opus 30: Dance variations for voice and orchestra [18]
- Opus 31: Legend, for symphonic band (1942) [2].
- Opus 32: Fantasy for piano and orchestra (or, concerto for piano and orchestra) [19] [20]
- Opus 33: Chant of 1942 [21]
- Opus 35: Symphony no. 2 (1944) [1]
- Opus 37: Psalm XXIII (1945) for soprano, mixed chorus and small orchestra [22] [23]
- Opus 38: Six preludes for piano [24]
- Opus 40: Zanoni: for band. [25]
- Opus 41: Homage, for viola or violoncello and piano [26]
- Opus 42: Fantasy for trombone and orchestra [27][28]
- Opus 43: Concerto for piano and orchestra [29]
- Opus 44: Missa solemnis for mixed voices (S.A.T.B.) or male voices (T.T.B.B.) and organ [30]
- Opus 46: Three songs [31]
- Opus 48: Symphony no. 3 (Three Mysteries) (1950) [32] [33]
- Opus 50: Concerto for two pianos and orchestra [34]
- Opus 52: Symphony no. 4 (1951) [35]
- Opus 53: Walt Whitman, for orchestra (1958) [36]
- Opus 56: Suite for flute, viola and piano. [37]
- Opus 58: Invocation and dance, for orchestra (New York: G. Schirmer, 1955) [38]
- Opus 59: La lettre, for voice and piano [39]
- Opus 60: The Celestial Vision, for male voices (T.T.B.B.) [40] (pub. 1959)
- Opus 61: Celebration Overture for Symphonic Band (1954, premiered February 1955 in Elkhart, Indiana) [3]
- Opus 62: Dance overture [41]
- Opus 63: A song of joys; for voice (med.-high) & piano. Text by Walt Whitman. [42]
- Opus 64: Symphony no. 5
- Opus 65: Violin Concerto no. 1 (1956) [43]) (published in piano score by Ricordi 1960 [44]) (Library of Congress has manuscript in binding with the Lydian Ode op. 67 and the accordion concerto op. 75)
- Opus 66: Suite, for cello and piano. [45] (Premiered at the Library of Congress, October 20 1956 - see the relevant Library of Congress Catalog concert listing. Raya Garbousova, violoncello; Paul Creston, piano.)
- Opus 67: Lydian ode (1956) [4] [46]
- Opus 68: Toccata for orchestra
- Opus 69: Prelude and dance, for accordion solo. [47]
- Opus 70: Suite for organ [48]
- Opus 71: Pre-classic suite [49]
- Opus 73: Lilium regis for SATB (choir?) and piano (pub Ricordi, 1959) [50]
- Opus 75: Concerto for accordion and orchestra [51]
- Opus 76: Prelude and Dance, for band (1959) [5]
- Opus 77: Janus, for orchestra [52] (Link is to a December 1959 recording on open-reel)
- Opus 78: Concerto no. 2 for violin and orchestra [53]
- Opus 79: Narratives, for piano [54]
- Opus 82: Corinthians: XIII
- Opus 83: Nocturne (words by Auden) [55]
- Opus 84: Metamorphoses for piano (1963-4 for opp 82-4) [56]
- Opus 85: Fantasy for accordion and orchestra [57]
- Opus 86a and 86b: Choreografic suite (1965) [58]
- Opus 90: Chthonic ode: Homage to Henry Moore. [59]
- Opus 93: Anatolia (1967, premiered April 1968 in Illinois) [3]
- Opus 95: Kalevala for symphonic band (1968) [2].
- Opus 96: Embryo suite [60]
- Opus 97: Missa "Cum jubilo"; a liturgical-concert mass, for 4-part chorus of mixed voices, a cappella, with optional organ or piano or string acc. [61] (pub. Toronto: E.C. Kerby, 1973)
- Opus 98:Hyas Illahee; a corosymphonic suite for four-part chorus of mixed voices, with piano or orchestra accompaniment. [62](Toronto, E. C. Kerby [c1975])
- Opus 99: Concertinos, piano, woodwinds, horn solo, op. 99. [63] (Toronto : E. C. Kirby, [c1976])
- Opus 100: Leaves of Grass. Text by Walt Whitman. (I. One's Self I Sing; II. I believe; III. Reconciliation; IV. Smile, O voluptuous earth; V. The Most Jubilant Song) For chorus of mixed voices and piano (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 1982)
- Opus 102: Jubilee, for symphonic band (1971) [2].
- Opus 103: Ceremonial, for percussion ensemble and piano [64]
- Opus 104: Calamus. Text by Walt Whitman. mixed chorus and brass-percussion ensemble or piano.[65] (New York: G. Schirmer. 1974)
- Opus 105: Square dance-'76
- Opus 107: Liberty song '76 : for band (composed 1975) [5] [66]
- Opus 108a: Rapsodie for E-flat saxophone and organ [67]
- Opus 108b: Rapsodie for E-flat saxophone and piano
- Opus 109: Suite for string orchestra [68]
- Opus 110: Romanza for piano. [69]
- Opus 111: Suite for saxophone quartet (pub. 1981) [70]
- Opus 112: Piano trio. [71]
- Opus 113: Offertory, for piano. [72]
- Opus 115: Prodigal: for chorus of mixed voices and piano. [73]
- Opus 116: Festive Overture for band (1980) [2]
- Opus 117: S¯adhan¯a : op. 117, for solo cello and chamber orchestra [74]
- Opus 118: Symphony no. 6 for organ and orchestra (1982) [75] [76]
- Opus 120: Prelude and dance for two pianos [77]
[edit] Bibliography
- Creston, Paul (1964). Principles of Rhythm. New York: F. Columbo. OCLC 335167.
- Creston, Paul (1979). Rational metric notation : the mathematical basis of meters, symbols, and note-values. Hicksville, New York: Exposition Press. ISBN 0-682-49052-0. OCLC 6086922.
- Slomski, Monica J. (1994). Paul Creston : a bio-bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-25336-6. OCLC 30895095.
