Lukas Foss (1922–2009,) originally Lukas Fuchs, was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. One of America’s most acclaimed living composers, he was widely recognized for his improvisation and aleatory music experiments.
Born in Berlin, Germany, Foss settled in the U.S. in 1937. He studied under composer Paul Hindemith and first attracted attention with his cantata The Prairie (1941.) His numerous works include A Parable of Death (1953,) for soloist, narrator, choir, and orchestra, and the operas The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1950) and Griffelkin (1955,) as well as symphonies, concertos, and chamber music.
Foss’s later music is in aleatory style and includes reinvention and experimentation with the traditions of the past of Renaissance Baroque music, for example, in his Renaissance Concerto (1986.) Professor of music composition at Boston University 1992–2005, he was a guest conductor with many American and European orchestras.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Lukas Foss
Any creator owes a debt to past creation.
—Lukas Foss
Topics: Creation
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