About
Known for such contemporary classical works as The Confidence Man (an opera based on the Herman Melville novel) and the Eden: Out of Time and Out of Space concerto, this acclaimed composer received a 2004 Grammy nomination for his String Quartet No. 5.
Before Fame
After studying at both the Mannes College of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, he served in World War II. Upon returning to the United States, he chaired the music department at the University of Pennsylvania.
Trivia
His memoirs were published posthumously under the title of Five Lines, Four Spaces.
Family Life
Though the bulk of his early work followed the atonal compositional methodology of serialism, he began writing tonal and highly emotional music following the 1964 death of his young son, Paul. His marriage to Gene Rosenfeld produced one other child, a daughter named Francesca.
Associated With
The Grammy and Pulitzer-winning composer William Bolcom was one of his students.
