George Crumb, the composer of some of the most memorable – and topical – American works of the late-20th century, has died at 92.
Crumb’s “Black Angels,” written in 1970 in response to the Vietnam War, and “Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale)” of 1971, one of the first concert works addressing environmental concerns, as well as one of the first to expose many listeners to electroacoustic composition, are perhaps Crumb’s best-known pieces. His orchestral suite “Echoes of Time and the River” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1968.
He also was a teacher of composition, at the University of Pennsylvania for most of his academic career. Among his students were Jennifer Higdon, Osvaldo Golijov and the late Christopher Rouse.
An obituary by The New York Times’ Vivien Schweitzer:
Letter V 