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Walter Hamor Piston Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976) was an American composer and theorist. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Life

Piston was born in Rockland, Maine. His father's father, a sailor named Antonio Pistone, changed his name to Anthony Piston when he came to America from Genoa, Italy. In 1905, Walter Piston Sr. and his family moved to Boston. Walter Jr. trained as an engineer at the Mechanical Arts High School in Boston, but he was artistically inclined and upon graduating from there in 1912, proceeded to the Massachusetts Normal Arts School, majoring in painting, also studying architectural drawing and American history. There he met Annabel Nason, and married her at a Unitarian church.^[1] Welcome to Rockland Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. ... For other uses, see Genoa (disambiguation). ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ...

With his brother Edward, Walter Piston Jr. took piano lessons from Harris Shaw (who was Virgil Thomson's organ teacher).^{[citation needed]} During the 1910s Walter Piston made a living playing piano and violin in dance bands, and later on in the decade played violin in orchestras led by Georges Longy.^[2] With help from Shaw, Walter Piston was admitted to Harvard in 1920, where he studied counterpoint with Archibald Davison, canon and fugue with Clifford Heilman, advanced harmony with Edward Ballantine, composition and music history with Edward Burlingame Hill. Piston often worked as an assistant to the various music professors there, and conducted the student orchestra.^[3] Virgil Thomson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947 Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989) was an American composer from Missouri, whose rural background gave a sense of place in his compositions. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Edward Burlingame Hill (September 9, 1872, Cambridge, Massachusetts - July 9, 1960, Francestown, New Hampshire) was an American composer. ...

At about that time Piston joined the Navy Band and learned to play more instruments. According to one story, he wanted to join the U.S. Navy as an officer, but was deemed more useful as a musician.^{[citation needed]} The composer himself stated, however, that, when "it became obvious that everybody had to go into the service, I wanted to go in as a musician".^[4] USN redirects here. ...

Upon graduating summa cum laude from Harvard, Piston was awarded a John Knowles Paine Traveling Fellowship, ^[5]consisting of $1500 yearly for two to three years of travel abroad.^{[citation needed]} He chose to go to Paris, living there from 1924 to 1926, but he also visited Italy.^{[citation needed]} At the Ecole Nationale de Musique in Paris, Piston studied composition and counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger, composition with Paul Dukas and violin with George Enescu. His Three Pieces for Flute, Clarinet and Bassoon of 1925 was his first published score.^[6] Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... John Knowles Paine (January 9, 1839 - April 25, 1906), was the first American-born composer to achieve fame for his large-scale orchestral music. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Nadia Boulanger (September 16, 1887 – October 22, 1979) was an influential French composer, conductor, and music professor. ... Paul Abraham Dukas (October 1, 1865-May 17, 1935) was a Parisian-born French composer and teacher of classical music. ... George Enescu George Enescu (pronunciation in Romanian: ; known in France as Georges Enesco) (August 19, 1881, Liveni – May 4, 1955, Paris) was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher, preeminent Romanian musician of the 20th century, and one of the greatest performers of his time. ...

He moved to Belmont, Massachusetts after returning from Europe,^{[citation needed]} and taught at Harvard from 1926 until retiring in 1960.^[7] His students include Samuel Adler, Leroy Anderson, Arthur Berger, Leonard Bernstein, Gordon Binkerd, Elliott Carter, John Davison, Irving Fine, John Harbison, Ellis B. Kohs, Gail Kubik, Billy Jim Layton, Noël Lee, Robert Middleton, Conlon Nancarrow, William P. Perry, Daniel Pinkham, Frederic Rzewski, Allen Sapp, Harold Shapero, and Claudio Spies.^[8] Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country State County Middlesex County Settled 1636 Incorporated 1859 Government  - Type Representative town meeting Area  - Town  4. ... Samuel (Sam) Adler (born March 4, 1928) is an American composer and conductor. ... The Best of Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was best known as an American composer of short, light concert music pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. ... Arthur Berger (May 15, 1912 in New York City –- October 7, 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts) was a composer who has been described as a New Mannerist. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (IPA pronunciation: )[1] (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, and pianist. ... Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. ... John Davison (b. ... Irving Fine (December 3, 1914–August 23, 1962) was a US composer. ... John Harbison John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938 in Orange, New Jersey) is a composer, best known for his operas and large choral works. ... Ellis B. Kohs (1916-2000) was an American composer, theory textbook author, and Professor at the University of Southern California. ... Gail Thompson Kubik (b. ... Noël Lee (b. ... Actor Middleton in The Big Combo Robert Middleton (ne Samuel G. Messer May 13, 1911 - June 14, 1977) was a film and television actor known for his large size and beetle-like brow. ... Conlon Nancarrow (October 27, 1912 - August 10, 1997) was an American composer who took Mexican citizenship in 1955. ... William P. Perry is an American composer and television producer. ... Daniel Rogers Pinkham, Jr. ... Frederic Anthony Rzewski (born April 13, 1938) is an American composer and virtuoso pianist. ... Allen Sapp (born 2 January 1928) is a Canadian Cree painter, curently living in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. ... Harold Samuel Shapero (born 29 April 1920) is an American composer. ...

In 1936, the Columbia Broadcasting System commissioned six American composers (Aaron Copland, Louis Gruenberg, Howard Hanson, Roy Harris, William Grant Still and Piston) to write works for CBS radio stations to broadcast. Piston considered radio better suited to smaller orchestras and he wrote a Concertino for Piano and Chamber Orchestra.^{[citation needed]} The following year Piston wrote his Symphony No. 1, which was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on April 8, 1938.^{[citation needed]} CBSs first color logo, which debuted in the fall of 1965. ... Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music, as well as an accomplished pianist. ... Louis Gruenberg (pronounced [grÅ«É™nbûrg]) (July 22/August 3, 1884, near Brest-Litovsk, Russia - June 10, 1964, Beverly Hills) was a Russian Lithuania-born American pianist and composer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American classical composer who wrote much music on American subjects and is perhaps best known for his . ... William Grant Still William Grant Still (May 11, 1895 - December 3, 1978) was an African-American classical composer who wrote more than 150 compositions. ... The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the worlds premiere orchestras. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

At the invitation of Arthur Fiedler, Piston wrote his most famous ballet, The Incredible Flutist, for Hans Wiener and the Boston Pops Orchestra.^{[citation needed]} Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was the long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specialized in popular music. ... The Incredible Flutist is a ballet composed by Walter Piston in 1938; it was given its premiere by the Boston Pops, under Hans Wiener, on May 30 of that year. ... The Boston Pops Orchestra was founded in 1885 as a subsection of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. ...

Piston studied the twelve-tone technique of Arnold Schoenberg and wrote works using aspects of it as early as the Sonata for Flute and Piano (1930) and the First Symphony (1938). His first fully twelve-tone work was the Chromatic Study on the Name of Bach for organ (1940), which nonetheless retains a vague feeling of key.^[9] Although he employed twelve-tone elements sporadically throughout his career, these become much more pervasive in the Eighth Symphony (1965) and many of the works following it: the Variations for Cello and Orchestra (1966), Clarinet Concerto (1967), Ricercare for Orchestra, Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra (1970), and Flute Concerto (1971).^[10] Twelve-tone technique (also dodecaphony) is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Arnold Schoenberg (the anglicized form of Schönberg — Schoenberg changed the spelling officially when he left Germany and re-converted to Judaism in 1933), (September 13, 1874 – July 13, 1951) was an Austrian and later American composer. ...

During World War II, Piston was an air raid warden in Belmont, and he wrote patriotic fanfares and other such works.^{[citation needed]} Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

In 1943, the Alice M. Ditson fund of Columbia University commissioned Piston's Symphony No. 2, which was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra on March 5, 1944 and was awarded a prize by the New York Music Critics' Circle. His next symphony, the Third, earned a Pulitzer Prize, as did his Symphony No. 7. His Viola Concerto and String Quartet No. 5 also later received Critics' Circle awards.^[11] Alma Mater Columbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), founded in 1931, is a major American symphony orchestra that performs at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC, USA. Since 1996, the music director of the orchestra is the American conductor Leonard Slatkin. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Pulitzer Prize for Music was first awarded in 1943. ...

Piston wrote four books on the technical aspects of music theory which are considered to be classics in their respective fields: Principles of Harmonic Analysis, Counterpoint, Orchestration and Harmony. The last of these went through four editions in the author's lifetime, was translated into several languages, and (with changes made by a later author) is still widely used by teachers and students of harmony. In it, Piston introduced, for the first time, the concept of the secondary dominant, as well as his unique theory of classifying nonharmonic tones (nonchord tones).^{[citation needed]} Music theory is a field of study that investigates the nature or mechanics of music. ... Secondary dominants are a kind of chord used in musical harmony. ...

Piston's handwriting was so neat that almost all his orchestral scores were published as facsimiles of his original scores, and he also wrote the musical examples in the textbooks he authored.^{[citation needed]}

In his final years, Piston was debilitated by diabetes, and his vision and hearing suffered. His wife died in 1976, and he died later that same year, of a heart attack, in Belmont, Massachusetts. He was cremated, and his ashes were dispersed at Mount Auburn Cemetery.^{[citation needed]} This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery Hunnewell family obelisk Civil War memorial Founded in 1831 as Americas first garden cemetery, Mount Auburn Cemetery is an Elysium where, traditionally, chaste classical monuments were set in rolling landscaped terrain. ...

Works

Ballet

• The Incredible Flutist (1938)

The Incredible Flutist is a ballet composed by Walter Piston in 1938; it was given its premiere by the Boston Pops, under Hans Wiener, on May 30 of that year. ...

Orchestral

• Symphonies
  • Symphony No. 1 (1938)
  • Symphony No. 2 (1943)
  • Symphony No. 3 (1948)
  • Symphony No. 4 (1950)
  • Symphony No. 5 (1954)
  • Symphony No. 6 (1955)
  • Symphony No. 7 (1960)
  • Symphony No. 8 (1965)

• Suite for Orchestra (1929)
• Concerto for Orchestra (1934)
• Suite from The Incredible Flutist
• Sinfonietta (1941)
• Serenata for Orchestra (1957)
• Three New England Sketches (1960)

This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Band

• Tunbridge Fair, for symphonic band (1950)

Concertante

• Piano
  • Piano Concertino (1937)
  • Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (1958)
• Violin
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 (1939)
  • Violin Concerto No. 2 (1960)
  • Fantasia for Violin and Orchestra (1970)
• Viola Concerto (1958)
• Fantasy for English Horn, Harp, and Strings (1954)
• Capriccio for Harp and Strings (1963)
• Variations for Cello and Orchestra (1966)
• Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra (1967)
• Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1971)
• Concerto for String Quartet, Wind Instruments and Percussion (1976)

A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. ... A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. ... The viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body, usually a full orchestra or string orchestra but sometimes smaller. ... A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet and orchestra (or concert band). ... A flute concerto is a concerto for solo flute and instrumental ensemble, customarily the orchestra. ...

Chamber/Instrumental

• String quartets
  • String Quartet No. 1 (1933)
  • String Quartet No. 2 (1935)
  • String Quartet No. 3 (1947)
  • String Quartet No. 4 (1952)
  • String Quartet No. 5 (1962)
• Duet for Viola and Cello
• Three Pieces for Flute, Clarinet and Bassoon (1926)
• Flute Sonata (1930)
• Suite for Oboe and Piano (1931)
• Violin Sonata (1939)
• Sonatina for Violin and Harpsichord
• Flute Quintet (1942)
• Divertimento, for nine instruments (1946)
• Piano Quintet (1949)
• Wind Quintet (1956)
• Piano Quartet (1964)
• String Sextet (1964)

Piano

• Piano Sonata (1926)
• Passacaglia (1943)
• Improvisation (1945)

In music a passacaglia (French: passacaille, Spanish: pasacalle, German: passacalia; Italian: passacaglio, passagallo, passacagli, passacaglie) is a musical form and the corresponding court dance. ...

Choral

• Psalm and Prayer of David (1959)

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Books

• Principles of Harmonic Analysis. Boston: E. C. Schirmer, 1933.
• Harmony. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1941. Reprint edition (as U.S. War Dept. Education Manual EM 601), Madison, Wisc.: Published for the United States Armed Forces Institute by W. Norton & Co., 1944. Revised ed, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1948. Third ed., 1962. Fourth ed., revised and expanded by Mark DeVoto, 1978. ISBN 0-393-09034-5. 5th edition, revised and expanded by Mark DeVoto ISBN 0-393-95480-3. British editions, London: Victor Gollancz, 1949, rev. ed. 1950 (reprinted 1973), 1959, 3rd ed. 1970, 4th ed. 1982. Spanish translation, as Armonía, rev. y ampliada por Mark DeVoto. Barcelona: Idea Books, 2001. ISBN 8482362240 Chinese version of the 2nd edition, as 和声学 [He sheng xue], trans. Chenbao Feng and Dunxing Shen. 北京 : 人民音乐出版社 : 新华书店北京发行所发行 [Beijing: Ren min yin yue chu ban she : Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing], 1956. Revised, 北京 : 人民音乐出版社 [Beijing: Ren min yin yue chu ban she], 1978.
• Counterpoint. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1947.
• Orchestration. New York: Norton, 1955. Russian translation, as 'Оркестровка', translation and notes by Constantine Ivanov. Moscow: Soviet Composer, 1990, ISBN 5-85285-014-4.

Notes

1. ^ Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 27 February 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
2. ^ Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 27 June 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
3. ^ Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 27 June 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).; Westergaard 1968, 4.
4. ^ Westergaard 1968, 3.
5. ^ Westergaard 1968, 4.
6. ^ Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 27 June 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
7. ^ Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 27 June 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
8. ^ Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 27 June 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
9. ^ Pollack 1982, 35, 72–73.
10. ^ Archibald 1978, 267.
11. ^ Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 25 June 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2001 The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Sources

• Archibald, Bruce. 1978. In Reviews of Records: "Walter Piston: Symphony No. 7, Symphony No. 8, Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester; Walter Piston: Symphony No. 5, Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney; Walter Piston: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, Paul Doktor, viola, Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney; Walter Piston: The Incredible Flutist, Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester." Musical Quarterly 64, no. 2 (April): 263–68.
• Pollack, Howard. "Piston, Walter (Hamor)". Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy <http://www.grovemusic.com> (subscription access)
• Pollack, Howard. 1992. Harvard Composers: Walter Piston and His Students, from Elliott Carter to Frederic Rzewski. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-81082-493-0
• Pollack, Howard. 1982. Walter Piston. Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press. ISBN 0-835-71280-X
• Westergaard, Peter. 1968. "Conversation with Walter Piston". Perspectives of New Music 7, no.1 (Fall-Winter) 3-17.

External links

• Art of the States: Walter Piston
• Offical Publisher of Walter Piston: Bio, Works List, Discography, Events and more