Item #39018 Autograph note signed in full. Virgil THOMSON.

Autograph note signed in full

Octavo. On personal onionskin letterhead with the composer's name and address printed at head. Sending "good wishes" to Mr. Adamson, dated 7 February 1968.

Creased at folds and slightly overall; small spot of black mounting paper to head of verso.

An American composer and critic, "[Thomson] produced a sizeable catalog of stylistically diverse compositions characterized by expressive directness and textural transparency, written in a language that drew from hymnbook harmony, popular song, and dance idioms of the late 19th century, and utilizing plain-spoken tonal procedures but also diatonic dissonance and polytonal elements. In his many vocal works, and his two path-breaking operatic collaborations with Gertrude Stein, Thomson demonstrated a mastery of prosody. His settings of English convey American speech patterns with naturalness and clarity. He brought strong predilections for living composers and American music to his criticism. The wit, vitality, and descriptive precision of his writing, which demystified the complexities of music for lay readers, made him among the most influential and lasting critics of the 20th century." Anthony Tommasini and Richard Jackson in Grove Music Online.

Item #39018

Price: $85.00  other currencies

See all items by