Photograph of the composer, manuscript in hand, with autograph musical quotation from his Violin Concerto signed in full
Image size ca. 175 x 113 mm., overall size 277 x 203 mm. With "Gerard Studio N.Y.C." at lower left corner of image.
With 2-measure autograph musical quotation to head of photograph, inscribed in blue ink: "To Mr. E.G. Luxton From Violin Concerto ((1931-5) With best wishes Roger Sessions Sept. 1965"
Sessions was an American composer, teacher, and writer on music.
"The impact on [him] of living in Europe until 1933 was enormous, but did not result in the production of much music. The only important works from this period are the First Symphony (1926–7), the Piano Sonata (1927–30) and the Violin Concerto (1930–35). ... The Violin Concerto, which took eight years to complete, marked a turning point, Sessions juxtaposing in it extremes of violence and lyricism. its technical difficulty, seen by its début performer as insurmountable, gave it an unwarranted reputation as unplayable. ...
After his death, Andrew Porter wrote of him, ‘For music, he embodied what is finest in American thought, character, and genius. In nine symphonies, in concertos, two operas, and many other works, he gave it utterance. He was one of the country's – and the world's – great men’ (1985)." Andrea Olmstead in Grove Music Online.
Item #39051
Price: $400.00 other currencies