Hall of Composers
John Corigliano (b. 1938)
As the son of a mother who was a gifted pianist and a father who was concertmaster for the New York Philharmonic for 23 years, John Corigliano had copious musical resources as a youth. He began on piano as a child and eventually taught himself orchestration during high school by listening to recordings and following the scores. His formal composition education began at Columbia University in New York, where he studied with Otto Luening. He also studied with Vittorio Giannini at the Manhattan School of Music and privately with Paul Creston.
Corigliano’s earlier works were an outgrowth of the sounds of Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber, as evidenced in works like his Sonata for Violin and Piano and A Dylan Thomas Trilogy.
Later works have revealed a shift in style using microtonal, serial and aleatory means as well as tonal. His opera The Ghosts of Versailles and Symphony No. 1 are prime examples. Corigliano also has written numerous instrumental and vocal features, works for chorus, chamber works, and film, as well as an arrangement for band and orchestra of a four-handed piano work called Gazebo Dances.
Corigliano’s past appointments have included teaching at the Manhattan School of Music and as the first composer-in-residence for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He currently is on the faculties of Lehman College/City University of New York and the Juilliard School of Music.
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