Walter piston composer biography
Walter piston composer biography facts!
Walter Piston
Born 20 January 1894 in Rockland, Maine, Walter Piston was recognized in his lifetime as the ultimate musical craftsman, producing a body of orchestral and chamber work distinguished by its quintessential neo-classic qualities of clarity and proportion.
Walter piston composer biography
Also a noted educator, Piston taught at Harvard from 1926 to 1960 and wrote three significant music textbooks: Harmony (1941), Counterpoint (1947), and Orchestration (1955). Among Piston's many noted students were Elliott Carter, Leonard Bernstein, and Arthur Berger.
Following graduation from Harvard in 1924, Piston traveled to Paris for studies with Nadia Boulanger and Paul Dukas. There he became enamored of French neo-classicism and the later works of Faure and Roussel. A musical climate celebrating a revival of Bach and the discovery of jazz infiltrated his work.
Returning to the United States, Piston developed a sophisticated and witty compositional style, capturing with precise accuracy the many cultural a