Griffes, Charles

Griffes, Charles

▪ American composer
in full  Charles Tomlinson Griffes  
born Sept. 17, 1884, Elmira, N.Y., U.S.
died April 8, 1920, New York City

      first native U.S. composer to write Impressionist music.

      Intending to become a concert pianist, Griffes went to Berlin in 1903 to study piano and composition, but his teacher, Engelbert Humperdinck, turned his main interest toward composition. In 1907 he returned to the United States and took a job as a music teacher at the Hackley School for Boys at Tarrytown, N.Y. He died at 35, on the threshold of his artistic maturity.

      Griffes was fascinated by Impressionist music and carefully studied the scores of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Other influences were the works of Aleksandr Scriabin and Modest Mussorgsky. The singer Eva Gauthier, for whom he composed several songs, introduced him to Oriental music, which impressed him deeply. His masterpieces are The White Peacock (1915, part of the piano suite Four Roman Sketches), which he orchestrated in 1919 for a ballet sequence; The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan (1919, after the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge); and the Poem for flute and orchestra (1918), written for Georges Barrère. Griffes' other works include the dance dramas Sho-Jo (1917), built on Japanese melodies; The Kairn of Koridwen (1917), for piano, celesta, flute, clarinets, horns, and harp; and the powerful Piano Sonata in F Major. In his music he gradually integrated Impressionist, Oriental, and Russian influences into a personal and original idiom.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Griffes, Charles T(omlinson) — born Sept. 17, 1884, Elmira, N.Y., U.S. died April 8, 1920, New York City U.S. composer. He studied music in Berlin with Engelbert Humperdinck and others, then returned and taught at a boys school in Tarrytown, N.Y., for the rest of his short… …   Universalium

  • Charles Griffes — Charles Tomlinson Griffes Charles Griffes at the beginning of the twentieth century. Background information Born September 17, 1884(1884 09 17), Elmira, New York …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Tomlinson Griffes — (* 17. September 1884 in Elmira, im US Bundesstaat New York; † 8. April 1920 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Komponist. Der früh verstorbene Griffes gilt als bekanntester amerikanischer Vertreter des musikalischen Impressionismus.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Charles Tomlinson Griffes — Charles Griffes Charles Tomlinson Griffes (Elmira (New York), 17 septembre 1884 – New York City, 8 avril 1920) était un compositeur américain de musique pour piano, de musique de chambre et de musique vocale. Carrière musicale Après des études de …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Griffes — Charles Tomlinson Griffes (Elmira, 17 septembre 1884 – New York City, 8 avril 1920) est un compositeur américain de musique pour piano, de musique de chambre et de musique vocale. Som …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Griffes — Charles Tomlinson Griffes (* 17. September 1884 in Elmira, im US Bundesstaat New York; † 8. April 1920 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Komponist. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Charles Tomlinson Griffes — (Elmira, Nueva York, 17 de septiembre de 1884 Nueva York, 8 de abril de 1920) fue un compositor estadounidense de obras para piano, voz y conjuntos de cámara. Carrera musical Tras cursar sus primeros estudios de piano y órgano en su ciudad natal …   Wikipedia Español

  • Griffes — Charles Tomlinson Griffes (* 17. September 1884 in Elmira, im US Bundesstaat New York; † 8. April 1920 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Komponist. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Charles — Charles, Ray * * * (as used in expressions) Adams, Charles Francis Addams, Charles (Samuel) Atlas, Charles Babbage, Charles Barkley, Charles (Wade) Charles Daly Barnet Bartlett, Sir Frederic C(harles) Baudelaire, Charles (Pierre) Charles Edward… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Charles — /chahrlz/, n. 1. (Prince of Edinburgh and of Wales) born 1948, heir apparent to the throne of Great Britain (son of Elizabeth II). 2. Ray (Ray Charles Robinson), born 1930, U.S. blues singer and pianist. 3. Cape, a cape in E Virginia, N of the… …   Universalium

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