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Lilacs (Walker)
''Lilacs for voice and orchestra'' (or ''Lilacs'') is a musical composition by George T. Walker Jr. (1922–2018) that was awarded the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Music. The work, scored for soprano soloist and orchestra, was the unanimous choice of the Pulitzer prize jury.Fischer, Heinz Dietrich and Fischer, Erika J. (2001). ''Musical Composition Awards 1943-1999'', p.xlvi. .Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich (1988). ''The Pulitzer Prize archive'', p.278. . Walker was the first African-American composer to be awarded the prize. Walker set the 1865 poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", by poet Walt Whitman. Whitman wrote the poem as an elegy to President Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ... after his death on 15 April 1865. The composition was premi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Walker (composer)
George Theophilus Walker (June 27, 1922 – August 23, 2018) was an American composer, pianist, and organist, and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, which he received for his work ''Lilacs'' in 1996.De Lerma, Dominique-Rene"African Heritage Symphonic Series" Liner note essay. Cedille Records CDR061. Walker was married to pianist and scholar Helen Walker-Hill (May 26, 1936 – August 8, 2013) between 1960 and 1975. Walker was the father of two sons, violinist and composer Gregory T.S. Walker and playwright Ian Walker. Biography Walker was first exposed to music at the age of five when he began to play the piano. He was admitted to the Oberlin Conservatory at 14, and later to the Curtis Institute of Music to study piano with Rudolf Serkin, chamber music with William Primrose and Gregor Piatigorsky, and composition with Rosario Scalero, teacher of Samuel Barber. He received his doctorate from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Roc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |