Adolphus Acquah Robertson Turkson (12 September 1933 – 21 June 1993), better known as Ato Turkson, was a Ghanaian composer and musicologist.

Education

Turkson was born in

Winneba Winneba is a town and the capital of Effutu Municipal District in Central Region of South Ghana. Winneba has a population of . Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south coast, ...

in southern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. He studied music at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

, graduating in 1964. He undertook further study in composition at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, studying under

Rezső Sugár Rezső Sugár (9 October 1919 – 22 September 1988) was a Hungary, Hungarian composer. Rezső Sugár was born in Budapest. He studied musical composition under Zoltán Kodály at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1937 to 1942. He was a t ...

. He gained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in musicology at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. His doctoral dissertation focussed on the traditional music of the

Efutu people The Efutu (also called Awutu or Simpafo) are a part of the Guang people who are historically known to be the aboriginal inhabitants of present-day Ghana. They founded the coastal area about 1390 C.E. The Efutu are found in Awutu, Adina, Senya- ...

Academic career

Turkson spent most of his academic career at the University of Ghana. He was also visiting scholar at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

(1978) and

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

(1982).

Composition

According to Daniel Avorgbedor, Turkson's compositions were "largely rooted in 20th-century avant-garde techniques", in particular in his use of

atonality Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...

and

serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

. Most of his early piano works were of an educational nature. His later compositions included indigenous elements, inspired partly by his earlier research into Efutu music. Most of his works were published by the University of Ife Press in Nigeria. His best-known work is ''Three pieces for flute and piano'' (1968).

Selected compositions

* ''Trio, op. 3'' (1965) * ''Six easy pieces for piano, op. 4'' (1965) * ''Serenade no. 1 for string orchestra, op. 5'' (1965) * ''String quartet, op. 6'' (1966) * ''Serenade no. 2 for string orchestra, op. 7'' (1966) * ''Te Deum, op. 8'' (1966) * ''Oboe quintet, op. 9'' (1966) * ''Three pieces for flute and piano, op. 14'' (1968) * ''Three pieces for oboe and piano, op. 15'' (1968) * ''Sonata for violin, op. 16.'' * ''Elements I, op. 19'' (1970) * ''Symphony, op. 20'' (1970) * ''Symphony, op. 21'' (1970) * ''Fanta Lyric for Flute Solo, op. 22'' (1970) * ''Six piano pieces, op. 12'' (1977)

Published works

* * * (as Adolphus Turkson) * * (as Adolphus Turkson) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkson, Ato Ghanaian composers Ghanaian musicologists 1933 births 1993 deaths University of Ghana alumni Academic staff of the University of Ghana Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni Northwestern University alumni 20th-century composers 20th-century musicologists