George Perle (6 May 1915 – 23 January 2009) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

and

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation ( ...

. As a composer, his music was largely

atonal 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 a s ...

, using methods similar to the twelve-tone technique of the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School (german: Zweite Wiener Schule, Neue Wiener Schule) was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienn ...

. This serialist style, and atonality in general, was the subject of much of his theoretical writings. His 1962 book, ''Serial Composition and Atonality: An Introduction to the Music of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern'' remains a standard text for

20th-century classical music 20th-century classical music describes art music that was written nominally from 1901 to 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously. So this century was without a dominant style. Modernism, impressio ...

theory. Among Perle's awards was the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Wind Quintet No. 4.

Life and career

Perle was born in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As ...

. He graduated from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

, where he studied with

Wesley LaViolette Wallace Wesley LaViolette (4 Jan 1894 Saint James, Minnesota - 29 Jul 1978 Escondido, California) was an American musician who composed, conducted, lectured, and wrote about music. He was also a poet and music theorist. As an educator, he mentor ...

and received private lessons from Ernst Krenek. Later, he served as a technician fifth grade in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He earned his doctorate at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1956. Perle composed with a technique of his own devising called "twelve-tone tonality". This technique was different from, but related to, the twelve-tone technique of the

, of which he was an "early admirer" and whose techniques he used aspects of but never fully adopted. Perle's former student Paul Lansky described Perle's twelve-tone tonality thus: In 1968, Perle cofounded the Alban Berg Society with

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, and Hans F. Redlich, who had the idea (according to Perle in his letter to Glen Flax of 4/1/89). Perle's important work on Berg includes documenting that the third act of '' Lulu'', rather than being an unfinished sketch, was actually three-fifths complete and that the '' Lyric Suite'' contains a secret program dedicated to Berg's love-affair. After retiring from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

in 1985, he became a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

Aaron Copland School of Music The Aaron Copland School of Music is one of the oldest departments at Queens College, founded when the College opened in 1937. The department's curriculum was originally established by Edwin Stringham, and a later emphasis on the analytical sy ...

. In 1986, Perle was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Wind Quintet No. 4 and also a MacArthur Fellowship. In about 1989 Perle became composer-in-residence for the San Francisco Symphony, a three-year appointment. It was also around this time that he had published his fourth book entitled ''The Listening Composer''. He died aged 93 in his home in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in January 2009. He was subsequently buried in

Calverton National Cemetery Calverton National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County on eastern Long Island in New York. The cemetery's street address is in Calverton but the property is in the adjacent hamlet of Wad ...

. On his headstone are inscribed the words " An die Musik". A growing number of younger artists have come to express their appreciation for Perle. In the run-up to his 100th birthday celebrations the composer-pianist Michael Brown released a well received CD of a sampling of Perle's work for piano. Perle was married to the sculptor Laura Slobe from 1940 to 1952; the couple were members of the Socialist Workers Party. His second wife, Barbara Philips, died in 1978. Perle married Shirley Gabis Rhoads in 1982. He was survived by two daughters, and a stepdaughter.

Works

Richard Swift differentiates between Perle's 'free' or 'intuitive', tone-centered, and twelve-tone modal music. He lists Perle's tone-centered compositions: *Sonata for Solo Viola (1942) *Three Sonatas for Solo Clarinet (1943) *Hebrew Melodies for Solo Cello (1945) *Sonata for Solo Cello (1947) * Quintet for Strings (1958) *Sonata I for Solo Violin (1959) *Wind Quintet I (1959) *Wind Quintet II (1960) *Monody I for Flute (1962) *Monody II for Double Bass (1962) *Three Inventions for Bassoon (1962) *Sonata II for Solo Piano (1963) *Solo Partita for Violin and Viola (1965) *Wind Quintet III (1967)

Selected publications

*Perle, George (1962, reprint 1991). ''Serial Composition and Atonality: An Introduction to the Music of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern''. University of California Press. * *Perle, George (1980). ''The Operas of Alban Berg. Vol. 1: Wozzeck''. California: University of California Press. *Perle, George (1984). "Scriabin's Self-Analysis", ''Musical Analysis'' III/2 (July). *Perle, George (1985). ''The Operas of Alban Berg. Vol. 2: Lulu''. California: University of California Press. *Perle, George (1990). ''The Listening Composer''. California: University of California Press. *Perle, George (1992). "Symmetry, the Twelve-Tone Scale, and Tonality", ''Contemporary Music Review'' 6 (2), pp. 81–96.

References

External links

*
Michael Brown plays George Perle's Six Celebratory Inventions on Classical Connect

20 May 1986 * ,

David Dubal David Dubal (born Cleveland, Ohio) is an American pianist, teacher, author, lecturer, broadcaster, and painter. Musician and painter Dubal has given piano recitals and master classes worldwide, and has also judged international piano competition ...

, WNCN-FM, 9 December 1983 {{DEFAULTSORT:Perle, George 1915 births 2009 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American musicologists 21st-century classical composers 21st-century American composers American classical composers American male classical composers American music theorists Jewish classical composers Jewish American classical composers Twelve-tone and serial composers Pulitzer Prize for Music winners American Conservatory of Music alumni Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters DePaul University alumni MacArthur Fellows Queens College, City University of New York faculty Members of the Socialist Workers Party (United States) Musicians from Bayonne, New Jersey Pupils of Ernst Krenek United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army non-commissioned officers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians

Life and career

Works

Selected publications

See also

References

External links