Charles Wuorinen

• Genre: 20th/21st Century

About

One of America's more prolific twentieth century composers, Charles Wuorinen successfully tried his hand at virtually every established form while maintaining close ties to the new electronic music movement as well. His early work, including his "Piano Variations (1963)" focused heavily on expressive performance eccentricities like slamming the keys with his fist and scratching the strings inside the instrument. His later work, for which he is most closely associated, took a more academic approach, drawing heavily from the work of Milton Babbitt and the second-generation serialists. These later works have a dryer, more studied feel to them, ensuring that his legacy would be left with the academic world as opposed to the popular one. Wuorinen was awarded the Pulitzer Prize 1970 for his work "Time's Enconium," an interesting, if dated, electronic work.

- Doug Russell