Paul Creston (born
Giuseppe Guttoveggio (October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985)) was an
Italian AmericanAn Italian American is an American of Italian ancestry, and/or may also refer to someone possessing Italian/American dual citizenship. Italian Americans are the fourth largest European ethnic group in the United States.-History:...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
of
classical musicClassical music is the mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times...
.
Born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self‐taught as a composer. He was an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, initiated into the national honorary Alpha Alpha chapter. His work tends to be fairly conservative in style, with a strong
rhythmRhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events.-Rhythm in linguistics:...
ic element.
Paul Creston (born
Giuseppe Guttoveggio (October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985)) was an
Italian AmericanAn Italian American is an American of Italian ancestry, and/or may also refer to someone possessing Italian/American dual citizenship. Italian Americans are the fourth largest European ethnic group in the United States.-History:...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
of
classical musicClassical music is the mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times...
.
Born in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self‐taught as a composer. He was an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, initiated into the national honorary Alpha Alpha chapter. His work tends to be fairly conservative in style, with a strong
rhythmRhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events.-Rhythm in linguistics:...
ic element. His pieces include six
symphoniesA symphony is an extended musical composition, scored almost always for orchestra. "Symphony" does not necessarily imply a specific form though most are composed according to the sonata principle...
, a number of
concertoThe term Concerto is usually a three-part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra...
s, including two for
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
, one for
marimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. Keys or bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones...
, one for one piano, one for two
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
s, one for
accordionThe accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox...
and one for alto
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
(the latter dedicated to
Cecil LeesonCecil Leeson , a musician and teacher, was widely credited with establishing the saxophone as a legitimate concert instrument.In 1937, Mr. Leeson was the first saxophonist to play at Town Hall in New York City. He was also one of the first saxophonists to appear as a soloist with major American...
), a fantasia for
tromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
and orchestra (composed for and premiered by
Robert MarstellerRobert Loren Marsteller . Prominent US symphonic trombonist and music educator. He was a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he studied under Emory Remington...
), and a
RapsodieA rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of variations...
again for alto saxophone - written for famous virtuoso
Jean-Marie LondeixJean-Marie Londeix is a French saxophonist born in Libourne who studied saxophone, piano, harmony and chamber music.Jean-Marie Londeix studied saxophone with the legendary Marcel Mule at the Paris Conservatory. He also studied with Fernand Oubradous and Norbert Dufourcq, among others...
. He also wrote a suite (1935) and a sonata (op. 19, 1939) for alto saxophone and piano (both dedicated to Cecil Leeson), as well as a suite for
organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
, Op. 70. Several of his works were inspired by the poetry of
Walt WhitmanWalter Whitman was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. He was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
. He died in Poway, CA, a suburb of San Diego.
Creston was one of the most performed American composers of the 1940s and 50s. Several of his works have become staples of the wind band repertoire. Zanoni, Prelude and Dance, and the Celebration Overture have been and still are on several state lists for contests across the USA.
Creston was also a notable teacher, with the composers
Irwin SwackIrwin Swack was an American composer of contemporary classical music.He held degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music , the Juilliard School, Northwestern University , and Columbia University...
,
John CoriglianoJohn Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
, and
Charles Roland BerryCharles Roland Berry is an American composer. He studied music history and music composition at the University of California with and Peter Racine Fricker. Mr. Fricker taught him the intricate details of serialist music, and to discipline his musical imagination...
, accordionist/composer
William SchimmelWilliam Schimmel is one of the principal architects in the resurgence of the accordion, the revival of the Tango in America, and the philosophy of "Musical Reality"...
and the jazz musicians
Rusty DedrickLyle "Rusty" Dedrick is an American swing and bop jazz trumpeter and composer born in Delevan, New York, probably better known for his work with Bill Borden, Dick Stabile, Red Norvo, Ray McKinley or Claude Thornhill, among others....
and Charlie Queener among his pupils. He wrote the theoretical books
Principles of Rhythm (1964) and
Rational Metric Notation (1979).
In the year 2008 Marco Ciccone has done a version for saxophone and orchestra of the Sonata op.19 (© 2008 by Templeton Publishing, a div. of Schawnee Press, Inc.)
External links