About the composer: Vincent Persichetti

 

Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (1915 – 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia. He was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own work and teaching, as well as for training many noted composers in composition at the Juilliard School.

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Persichetti is one of the major figures in American music of the 20th century, both as a teacher and a composer. His numerous compositions for wind ensemble are often introductions to contemporary music for high school and college students. The early style of Persichetti was marked by the influences of Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, and Copland before he developed his distinct voice in the 1950s.

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Persichetti's music draws on a wide variety of thought in 20th-century contemporary composition as well as Big Band music. He frequently used polytonality in his writing, but his embracing of diverse strands of musical thought makes characterizing his body of work difficult. This trend continued throughout his compositional career.  He frequently composed while driving in his car, sometimes taping staff paper to the steering wheel.