Volume 32, Number 10 · June 13, 1985
The Tarrytown Impressionist
By Arthur Berger
Charles T. Griffes: The Life of an American Composer
by Edward Maisel
Knopf, 411 pp., $22.95
The Works of Charles T. Griffes: A Descriptive Catalogue
by Donna K. Anderson
UMI Research Press, 566 pp., $64.95
When one reads that Charles Tomlinson Griffes died at thirty-five (on April 8, 1920), one naturally thinks of Mozart and Schubert. But the association serves only to underline how differently a shortened life affected the career of the turn-of-the-century American composer. Mozart and Schubert both seem to have crowded in a full lifetime's work, if not more, in their few years; they seem to have done what they set out to do, even if each left one major work unfinished. Griffes is the fitting subject for the classic obituary, 'struck down in the midst of his career at the height of his powers.' He died from a protracted lung illness just as he was becoming known in East Coast music circles and was drawing courage from his success to venture in new directions. The texture of his music was changing, becoming more advanced and complex, and he appeared to be starting a new career. He became the composer of a major piano sonata after having been a miniaturist, a composer for orchestra and theater after having concentrated on piano pieces and songs. To perfect oneself in these new genres in so few years is more than can be expected of anyone, so it is not unusual to find Griffes's critics maintaining that he had left 'his achievement incomplete,' in the words of a fellow composer, Frederick Jacobi.
Review, 3269 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |