Crumb, George Henry

1929–, American composer, b. Charleston, W.Va., grad. Mason College of Music, Charleston (B.A. 1950); Univ. of Illinois (M.A. 1953); Univ. of Michigan (D.M.A. 1959). In his compositions, Crumb often uses mysterious vocalizations (whispers, shrieks, hisses, clicks, etc.), amplification and electronic effects, and the sounds of such unconventional instruments as thumb pianos and Jew's harps. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his orchestral Echoes of Time and the River (1967) and is particularly noted for his settings of the poems of Federico García Lorca, e.g., Ancient Voices of Children (1970). Among his other compositions are a series of Madrigals (1965, 1969); Black Angels (1970) for electric string quartet; the monumental Star-Child (1977) for soprano, chorus, and four orchestras; and Zeitgeist (1988) for amplified pianos. He composed only two pieces in the 1990s, but began producing outstanding new work in the early 2000s, for instance, Unto the Hills (2001), a suite of Appalachian folk song settings, and the orchestral Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik (2002). Crumb also taught at the Univ. of Colorado (1959–64) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1965–97).

See D. Gillespie, ed., George Crumb: Profile of a Composer (1986); D. Cohen, George Crumb: A Bio-Bibliography (2002).