Roger Sessions Biography

Occup.Composer
FromUSA
BornDecember 28, 1896
DiedMarch 16, 1985
Aged88 years
Roger Sessions was born on December 28, 1896, in Brooklyn, New York, to a musical family. His dad, Roger Sessions Sr., was a well-known music teacher, and his mother, Ruth Sessions, was an accomplished pianist. Growing up, Sessions was exposed to classical music and also began composing at a young age.

In 1915, he signed up at Harvard University to examine music composition under composer and musicologist Edward Burlingame Hill. Throughout his time at Harvard, Sessions was heavily affected by the works of composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, as well as Paul Hindemith.

After graduating from Harvard in 1917, Sessions served in the United States Army throughout World War I. Upon his return, he moved to New York City as well as began showing at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1928, he married a musician called Barbara Harrison.

Sessions struggled to gain recognition as a composer in the very early years of his occupation, but he eventually found success through his music publications and efficiencies. In 1930, his music was carried out at the respected Koussevitzky Foundation in Paris, as well as in 1935, he won the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his opera "The Black Maskers".

Throughout his lengthy profession, Sessions made up over 100 works, consisting of operas, symphonies, and also chamber songs. He was understood for his innovative, complicated compositions that incorporated both tonal and also atonal components.

In addition to his making up job, Sessions was a very respected songs teacher. He showed at the Juilliard School, the University of California, Berkeley, and also Princeton University, where he worked as a teacher of music for over 20 years.

Sessions passed away on March 16, 1985, at the age of 88, leaving a heritage as one of one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century.

Our collection contains 3 quotes who is written / told by Roger.

Related authors: Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Paul Hindemith (Musician), Arnold Schoenberg (Composer), Charles Rosen (Musician)

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3 Famous quotes by Roger Sessions

Small: But communication is two-sided - vital and profound communication makes demands also on those who are t
"But communication is two-sided - vital and profound communication makes demands also on those who are to receive it... demands in the sense of concentration, of genuine effort to receive what is being communicated"
Small: What we ask of music, first and last, is that it communicate experience - experience of all kinds, vita
"What we ask of music, first and last, is that it communicate experience - experience of all kinds, vital and profound at its greatest, amusing or entertaining at another level"
Small: I have sometimes been told that my music is difficult for the listener
"I have sometimes been told that my music is 'difficult' for the listener"