Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer andcritic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as amodernist,[1][2][3][4] aneoromantic,[5] aneoclassicist,[6] and a composer of "an Olympian blend of humanity and detachment"[7] whose "expressive voice was always carefully muted" until his late operaLord Byron which, in contrast to all his previous work, exhibited an emotional content that rises to "moments of real passion".[8]
In Paris in 1925, he cemented a relationship with painterMaurice Grosser, who was to become his life partner and frequent collaborator. Later he and Grosser lived at theHotel Chelsea, where he presided over a largely gay salon that attracted many of the leading figures in music and art and theater, includingLeonard Bernstein,Tennessee Williams, and many others. He also encouraged many younger composers and literary figures such asTheodor Adorno,Ned Rorem,Lou Harrison,John Cage,Frank O'Hara, andPaul Bowles. Grosser died in 1986, three years before Thomson.[11]
His most important friend from this period wasGertrude Stein, who was an artistic collaborator and mentor to him. After meeting Stein in Paris in 1926, Thomson invited her to prepare a libretto for an opera which he hoped to compose. Their collaboration resulted in the premier of the groundbreaking compositionFour Saints in Three Acts in 1934. At the time, the opera was noted for its form, musical content and the portrayal of European saints by an all-black cast.[12] Years later in 1947, he collaborated once again with Stein on his provocative operaThe Mother of Us All which portrays the life of the social reformerSusan B. Anthony.[13] Thomson incorporated musical elements from Baptist hymns, Gregorian chants and popular songs into both scores while demonstrating a restrained use of dissonance.[9]
Thomson's contributions to music were not limited to the operatic stage, however. In 1936, he established a collaboration with the film directorPare Lorentz and composed music for the documentary filmThe Plow That Broke the Plains for the United States government'sResettlement Administration (RA). Thomson incorporated folk melodies and religious musical themes into the film score and subsequently composed an orchestral suite of the same name which was recorded byLeopold Stokowski and theHollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra in 1946 for RCA Victor (# 11-9522,11-9523).[14][15] In 1938 he also formed a collaboration with Lorentz and the operatic singerThomas Hardie Chalmers on the documentary filmThe River for the United States government'sFarm Security Administration.[16][17] Thomson composed an orchestra suite based on the score; when it was published, the musical journalNotes commented: "Delightful as background music, the piece is an awful bore when you try to give it your full attention".[18]
Following the publication of his book,The State of Music, Thomson established himself in New York City as a rival ofAaron Copland. Thomson's criticisms of Copland were phrased in terms that brought accusations of antisemitism, but Copland remained on good terms with him, and Thomson admitted his envy of Copland's greater success as a composer.[23] Thomson was also a music critic for theNew York Herald-Tribune from 1940 to 1954.[24] A fellow critic, Robert Miles, accused him of being "vindictive and of settling scores in print".[25] In a 1997 article inAmerican Music, Suzanne Robinson writes that Thomson, motivated by "a mixture of spite, national pride, and professional jealousy" was consistently "severe and spiteful" toBenjamin Britten.[26] Miles records that Thomson agitated for more performances in New York of new music, including his own.[25]
Thomson's definition of music was "that which musicians do",[27] and his views on music are radical in their insistence on reducing the rarefied aesthetics of music to market activity. He even went so far as to claim that the style a piece was written in could be most effectively understood as a consequence of its income source.[28]
In 1969, Thomson composedMetropolitan Museum Fanfare: Portrait Of An American Artist to accompany theMuseum's Centennial exhibition "New York Painting And Sculpture: 1940–1970".[29][30]
Thomson became a sort of mentor and father figure to a new generation of American tonal composers such asNed Rorem,Paul Bowles andLeonard Bernstein, a circle united as much by their shared homosexuality as by their similar compositional sensibilities.[31] Women composers were not part of that circle, and one writer has suggested that, as a critic, he selectively omitted mention of their works, or adopted a more passive tone when praising them.[32]
Vernal Equinox (manuscript, 1920) voice, piano; text by Amy Lowell
The Sunflower (manuscript, 1920) voice, piano; text by William Blake
Susie Asado (Boosey & Hawkes, 1926) voice, piano; text by Gertrude Stein
Five Phrases from "The Song of Solomon" (American Music Edition/Presser, 1926) for soprano and percussion; biblical text
Thou That Dwellest in the Gardens
Return, O Shulamite
O, My Dove
I am My Beloved's
By Night
The Tiger (G. Schirmer, 1926) voice, piano; text by William Blake
Presciosilla (G. Schirmer, 1927) voice, piano; text by Gertrude Stein
La Valse Grégorienne (Southern, 1927, rev. 1971) medium voice, piano; text by Georges Hugnet (English translation asGregorian Waltz by Donald Sutherland)
Les Ecrevisses (Crayfish)
Grenadine (Pomegranate)
La Rosée (Dew)
Le Wagon Immobile (The Motionless Box-Car)
Le Berceau de Gertrude Stein, ou Le Mystere de la Rue de Fleurus (Southern, 1928) voice, piano; eight poems by Georges Hugnet (English translation asThe Cradle of Gertrude Stein or Mysteries in the rue de Fleurus by Donald Sutherland) [Music by Thomson entitledLady Godiva's Waltzes]
Trois Poemes de la Duchesse de Rohan (individually published, 1928) voice, piano
A son Altesse le Princesse Antoinette Murat (To Her Highness Princess Antoinette Murat) (manuscript)
Jour de chaleur aux bains de mer (Hot Day at the Seashore) (Boosey & Hawkes; English translation by Sherry Mangan
La Seine (printed in Parnassus: Poetry in Review 5, 1977)
Commentaire sur Saint Jérome (Southern, 1928) voice, piano (text by Marquis de Sade; English translation asCommentary on Saint Jerome by Donald Sutherland)
Les Soirées Bagnolaises (manuscript, 1928) voice, piano (text by Georges Hugnet)
Portrait of F. B. (Frances Blood) (G. Schirmer, 1929) voice, piano (text by Gertrude Stein)
Le Singe et le léopard (Southern, 1930) voice, piano (text by Jean de La Fontaine; English translation asThe Monkey and the Leopard by Donald Sutherland)
Oraison Funèbre de Henriette-Marie de France, Reine de la Grande-Bretagne (manuscript, 1930, rev. 1934) voice, piano (text by Jacques Bossuet; translated asFuneral Oration of Henriette-Marie of France, Queen of Great Britain by Donald Sutherland)
Air de Phèdre (Southern, 1930) voice, piano (text by Jean Racine; translated asPhaedra's Farewell by Donald Sutherland)
Deux Soeurs qui ne sont pas soeurs (Southern, 1930) voice, piano (text by Gertrude Stein; English translation asTwo Sisters Not Sisters) (piano accompaniment is a portrait of Stein's dog, Basket I)
Stabat Mater (Boosey & Hawkes, 1931, rev. 1981); arranged for voice and string orchestra from the original for voice and string quartet (or piano)
Chamber Music (manuscript, 1931) voice, piano (text by Alfred Kreymbord)
La Belle en dormant (G. Schirmer, 1931) voice, piano (text by Georges Hugnet; English translation asBeauty Sleeping by Elaine de Sirçay)
Pour chercher sur la carte des mers (Scanning Booklets from Ocean Resorts)
La Première de toutes (My True Love Sang me No Song)
Mon Amour es bon à dire (Yes My Love is Good to Tell Of)
Partis les vaisseaux (All Gone Are the Ships)
Pigeons on the Grass Alas (G. Schirmer, 1934) baritone, piano (from the operaFour Saints in Three Acts, text by Gertrude Stein)
Go to Sleep, Alexander Smallens, Jr. (manuscript, 1935) voice unaccompanied
Go to Sleep, Pare McTaggett Lorentz (manuscript, 1937) voice unaccompanied
Dirge (G. Schirmer, 1939) voice, piano (text by John Webster)
The Bugle Song (manuscript, 1941) mz-sop or baritone and piano (text by Alfred Lord Tennyson; published for unison children's chorus; additional manuscript for 2-part children's chorus)
Five Songs from William Blake (Southern, 1951) baritone and orchestra; orchestrated from the original for baritone and piano (text by William Blake; commissioned by the Louisville Philharmonic)
The Divine Image
Tiger! Tiger!
The Land of Dreams
The Little Black Boy
And Did Those Feet
Consider, Lord (Southern, 1955) voice, piano (text by John Dunne)
Remember Adam's Fall (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1955) voice, piano (anonymous text)
At the Spring (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1955) Voice, piano (text by Jasper Fisher)
The Bell Doth Toll (Southern, 1955) voice, piano (text by Thomas Heywood)
Look How the Floor of Heaven (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1955) voice, piano (text by William Shakespeare)
If Thou A Reason Dost Desire to Know (Southern, 1958) voice, piano (text by Sir Francis Kynaston)
John Peel (Southern, 1955) voice, piano (text by John Woodcock Graves)
Shakespeare Songs (Southern, 1957) voice, piano (text by William Shakespeare; 4 songs are from incidental music Thomson wrote for Shakespeare stage plays)
Was This Fair Face the Cause? (fromAll's Well That Ends Well)
Take, O Take Those Lips Away (fromMeasure for Measure)
Tell Me Where is Fancy Bred (fromMerchant of Venice)
Pardon, Goddess of the Night (fromMuch Ado About Nothing)
Sigh No More, Ladies (fromMuch Ado About Nothing)
Tres Estmpas de Ninez (Southern, 1957) voice, piano (text by Reyna Rivas; English translation asThree Sketches from Childhood by Sherry Mangan)
Todas las horas (All Through the Long Day)
Son amigos de todos (They Are Everyone's Friends)
Nadie lo oye como ellos (No One Can Hear Him The Way They Can)
Mostly About Love (G. Schirmer, 1959; published separately) voice, piano (text by Kenneth Koch; orig. title:Songs for Alice Esty)
Love Song
Down at the Docks
Let's Take a Walk
A Prayer to St. Catherine
Collected Poems (Southern, 1959) soprano, baritone and orch. (or piano)
Mass for Solo Voice (G. Schirmer, 1962); Voice (or unison choir) and orchestra (or piano)
Praises and Prayers (G. Schirmer, 1963; published separately) voice and piano
fromThe Canticle of the Sun (text by St. Francis of Assisi)
My Master Hath a Garden (anonymous; also versions for SATB or SSA chorus)
Sung by the Shepherd's (Hymn to the Nativity by Richard Crashaw)
Before Sleeping (anonymous)
Jerusalem, My Happy Home (from The Meditation of St. Augustine)
Two by Marianne Moore (G. Schirmer, 1963; published separately)
English Usage
My Crow Pluto
The Feast of Love according to the poemPervigilium Veneris for baritone and chamber orchestra (or piano) (G. Schirmer, 1964)
From Byron's "Don Juan" (Southern, 1967) for tenor and orchestra
fromSneden's Landing Variations (Lingus Press, 1972) voice, piano (text by Frank O'Hara)
The Courtship of Yongly Bongly Bo (G. Schirmer, 1974) voice, piano (text by Edward Lear; orig. part of Lear Cantata)
Go to Sleep, Gabriel Liebowitz (manuscript, 1979) voice unaccompanied
What Is It? (Presser, 1979) voice, piano (or guitar) (text by Thomas Campion)
The Cat (G. Schirmer, 1980) soprano and baritone & piano (text by Jack Larson)
De Profundis (Weinitraub, 1920/revised 1951) for mixed chorus
O My Deir Hert (Heritage, 1921/rev. 1978) for mixed chorus; text by Martin Luther
Sanctus (manuscript, 1921) for men's chorus
Tribulationes Civitatum (Weintraub, 1922) for mixed (or men's) chorus
Three Antiphonal Psalms (G. Schirmer, 1924) for SA or TB chorus (Psalms 123, 133 & 136)
Agnus Dei (Presser, 1924) for 3 equal voices
Missa Brevis (manuscript, 1924) for men's chorus
Fête Polonaise (manuscript 1924) arranged from Chabrier for men's chorus & piano
Benedictus (manuscript, 1926)
Sanctus (manuscript, 1926)
Capital Capitals (Boosey & Hawkes, 1927) for TTBB (or 4 male voices) & piano (text by Gertrude Stein)
Saints' Procession (G. Schirmer, 1928) for mixed chorus, mz-s, bass solos & piano (text by Gertrude Stein fromFour Saints in Three Acts)
Seven Choruses from the "Medea" of Euripides (G. Schirmer, 1934; text translated by Countee Cullen) for women's chorus & percussion (also arranged for mixed chorus by Daniel Pinkham)
O gentle heart
Love, like a leaf
O, happy were our fathers
Weep for the little lambs
Go down, O Sun
Behold, O Earth
Immortal Zeus controls the fate of Man
Mass for Two-Part Chorus and Percussion (MCA/Belwins Mills, 1934)
My Shepherd Will Supply My Need (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1937; text is Isaac Watt's paraphrase of Psalm 23) (also versions for men's or women's chorus, or for voice and piano or organ)
Scenes from the Holy Infancy According to Saint Matthew (G. Schirmer, 1937) for mixed chorus and men's solos
The Bugle Song (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1941; text by Alfred Lord Tennyson) for unison children's chorus (or solo voice) and piano
Surrey Apple-Howler's Song (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1941) children's chorus
Welcome to the New Year (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1941; text by Elanor Farjeon) for children's (or mixed) chorus
Hymns from the Old South (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1949) for mixed chorus (published separately)
Death, 'Tis a Melancholy Day (Isaac Watts)
Green Fields (John Newton)
The Morning Star (Anonymous)
Kyrie Eleison (Gray/Belwins Mills, 1953) [later part of theMissa pro defunctis]
Never Another (Columbia, 1955; text by Mark Van Doren)
Song for the Stable (Columbia, 1955; text by Amanda Benjamin Hall) for mixed chorus
Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion (Southern, 1955) mixed chorus (or solo voice), viola, clarinet and harp (or just piano)
Tiger! Tiger! (Southern, 1955; text by William Blake) SATB (or TTBB) chorus and piano (orig. for solo voice from Campion cycle)
Crossing Brooklyn Ferry to poems byWalt Whitman (Boosey & Hawkes, 1961); mixed chorus and orchestra
Missa pro defunctis (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1960) for mixed chorus and orchestra
Dance in Praise (Boosey & Hawkes, 1962; text by John Symonds); mixed chorus and orchestra
The Holly and the Ivy (G. Schirmer, 1963) SATB chorus (or solo voice) & piano
My Master Hath a Garden (G. Schirmer, 1963) for SATB (or SSAA) chorus & piano
Five Auvergnat Folk Songs (Presser, 1964) mixed chorus versions of 5 Joseph Canteloube songs (with original piano or orch accomp)
La Pastoura als camps (La Bergère aux champs)
Bailèro (Chant de bergers de Haute-Auvergne)
Pastourelle
La Fiolairé (La Fileuse) (Anonymous)
Passo pel prat (Viens par le pré)
When I Survey the Bright Celestial Sphere (Peters, 1964; text by William Habbingdon)
The Nativity As Sung By the Shepherds (G. Schirmer, 1967; Richard Crashaw) for mixed chorus, soloists & orch.
How Will Ye Have Your Partridge Today? (manuscript, 1967; text by Nicholas Brown) Round for 3 voices
A Hymn for Pratt Institute (manuscript, 1968; text by Rolf Fjelde) for mixed chorus
Cantata on Poems of Edward Lear (G. Schirmer, 1974) for chorus, soloists & orch. (or piano)
The Owl and the Pussycat for soprano and baritone
The Jumblies (Anonymous) for soprano and chorus
The Pelican Chorus for soprano, baritone and chorus
Half an Alphabet for chorus
The Akond of Swat for baritone and chorus
The Peace Place (Heritage, 1979; text by Jack Larson) for mixed chorus and piano [revised asFanfare for Peace]
A Prayer to Venus (G. Schirmer, 1981; text by John Fletcher) for mixed chorus and piano
Cantantes Eamus (G. Schirmer, 1982; text by Virgil) for men's chorus and piano
Fanfare for Peace (Southern, 1983; text by Jack Larson) for chorus, brass & perc (or piano) [revision ofPeace Place]
Southern Hymns (Southern, 1984) for mixed chorus and piano
Five Two-Part Inventions (Presser, 1926) piano (4 of these arranged for guitar by David Leisner)
Ten Easy Pieces and a Coda (Southern, 1926) piano
Variations on Sunday School Tunes (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1927) organ (orig. published separately; now collected asVariations on Four Sunday School Themes)
Come, Ye Disconsolate
There's Not a Friend Like the Lowly Jesus
Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown?
Shall We Gather At the River?
Piano Sonata No. 1 (MCA/Belwin Mills, 1929) [later scored for orchestra asSymphony No. 2]
Piano Sonata No. 2 (MCA/Belwin Mills, 1929) [later score for harp and orchestra asAutumn: Concertino for Harp, Strings and Percussion)
Piano Sonata No. 3 "on white keys" (Southern, 1930) (for Gertrude Stein)
Symphony No. 2 (Leeds/Belwin Mills, 1932) reduced from orchestra for piano, 4 hands
Suite from "The Plow That Broke the Plains" (G. Schirmer, 1936) reduced for orchestra for piano
Filling Station (Boosey & Hawkes, 1937) piano version of ballet score
Church Organ Wedding Music (Randall M. Eagen and Associates, 1940, rev. 1978)
Piano Sonata No. 4: Guggenheim jeune (Portrait of Peggy Guggenheim) (Southern, 1940)
Ten Etudes for Piano (Carl Fischer, 1944)
Nine Etudes for Piano (G. Schirmer, 1940-1951)
Walking Song (manuscript, 1951) for piano (from the movieTuesday in November); also version for 2 pianos by Gold and Fizdale
For a Happy Occasion (Peters, 1951) (Originally entitledHappy Birthday, Mrs. Zimbalist)
A Study in Stacked-Up Thirds (Southern, 1958) [later a portrait of Eugene Ormandy]
Pange Lingua (G. Schirmer, 1962) for organ
Pastor Weems and the Cherry Tree (Boosey & Hawkes, 1975) piano version of the ballet
Theme for Improvisation (manuscript, 1981) for organ
(Thomson began writing portraits of friends and acquaintances who passed through his life beginning 1929 through 1985. Written in the subject's presence in one sitting, they're mostly for piano, usually under 3 minutes each. He orchestrated many and used several as part of larger works.)
Travelling in Spain: Alice Woodfin Branlière (Boosey & Hakwes, 1929)
Alternations: A Portrait of Maurice Grosser (G. Schirmer, 1929)
Catalan Waltz: A Portrait of Ramón Senabre (G. Schirmer, 1929)
Clair Leonard's profile (Boosey & Hawkes, 1930)
Madame Dubost chez elle (Southern, 1930)
Pastoral: A Portrait of Jean Ozenne (G. Schirmer, 1930)
Russell Hitchcock, Reading (Southern, 1930)
Sea Coast: A Portrait of Constance Askew (G. Schirmer, 1935)
A Portrait of R. Kirk Askew (G. Schirmer, 1935)
Souvenir: A Portrait of Paul Bowles (G. Schirmer, 1935)
Ettie Stettheimer (Southern, 1935)
An Old Song: A Portrait of Carrie Stettheimer (G. Schimer, 1935)
Tennis: A Portrait of Henry McBride (G. Schirmer, 1935)
The Hunt: A Portrait of A. Everett Austin, Jr. (G. Schirmer, 1935)
Hymn: A Portrait of Josiah Marvel (G. Schirmer, 1935)
The John Mosher Waltzes (Boosey & Hawkes, 1935) (used in balletFilling Station)
Prelude and Fugue: A Portrait of Miss Agnes Rindge (G. Schirmer, 1935)
Helen Austin at Home and Abroad (Southern, 1935)
Meditation: A Portrait of Jere Abbott (G.Schirmer, 1935) (later orchestrated)
Connecticut Waltz: A Portrait of Harold Lewis Cook (Boosey & Hawkes, 1935)
A Day Dream: Portrait of Herbert Whiting (Carl Fischer, 1935)
Portrait of Claude Biais (manuscript, 1938)
A French Boy of Ten: Louis Lange (Southern, 1938)
Maurice Bavoux: Young and Alone (Boosey & Hawkes, 1938)
The Bard: A Portrait of Sherry Mangan (G. Schirmer, 1940)
In a Bird Cage: A Portrait of Lise Deharme (G. Schirmer, 1940)
With Trumpet and Horn: A Portrait of Louise Ardant (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Poltergeist: A Portrait of Hans Arp (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Fanfare for France: A Portrait of Max Kahn (G. Schirmer, 1940) (later for brass and perc; also cello and piano)
Barcarolle: A Portrait of Georges Hugnet (G. Schirmer, 1940) (later asBarcarolle for Woodwinds)
Swiss Waltz: A Portrait of Sophie Tauber-Arp (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Eccentric Dance: Portrait of Madame Kristians Tonny (Carl Fischer, 1940)
Tango Lullaby: A Portrait of Mll. [Flavie] Alvarez de Toledo (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part ofEight Portraits for orchestra)
Invention: Theodate Johnson Busy and Resting (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940)
Bugles and Birds: A Portrait of Pablo Picasso (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part ofEight Portraits for orchestra)
Piano Sonata No. 4: Portrait of Peggy Guggenheim (Southern, 1940)
Lullaby Which is Also a Spinning Song: A Portrait of Howard Putzel (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Five-Finger Exercise: A Portrait of Leon Kochnitzky (G. Schirmer, 1940)
The Dream World of Peter Rose-Pulham (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Dora Maar or the Presence of Pablo Picasso (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940)
Pastoral: A Portrait ofTristan Tzara (Southern, 1940)
Aria: A Portrait of Germaine Hugnet (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Toccata: A Portrait of Mary Widney (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Awake or Asleep: Pierre Mabille (Southern, 1940)
Cantabile: A Portrait of Nicolas de Chatelain (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part ofEight Portraits for orchestra)
Duet: A Portrait of Clarita Comtesse de Forceville (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940)
Stretching: A Portrait of Jamie Campbell (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940)
Canons with Cadenza: A Portrait of André Ostier (G. Schirmer, 1940)
Fugue: A Portrait of Alexander Smallens (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part ofEight Portraits for orchestra)
With Fife and Drums: A Portrait of Mina Curtiss (G. Schirmer, 1941)
Insistences: A Portrait of Louise Crane (G. Schirmer, 1941)
Percussion Piece: A Portrait of Jessie K. Lasell (manuscript, 1941) (also part ofEight Portraits for orchestra)
Parades: A Portrait of Florine Stettheimer (Boosey & Hawkes, 1941) later for brass and percussion asMetropolitan Museum Fanfare)
James Patrick Cannon, Professional Revolutionary (Boosey & Hawkes, 1942)
Scottish Memories: Peter Monro Jack (Boosey & Hawkes, 1942)
Prisoner of the Mind: Schuyler Watts (Southern, 1942)
Wedding Music: A Portrait of Jean [Mrs. Schuyler] Watts (G. Schirmer, 1942)
Aaron Copland, Persistently Pastoral (Boosey & Hawkes, 1942) (also part ofEight Portraits for orchestra asPastorale)
Five-Finger Exercise: Portrait of Briggs Buchanan (Carl Fischer, 1943)
Solitude: A Portrait of Lou Harrison (G. Schirmer, 1945)
Chromatic Double Harmonies: Portrait of Sylvia Marlowe (G. Schirmer, 1951) [part ofNine Etudes)
Homage to Marya Freund and to the Harp (Boosey & Hawkes, 1956)
Edges: A Portrait of Robert Indiana (G. Schirmer, 1966) (later for band)
ForEugene Ormandy's Birthday, 18 November 1969: A Study in Stacked-Up Thirds (Southern, 1969)
Man of Iron: A Portrait of Willy Eisenhart (G. Schirmer, 1972) (later the last movement in the brass quintetFamily Portrait)
Bill Katz: Wide Awake (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981)
Norma Flender: Thoughts about Flying (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981)
Richard Flender: Solid Not Stolid (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981) (also part ofEleven Portraits for Orchestra, 1982)
Scott Wheeler: Free-Wheeling (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981) (also part ofEleven Portraits for Orchestra)
Gerald Busby: Giving Full Attention (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983)
Noah Creshevsky: Loyal, Steady, Persistent (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) (also part ofEleven Portraits for Orchestra)
Sam Byers: With Joy (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) (also part ofEleven Portraits for Orchestra)
Barcarolles for Woodwinds (G. Schirmer, 1944) for flute, oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon (orchestrated from piano portrait of George Hugnet)
Fanfare for France (Boosey & Hawkes, 1944) orchestrated for brass and percussion from piano portrait of Max Kahn [one of ten fanfares commissioned by Cincinnati Symphony]
Sonorous and Exquisite Corpses (Peters, 1944-1947) written collaboratively by John Cage, Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison and Virgil Thomson; orchestrated 1982 by Robert Hughes for flute/piccolo, clarinet, horn, bassoon, & piano and published asParty Pieces. (Exquisite corpse is a method by which the composers add to a composition in sequence: each would write a bar of music plus 2 notes, fold the paper at the bar, and pass it to the next composer, who would use the 2 notes as a base for continuing the composition.)
Vivace (Cage-Harrison)
Adagio (Thomson-Cage-Harrison)
Grazioso (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Allegretto (Thomson-Cage-Harrison)
Slowly, yet flowing (Thomson-Cage-Harrison)
Flowing-broad (Thomson-Cage-Harrison)
Allegro (Cage-Harrison)
Majestic-broad (Thomson-Cage-Harrison)
Vivo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Flowing-rubato (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Waltz tempo (Thomson-Cage-Harrison)
Flowing (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Allegro (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
A slow, walking tempo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Maestoso, ma teneramente (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Allegro preciso (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
March tempo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Pastoral-softly-legato (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
A slow 2-walking tempo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
Allegro (Cowell-Cage-Harrison)
At the Beach (Carl Fischer, 1949) Concert Waltz for trumpet and band (or piano)
Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion (Southern, 1951) mezzo-soprano, clarinet, viola and harp (or mezzo and piano)
Lamentations, Etude for Accordion (Santee Music, 1959)
Variations for Koto (manuscript, 1961)
Ode to the Wonders of Nature (G. Schirmer, 1965) for brass and percussion
Etude for Cello and Piano, a Portrait of Frederic James (manuscript, 1966)
Metropolitan Museum Fanfare: Portrait of An American Artist (G. Schirmer, 1969) orchestrated for brass and percussion from piano portrait of Florine Stettheimer
Family Portrait (G. Schirmer, 1974) for brass quintet
A Fanfare: Robin Smith
At Fourteen: Anne Barnard
Digging: A Portrait of Howard Rea
A Scherzo: Priscilla Rea
Man of Iron: Willy Eisenhart (from piano original)
A Short Fanfare (manuscript, 1981) for 3 trumpets and 2 side drums
Bell Piece (G. Schirmer, 1983) forcarillon (2 or 4 players)
Cynthia Kemper A Fanfare (G. Schirmer, 1983) for violin & piano (later published as part ofFive Ladies)
Lili Hastings (manuscript, 1983) violin and piano
A Portrait of Two (G. Schirmer, 1984) for oboe, bassoon & piano
Jay Rosen (manuscript, 1984) for tuba and piano
Stockton Fanfare (Gentry Publications, 1985) for 3 trumpets and 2 side drums
^Dickinson, Peter. 1986. "Stein Satie Cummings Thomson Berners Cage: Toward a Context for the Music of Virgil Thomson".The Musical Quarterly 72, no. 3:394–409.[page needed]
^Lerner, Neil William. 1997. "The Classical Documentary Score in American Films of Persuasion: Contexts and Case Studies, 1936–1945". PhD diss. Duke University.
^Kime, Mary W. 1989. "Modernism and Americana: A Study ofThe Mother of Us All".Ars Musica Denver 2, no. 1 (Fall): pp. 24–29.
^Watson, Steven. 1998.Prepare for Saints: Gertrude Stein, Virgil Thomson, and the Mainstreaming of American Modernism. New York: Random House, 1998;ISBN0-679-44139-5 (cloth); reissued in paperback, University of California Berkeley Press, 2000;ISBN0-520-22353-5
^Thomson, Virgil. 2002.Virgil Thomson: A Reader: Selected Writings, 1924–1984, edited byRichard Kostelanetz. New York: Routledge;ISBN0-415-93795-7. p. 268
^abcdMichael Lamkin (2013)."Virgil Thomson". In Lee Stacey; Lol Henderson (eds.).Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century. New York: Routledge. p. 631.ISBN9781135929466.
^Hubbs, Nadine.The Queer Composition of America's Sound; Gay Modernists, American Music, and National Identity (Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2004).
Berk, Ellyn (1978).An Analysis and Comparison of the Aesthetics and Philosophy of Selected Music Critics in New York: 1940–1975 (PHD).New York University.OCLC53779819.
Performance of Virgil Thomson'sThe Plow That Broke the Plains – Suite,Leopold Stokowski conducting theHollywood Bowl Orchestra in 1946
