Virgil thomson autobiography definition

Virgil Thomson () was a many-faceted American composer of great originality and a music critic of singular brilliance.

Virgil thomson autobiography definition of self

Utilizing a musical style marked by sharp wit and overt playfulness, he composed in almost every genre of music, producing a highly original body of work rooted in American speech rhythms and hymnbook harmony. His music was influenced by Satie’s ideals of clarity, simplicity, irony, and humor.

Though mostly diatonic and tonal in feeling, some of his work was densely chromatic (Three Tone Poems) and even tone in organization (A Solemn Music).

Born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 25, , Thomson was imbued with a strong sense of place—of rootedness in heartland America and its Protestant traditions.

His early connection to music came through the church, through piano lessons beginning at age 5, and stints accompanying theatricals and silent films. The music he heard was part and parcel of the wide world around him: Civil War songs, cowboy so