Creston, Paul (real name, Giuseppe Gut-tggio)

Creston, Paul (real name, Giuseppe Gut- tggio), American composer, organist, and teacher; b. N.Y., Oct. 10, 1906; d. San Diego, Aug. 24, 1985. He received training in piano from Randegger and Dethier and in organ from Yon, but lacked formal instruction in theory or composition. Although he com-posed tentatively in his youth, he did not embark upon a serious career as a composer until he was 26 when he wrote his Five Dances for Piano. From 1934 to 1967 he was organist at St. Malachy’s Church in N.Y. In 1938 he held a Guggenheim fellowship. In 1941 his first sym. won the N.Y. Music Critics’ Circle Award, and thereafter he received various awards and commissions. He taught at the N.Y. Coll. of Music (1963–67), and then was a prof. of music and composer-in-residence at Central Washington State Coll. in Ellensburg (1968–75). Among his writings were Principles of Rhythm (1964), Creative Harmony (1970), and Rational Metric Notation (1979). Creston’s large output was marked by a harmonic and rhythmic idiom of considerable complexity, principally in his instrumental writing. He avoided illogical binary meters and proposed such time signatures as 6/12 or 3/9 in several of his works.

Works

ORCH Partita for Flute, Violin, and Strings (1937); Threnody (1938); 2 Choric Dances (1938); six syms.: No. 1 (1940; N.Y, Feb. 22, 1941), No. 2 (1944; N.Y, Feb. 15, 1945), No. 3 (Worcester Festival, Oct. 27, 1950), No. 4 (1951; Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 1952), No. 5 (1955; Washington, D.C., April 4, 1956), and No. six for Organ and Orch. (1981; Washington, D.C., June 28, 1982); Marimba Concertino (1940); Saxophone Concerto (1941; N.Y, Jan. 27, 1944); A Rumor, symphonic sketch(N.Y, Dec. 13, 1941); Fantasy for Piano and Orch. (1942); Frontiers (Toronto, Oct. 14, 1943); Poem for Harp and Orch. (1945); Fantasy for Trombone and Orch. (1947; Los Angeles, Feb. 12, 1948); Piano Concerto (1949); Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orch. (1951; Montevallo, Ala., Nov. 18, 1968); Walt Whitman, symphonic poem (1952); Invocation and Dance (1953; Louisville, May 15, 1954); Dance Overture (1954); 2 violin concertos: No. 1 (1956; Detroit, Jan. 14, 1960) and No. 2 (Los Angeles, Nov. 17, 1960); Lydian Ode (1956); Toccata (1957); Accordion Concerto (1958); Janus (Denver, July 17, 1959); Corinthians: XIII, symphonic poem (1963; Phoenix, March 30, 1964); Choreografic Suite (1965); Pavane Variations (La Jolla, Calif., Aug. 21, 1966); Chthonic Ode (1966; Detroit, April 6, 1967); Thanatopsis (1971); Square Dance 76 for Wind Sym. Orch. (1975); Suite for Strings (1978); Sadhana for Cello and Orch. (Los Angeles, Oct. 3, 1981). CHAMBER : 3 Poems from Walt Whitman for Cello and Piano (1934); Suite for Saxophone and Piano (1935); Strin Quartet (1936); Suite for Viola and Piano (1937); Suite for Violin and Piano (1939); Saxophone Sonata (1939); Suite for Flute, Viola, and Piano (1952); Suite for Cello and Piano (1956); Concertino for Piano and Wind Quintet (1969); Ceremonial for Percussion Ensemble (1972); Rapsodie for Saxophone and Piano or Organ (1976); Suite for Saxophone Quartet (1979); Piano Trio (1979); piano works. VOCAL: three chorales, after Tagore (1936); Requiem for Tenor, Bass, and Organ (1938); Dance Variations for Soprano and Orch. (1942); Psalm XXIII for Soprano, Chorus, and Piano (1945); Missa solemnis for Chorus and Organ or Orch. (1949); Adoro te, mass for Women’s or Mixed Chorus and Piano (1952); The Celestial Vision for Men’s Chorus (1954); Isaiah’s Prophecy, Christmas oratorio (1962); Nocturne for Soprano, Wind Quintet, String Quintet, and Piano (1964); The Psalmist for Alto and Orch. (1967); Cum jubilo, mass for Chorus (1968); Hyas Illahee for Chorus and Orch. (1969); Leaves of Grass for Chorus and Piano (1970); Thanksgiving Anthem for Chorus and Orch. (1982).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire