Pentland, Barbara (1912—)
Pentland, Barbara (1912—)
Canadian composer. Name variations: Lally Pentland. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on January 2, 1912.
Barbara Pentland struggled against parental disapproval and a serious heart ailment to become a musician and composer. After taking piano lessons at a Montreal boarding school, she studied at the Juilliard School of Music with Frederick Jacobi and Bernard Wagenaar, and in the early 1940s with Aaron Copland. Several women composers also were important mentors, including Cécile Gauthier in Paris, Eva Clare in Winnipeg, and Dika Newlin . In 1955, Pentland studied in Darmstadt, where Anton Webern's music was a strong influence. During the 1970s, the Vietnam War became one of her great concerns and inspired some of her compositions, including Disasters in the Sun. Using dissonant linear counterpoint and dodecaphonic melodic structures within a classical structure, Pentland composed over 60 works.
John Haag , Athens, Georgia