composer

Virgil Thomson was a many-faceted American composer of great originality and a music critic of singular brilliance. Born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 25, 1896, Thomson studied at Harvard University. After a prolonged period in Paris where he studied with Nadia Boulanger and met Cocteau, Stravinsky, Satie, and the artists of Les Six, he returned to the United States where he was chief music critic for the New York Herald Tribune.

Virgil Thomson composed in almost every genre of music. Utilizing a musical style marked by sharp wit and overt playfulness, Thomson produced a highly original body of work rooted in American speech rhythms and hymnbook harmony. His music was most influenced by Satie's ideals of clarity, simplicity, irony, and humor. Among his most famous works are the operas Four Saints in Three Acts and The Mother of Us All (both with texts by Gertrude Stein with whom he formed a legendary artistic collaboration); and scores to The Plow That Broke the Plains and The River (films by Pare Lorentz), as well as Louisiana Story (film by Robert Flaherty). In addition to his compositions, he was the author of eight books, including an autobiography.

Included in his many honors and awards are the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Music, a Brandeis Award, the gold medal for music from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the National Book Circle Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Music Council Award, and 20 honorary doctorates.

Performances

Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory | November 16, 2013
Distler Performance Hall at Tufts University | September 27, 2009

News and Press

[Press Release] BMOP/sound releases Virgil Thomson: Three Pictures

BMOP/sound, the nation's premier label launched by an orchestra and dedicated exclusively to new music recordings, today announced its new fall release, Virgil Thomson: Three Pictures. A versatile composer of daring creativity and unparalleled originality, Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) is regarded as one of the most important American composers of the 20th century.

BMOP Full review
[Concert Review] Florestan, BMOP offer sublime tribute to vocal music

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project had a good idea last weekend. They paired with the Florestan Project, a superb vocal group, to present three days of concerts named “Voice of America” at Tufts University’s Distler Performance Hall. Florestan presented the complete songs of Samuel Barber, some 75 in number. The Sunday afternoon concert I attended then featured a chamber-music-sized BMOP with concerted songs of Samuel Barber and Virgil Thomson. Florestan and BMOP together offered a sublime tribute to the voice.

The Boston Musical Intelligencer Full review