Topics: Composers : W
Wagner, Melinda
Melinda Wagner (c.1965), winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion, has graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania.
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Wagner, Wilhelm Richard
1813 - 1883. German Composer. (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner born in Leipzig in 1813 was the son of a civic clerk, who died soon after the composer's birth.
Movies,
Societies,
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Waldteufel, Emile
Born 1837 in Strasbourg, France, he was a contemporary of Johan Strauss Jr. and also wrote waltzes among which was The Skaters' Waltz.
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Walker, George Theophilus
George Walker (1922- ), a concert pianist and composer, was the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in music.
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Wallace, William
Scots composer William Wallace was born in Greenock in 1860 and studied medicine at his father's insistence.
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Walther, Johann
Johann Walther (1496-1570) was a German kantor, composer, and hymn writer. He became a friend of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon and wrote, arranged, and collected hymnody and other religious songs for the fledgling Evangelical movement during the Lutheran Reformation.
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Walther, Johann Gottfried
A cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) was organist, composer, theorist, and lexicographer, publishing the first comprehensive dictionary of music and musicians and a piece on the tuition of organists.
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Walton, William Turner, Sir
British composer of orchestral and chamber music as well as opera and film music William Walton (1902-1983) was knighted in 1951.
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Wanhal, Johann
German form of Jan Krtitel Vanhal (1739-1813). Czech composer, friend of Haydn and Mozart. Wrote approximately 100 symphonies, 100 string quartets, 23 Masses, and numerious other instrumental and vocal works.
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Ward, Robert
Born in 1917 in Cleveland Ohio. He received many honors and awards among which was the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for the opera The Crucible.
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Warlock, Peter
Peter Warlock (pseudonym of Philip Heseltine) was born in 1894 and died in 1930. He was a friend of Frederick Delius and an important British composer of art songs.
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Wassenaer, Unico Willem van
(1692-1766) Long unknown composer of Sei concerti armonici which had been wrongly attributed to Ricciotti then to Pergolesi.
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Waxman, Franz
Franz Waxman (1906-1967) was born Franz Wachsmann in Konigshutte, Upper Silesia, Germany. His father wanted him to be a banker but he used the money he earned as a teller to pay for piano, composition, and harmony lessons, then moved to Berlin to further his musical career.
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Weber, Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von
Carl Maria von Weber was a student of Beethoven and a major figure in the late classical or early romantic period.
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Webern, Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von
1883 - 1945. Austrian composer. Studied composition under Schoenberg. He began his career as a theatre conductor in Germany and Czechoslovakia, but settled near Vienna after World War I.
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Weelkes, Thomas
(1576-1623) British organist and composer. Wrote madrigals and music for the Church of England.
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Weill, Kurt
Kurt Weill (1900-1950) Was a German composer best known for his collaboration with Bertolt Brecht on such works as "The Threepenny Opera" and "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny." He became an American citizen in 1943.
Lyrics,
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Weinberg, Mieczysław Samuilowicz
Polish-born composer Mieczyslaw Samuilowicz Weinberg (1919-1996; aka Moisei Vainberg) spent the second half of his life in Russia.
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Weinberger, Jaromír
Czech composer Jaromír Weinberger (1896-1967) scored his biggest success with the opera Schwanda the Bagpiper, from which the polka and fugue immediately became and remained quite popular.
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Weir, Judith
English composer Judith Weir (b. 1954) studied in London with John Tavener and at Cambridge with Robin Holloway.
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Welcher, Dan
Born in 1948 in Rochester New York, composer-conductor-bassoonist Dan Welcher has received many commissions and awards.
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Wernick, Richard
American composer Richard Wernick was born in 1934 in Boston, Massachusetts. He won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize and has twice won the Friedham Award.
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White, Robert
(1535?-1574) English organist and composer was for the last four years of his life organist and master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey.
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Widor, Charles-Marie
(1844-1937) French organist and composer. He wrote many organ symphonies as well as chamber music, vocal music, choral music, symphonies, and operas.
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Wilbye, John
English Renaissance composer John Wilbye (1573/4-1638) is most known for his madrigals, such as Sweet Honey-Sucking Bees and Flora Gave Me Fairest Flowers.
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Willaert, Adrian
(1490?-1562) Born in the Netherlands, in 1527 he accepted the post of choir master of St.
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Williams, John
John Williams (1932- ), born in Queens, NY, is an American composer with a long list of works.
Movies,
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Wilson, Richard
American composer and teacher Richard Wilson (1941-) has written symphonic, instrumental, choral, vocal, and operatic works.
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Wolf, Hugo
1860-1903. Austrian composer. Studied at Vienna Conservatorium (1875-7), but was forced to leave after a disagreement with it's Director.
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Wolfe, Julia
American composer Julia Wolfe was born in Philadelphia in 1958.
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Wolff, Christian
Christian Wolff (1934- ) was born in Nice, France. He became a United States citizen in 1946.
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Wolpe, Stephan
Stephan Wolpe (1902-1972), Berlin, Germany, an 'avant garde' composer who influenced both Elliot Carter and John Cage.
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Wuorinen, Charles
Charles Wuorinen (1938- ), New York City, winner of many awards including the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Time's Ecomium.
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