Born: 1922, Berlin, Germany

"Style to me means personality, so I would say that my personality evolved; but it's the technical changes that are most apparent to someone who hears my work, because I was always adding new techniques to my musical vocabulary."

One of the most protean of musical personalities, Foss was a virtuoso pianist and conductor as well as a composer. His music has incorporated elements of neoclassicism, American populism, ensemble improvisation, minimalism, and electronic techniques. A professor of music at UCLA in the 1950s, Foss also was music director of the Ojai Festival and lead 12 marathon concerts at the Hollywood Bowl; he has also been music of the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Milwaukee Symphony.

Further listening:

Piano Concertos: No. 1 (1944); No. 2 (1953)

Jon Nakamatsu; Yakov Kasman;

Pacific Symphony, Carl St.Clair

(Harmonia Mundi)

04/07