Congratulations To Library Of Congress Living Legend Gunther Schuller!

"Saxman [sic] Gunther Schuller, who has played with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and the Metropolitan Opera, has been named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. Mr. Schuller, 80, will receive the award Dec. 16 at a concert by the Jupiter String Quartet in the library, according to Associated Press. Mr. Schuller has written more than 160 musical compositions, including a saxophone sonata and works commissioned by the New York and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras. His books include "The Compleat Conductor" and "The Swing Era," a history of jazz.
The son of German immigrants, Mr. Schuller won a MacArthur Foundation "genius" award in 1991 and the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1994. At 70, he started his own music publishing and recording firm, specializing in both early music and works by Duke Ellington."

See http://www.loc.gov/about/awards/legends/musiccomp.html

Source: washingtontimes.com via ionarts.org.

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English composer Gavin Bryars attendance at Gunther Schuller's opera The Visitation, in Illinois in 1968 (the first opera he ever attended), was an inspiration behind his decision to compose his opera on the Medea legend. See http://www.gavinbryars.com/Pages/medea_first_note.html

















Besides composing opera, Gunther Schuller has championed American opera, including Scott Joplin's Treemonisha, which he conducted and recorded with the Houston Grand Opera.

Image credit: DGG, Hamburg, Germany