Foss, Lukas

Foss, Lukas

▪ American composer
original name  Lukas Fuchs  
born Aug. 15, 1922, Berlin, Ger.
died Feb. 1, 2009, New York, N.Y., U.S.
 German-born U.S. composer, pianist, and conductor, widely recognized for his experiments with improvisation and aleatory music.

      He studied in Berlin and Paris and, after moving to the United States in 1937, with the composers Randall Thompson (Thompson, Randall) and Paul Hindemith (Hindemith, Paul) and the conductors Serge Koussevitzky (Koussevitzky, Serge) and Fritz Reiner (Reiner, Fritz). Foss published his first work at age 15, and in 1945 he became the youngest composer to win a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1957, while a professor of composition and the orchestra director at the University of California at Los Angeles, he founded the Improvisation Chamber Ensemble, which was the vehicle of many of his experiments in music generally described as aleatory (chance) and stochastic (based on a system of mathematical probability).

      In 1963 Foss founded and became director of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Among the orchestras with which he worked as music director and conductor are the Buffalo Philharmonic (1963–70), the Brooklyn Philharmonia (1971–90; later Brooklyn Philharmonic), and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (1981–86).

      Foss's early works are neoclassical—tonal and well-organized in harmony and counterpoint. These early works include symphonic music (Ode; first performed in 1945), cantatas, and chamber music, as well as a ballet score (Gift of the Magi, 1945). One of his early concerti, Piano Concerto No. 2 (1951, revised in 1953), won a Music Critics' Award. An opera, Griffelkin (1955), was commissioned by the National Broadcasting Company and first performed on television.

      His later chamber pieces, including Echoi (1963) and Elytres (1964), are avant-garde, ordering musical events by means of chance operations and leaving many decisions about the performance to the performers. Otherwise notable among his later compositions are his Divertissement for string quartet (1972); the orchestral work Folksong (1975); American Cantata for tenor, soprano, two speakers, chorus, and orchestra (1977); and Celebration, written for the 50th anniversary (July 6, 1990) of the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, Mass. Foss, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, was a guest conductor with the world's major symphonies. In 1991 he became a professor at Boston University.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Foss, Lukas — ► (n. 1922) Seudónimo de Lukas Fuchs, compositor alemán nacionalizado estadounidense. Pertenece a la música de vanguardia. Autor de La parábola de la muerte y Recordar …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Foss — Foss, Lukas …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • FOSS (L.) — FOSS LUKAS (1922 ) Bien qu’il soit né à Berlin (d’un père philosophe et d’une mère artiste peintre) et qu’il ait fait une grande partie de ses études musicales en France, où il travaille le piano et la composition, c’est aux États Unis, où sa… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Foss — is a surname, and may refer to* Arthur Foss * Byron Foss * Charles Calveley Foss * Chris Foss, British illustrator and science fiction artist * Claire Foss * Craig Foss * Edward Foss, English lawyer and biographer * Eugene Foss * Frank H. Foss *… …   Wikipedia

  • Foss (surname) — Foss is a surname, and may refer to:* Arthur Foss * Byron Foss * Charles Calveley Foss * Chris Foss, British illustrator and science fiction artist * Claire Foss * Craig Foss * Edward Foss, English lawyer and biographer * Eugene Foss * Frank H.… …   Wikipedia

  • Lukas Foss — (born Lukas Fuchs, August 15, 1922 in Berlin, Germany) is an American composer, conductor, pianist, and professor. He studied with Julius Goldstein. He moved to Paris in 1933 where he studied piano with Lazare Lévy, composition with Noël Gallon,… …   Wikipedia

  • Lukas Foss — (nacido Lukas Fuchs, el 15 de agosto de, 1922 en Berlín, Alemania y fallecido el 1 de febrero de 2009 en Nueva York) fue un compositor, director de orquesta, pianista y profesor. Estudió con Julius Goldstein. Se trasladó a París en 1933 donde… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lukas Foss — (* 15. August 1922 als Lukas Fuchs in Berlin; † 1. Februar 2009 in New York City[1]) war ein US amerikanischer Komponist und Dirigent deutscher Herkunft. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werke …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • FOSS (Fuchs), LUKAS — (1922– ), U.S. composer, pianist, and conductor. Born in Berlin, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1937. He was pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1944 to 1950. He was the youngest composer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship (1945),… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Foss — steht für Free/Libre Open Source Software (FOSS), als Abkürzung einen kleinen Fluss in England, siehe Foss (Yorkshire) einen kleinen Fluss im Tessin, siehe Foss (Ticino) Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Foss (Oklahoma) Foss (Oregon) Foss ist der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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