Adolphus Acquah Robertson Turkson (12 September 1933 – 21 June 1993), better known as Ato Turkson, was a Ghanaian composer and musicologist.

Education

Turkson was born in

Winneba Winneba is a town and the capital of Effutu Municipal District in Central Region of South Ghana. Winneba has a population of 55,331. Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south coa ...

in southern Ghana. He studied music at the University of Ghana, graduating in 1964. He undertook further study in composition at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, studying under

Rezső Sugár Rezső Sugár (October 9, 1919 – September 22, 1988) was a Hungarian composer. Rezső Sugár was born in Budapest. He studied musical composition under Zoltán Kodály at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1937 to 1942. He was a teacher ...

. He gained a master's degree and doctorate in musicology at Northwestern University in Illinois. His doctoral dissertation focussed on the traditional music of the

Efutu people The Efutu (also called Awutu or Simpafo) are an Akanized Guang people that are the original inhabitants of present-day Ghana. They founded the coastal area about 1390 C.E. The Efutu are found in Awutu, Adina, Senya-Beraku and Winneba (originally ...

Academic career

Turkson spent most of his academic career at the University of Ghana. He was also visiting scholar at the University of Cologne (1978) and Portland State University (1982).

Composition

According to Daniel Avorgbedor, Turkson's compositions were "largely rooted in 20th-century avant-garde techniques", in particular in his use of

atonality Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a s ...

and

serialism In music, serialism is a method of Musical composition, composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other elements of music, musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, thou ...

. Most of his early piano works were of an educational nature. His later compositions included indigenous elements, inspired partly by his earlier research into Efutu music. Most of his works were published by the University of Ife Press in Nigeria. His best-known work is ''Three pieces for flute and piano'' (1968).

Selected compositions

* ''Trio, op. 3'' (1965) * ''Six easy pieces for piano, op. 4'' (1965) * ''Serenade no. 1 for string orchestra, op. 5'' (1965) * ''String quartet, op. 6'' (1966) * ''Serenade no. 2 for string orchestra, op. 7'' (1966) * ''Te Deum, op. 8'' (1966) * ''Oboe quintet, op. 9'' (1966) * ''Three pieces for flute and piano, op. 14'' (1968) * ''Three pieces for oboe and piano, op. 15'' (1968) * ''Sonata for violin, op. 16.'' * ''Elements I, op. 19'' (1970) * ''Symphony, op. 20'' (1970) * ''Symphony, op. 21'' (1970) * ''Fanta Lyric for Flute Solo, op. 22'' (1970) * ''Six piano pieces, op. 12'' (1977)

Published works

* * * (as Adolphus Turkson) * * (as Adolphus Turkson) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkson, Ato Ghanaian composers Ghanaian musicologists 1933 births 1993 deaths University of Ghana alumni Academic staff of the University of Ghana Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni Northwestern University alumni 20th-century composers 20th-century musicologists