The International Composers' Guild was an organization created in 1921 by

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

and

Carlos Salzedo Carlos Salzedo (6 April 1885 – 17 August 1961) was a French harpist, pianist, composer and conductor. His compositions made the harp into a virtuoso instrument. He influenced many composers with his new ideas for the harp's sounds through his w ...

. It was responsible for performances and premieres of works by

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hun ...

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an un ...

Carlos Chávez Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by native ...

Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher and teacher. Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 20 ...

, Charles Ives,

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, Wallingford Riegger,

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kn ...

, and Anton von Webern, and others.

Management of the ICG

The Guild was run by a Council consisting of: * Varèse (director) * Salzedo *

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

Acario Cotapos Baeza Acario Cotapos Baeza (April 30, 1889 - November 22, 1969) was a Chilean composer. He won the National Prize of Art of Chile The National Prize of Art of Chile, was created on November 9, 1942. It was awarded yearly since 1944 and alternated the me ...

* Carl Engel *

A. Walter Kramer Arthur Walter Kramer (23 September 1890, New York City – 8 April 1969, New York City) was an American music critic, music publisher, and composer. He was taught music by his father and took violin lessons from Carl Hauser and Richard Arnold. He ...

* Julius Mattfeld *

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early works show the in ...

* Emerson Whithorne However, in practice most of the work was done by Edgar and

Louise Varèse Louise Varèse (; ; 20 November 1890 – 1 July 1989), also credited as Louise Norton or Louise Norton-Varèse, was an American writer, editor, and translator of French literature who was involved with New York Dadaism. Early life and educatio ...

and Salzedo. However following the First season Claire Raphael Reis was appointed executive secretary of the guild. Once in post she was able to relocate the second season to the Broadway based Klaw Theatre, which had a capacity of 805. After hosting the American premiere of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

Pierrot Lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a m ...

on 4 February 1923, she proposed staging a repeat performance, contrary to a rule of the ICG emanating from

that aside from an immediate encore, no musical piece should be scheduled by the ICG twice. Later that year she motivated several members to secede from the ICG to found the

League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...

. The ICG then relocated to the broadway based Vanderbilt Theatre for the third season and to the Aeolian Hall for the last three seasons.

The seasons

The ICG organised six seasons, each consisting of three concerts each.

First season

The first season was performed at the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

Greenwich Village Theatre, between 19 February and 23 April 1922.

Second season

The second season was performed at the Broadway based Klaw Theatre, and opened on 17 December 1922.

Third season

The third season was performed at the Vanderbilt Theatre.

Fourth season

The fourth season was performed at the Aeolian Hall.

Fifth season

The fifth season was also performed at the Aeolian Hall.

Sixth season

The sixth and final season continued at the Aeolian Hall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Composers' Guild 20th-century classical composers International Composers' Guild