Paul Cooper (May 19, 1926; Victoria, Illinois – April 4, 1996;

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and teacher of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Born in Victoria, Illinois, he received degrees from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, where his teachers included Ernest Kanitz,

Halsey Stevens Halsey Stevens (December 3, 1908 – January 20, 1989) was a music professor, biographer, and composer of American music. Life Halsey Stevens was born in Scott, New York and educated at Syracuse University and the University of California, Ber ...

, and

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

. He also studied with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

as a Fulbright Fellow from 1953-1954. Cooper taught at the University of Michigan School of Music and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music prior to joining the Rice University Shepherd School of Music as a founding member in 1974. He remained there until his death in 1996, at which time he held the Lynette S. Autrey Endowed Chair and was the Composer-in-Residence at the Shepherd School. In addition to a Fulbright, he was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and from the Ford, Rockefeller, and Rackham Foundations. Some of his notable students include

Gabriela Lena Frank Gabriela Lena Frank (born Berkeley, California, United States, September 1972) is an American pianist and composer of contemporary classical music. Biography Gabriela Lena Frank's father is an American of Lithuanian Jewish heritage and her mothe ...

, Svend Nielsen, and Ellsworth Milburn. While Cooper experimented with compositional techniques popular during the middle of the twentieth century, including serialism and aleatory, much of his music follows traditional structures, with numerous works in "absolute (established) forms," including six

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s, numerous concertos (including two for

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, one for

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

, and one for

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

), and six symphonies.

Ross Lee Finney Ross Lee Finney Junior (December 23, 1906–February 4, 1997) was an American composer who taught for many years at the University of Michigan. Life and career Born in Wells, Minnesota, Finney received his early training at Carleton College a ...

characterized Cooper's music as having "a deep emotional motivation and at the same time a simplicity and clarity that comes from his mastery of craft."

Selected works

*Symphonies **Symphony no. 1, 1966 **Symphony no. 2 "Antiphons," 1971 **Symphony no. 3 "Lamentations," 1971 **Symphony no. 4 "Landscape," 1973-75 **Symphony no. 5, 1982–83 **Symphony no. 6 "In Memoriam," 1987 *Concertos **Violin Concerto No. 1, 1967 **Descants, for Viola and Orchestra, 1975 **Cello Concerto, 1977 **Violin Concerto No. 2, 1980–82 **Flute Concerto, 1981–82 **Organ Concerto, 1982 **Saxophone Concerto, 1982 **Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, 1987 *Chamber music **Piano Quintet, 1995 **String Quartet No. 1, 1952 (rev. 1978) **String Quartet No. 2, 1954 (rev. 1979) **String Quartet No. 3, 1959 **String Quartet No. 4, 1964 **String Quartet No. 5, 1973 **String Quartet No. 6, 1977 **Sonata for Viola and Piano, 1961 **Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1962 **Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano, 1963 **Sonata for Double Bass and Piano, 1964 **Sonata for Flute and Piano, 1964 **Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano, 1965

Books

*Cooper, Paul. ''Dimensions of SIght Singing: An Anthology.'' New York: Longman. 1981. *Cooper, Paul. ''Perspectives in Music Theory: An Historical-Analytical Approach.'' New York: Dodd Mead. 1973.

Notes

References

Lee, Minyoung. "Paul Cooper's Sinfonia: An Analysis." DMA dissertation, Rice University, 2002. Shulman, Laurie. "Paul Cooper," in ''Oxford Music Online''.

External links

The Paul Cooper papers
at the Fondren Library, Rice University
Paul Cooper page
from Schirmer site

December 18, 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Paul USC Thornton School of Music alumni University of Michigan faculty University of Cincinnati faculty Rice University faculty