Robert Arthur Gross (March 23, 1914 – November 6, 1983) was an American composer and violinist. A native of

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, where composer

Cecil Effinger Cecil Effinger (July 22, 1914 – December 22, 1990) was an American composer, oboist, and inventor. Life Effinger was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, four months after composer Robert Arthur Gross was also born in that city; he resided in ...

would be born four months later, Gross began studies under

Leopold Auer Leopold von Auer ( hu, Auer Lipót; June 7, 1845July 15, 1930) was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers. Early life and career Au ...

and Edouard Dethier at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

when he was twelve; while there, he also studied composition under

Bernard Wagenaar Bernard Wagenaar (July 18, 1894 – May 19, 1971) was a Dutch-American composer, conductor and violinist. Wagenaar was born in Arnhem. He studied at Utrecht University before starting his career as a teacher and conductor in 1914. He moved to ...

. He also took private lessons with both

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 ...

– whose

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

he premiered – and

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 ...

. He taught for some time at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

, twice serving as chairman of the school's music department. Among his pupils there was John McGuire. Most of Gross' music was for chamber forces, but he composed two

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s, one on ''

The Bald Soprano ''La Cantatrice chauve '' – translated from French as ''The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' – is the first play written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at the ...

'' and one, a science fiction satire, titled ''Project 1521''; both were premiered at Occidental College, in 1962 and 1974 respectively. A handful of the chamber works appeared on records. Gross also made recordings himself, as a violinist. Gross died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. His papers are held at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

References

1914 births 1983 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists Musicians from Colorado Springs, Colorado Juilliard School alumni Occidental College faculty Pupils of Roger Sessions Pupils of Arnold Schoenberg 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American violinists {{US-composer-20thC-stub