Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

, a neoromantic, a

neoclassicist Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

, and a composer of "an Olympian blend of humanity and detachment" whose "expressive voice was always carefully muted" until his late opera ''

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

'' which, in contrast to all his previous work, exhibited an emotional content that rises to "moments of real passion".

Biography

Early years

Thomson was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. As a child he befriended Alice Smith, great-granddaughter of

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

, founder of the

Latter-day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

. During his youth he often played the organ in Grace Church, (now

Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral is an Episcopal cathedral in the Quality Hill neighborhood of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri. History Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral wa ...

), as his piano teacher was the church's organist. After World War I, he entered

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

thanks to a loan from Dr. Fred M. Smith, the president of the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

, and father of Alice Smith. His tours of Europe with the

Harvard Glee Club The Harvard Glee Club is a 60-voice, Tenor-Bass choral ensemble at Harvard University. Founded in 1858 in the tradition of English and American glee clubs, it is the oldest collegiate chorus in the United States. The Glee Club is part of the H ...

helped nurture his desire to return there. At Harvard, Thomson focused his studies on the piano work of

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 und ...

. He studied in Paris on fellowship for a year, and after graduating lived in Paris from 1925 until 1940. While studying in Paris he was influenced by several French composers who were members of "

Les Six "Les Six" () is a name given to a group of six composers, five of them French and one Swiss, who lived and worked in Montparnasse. The name, inspired by Mily Balakirev's '' The Five'', originates in two 1920 articles by critic Henri Collet in '' ...

" including:

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

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-kno ...

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

, and

Georges Auric Georges Auric (; 15 February 1899 – 23 July 1983) was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault, France. He was considered one of ''Les Six'', a group of artists informally associated with Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie. Before he turned 20 he ...

. He eventually 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 ...

and became a fixture of "Paris in the twenties". Maurice Grosser, 1935

In Paris in 1925, he cemented a relationship with painter Maurice Grosser, who was to become his life partner and frequent collaborator. Later he and Grosser lived at the

Hotel Chelsea The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea) is a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, built between 1883 and 1885. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of Ch ...

, where he presided over a largely gay salon that attracted many of the leading figures in music and art and theater, including

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

, and many others. He also encouraged many younger composers and literary figures such as

Ned Rorem Ned Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was the leading American of his time writing in the genre. Althou ...

Lou Harrison Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his for ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

Frank O'Hara Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966) was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure i ...

, and

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

. Grosser died in 1986, three years before Thomson.

His most important friend from this period was

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

, who was an artistic collaborator and mentor to him. After meeting Stein in Paris in 1926, Thomson invited her to prepare a libretto for an opera which he hoped to compose. Their collaboration resulted in the premier of the groundbreaking composition ''

Four Saints in Three Acts ''Four Saints in Three Acts'' is an opera composed in 1928 by Virgil Thomson, setting a libretto written in 1927 by Gertrude Stein. It contains about 20 saints and is in at least four acts. It was groundbreaking in form, content, and for its all-b ...

'' in 1934. At the time, the opera was noted for its form, musical content and the portrayal of European saints by an all-black cast. Years later in 1947, he collaborated once again with Stein on his provocative opera ''

The Mother of Us All ''The Mother of Us All'' is a two-act opera composed by Virgil Thomson to a libretto by Gertrude Stein. Thomson and Stein met in 1945 to begin the writing process, almost twenty years after their first collaborative project, the opera ''Four Sain ...

'' which portrays the life of the social reformer

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

. Thomson incorporated musical elements from Baptist hymns, Gregorian chants and popular songs into both scores while demonstrating a restrained use of dissonance. Thomson's contributions to music were not limited to the operatic stage, however. In 1936, he established a collaboration with the film director Pare Lorentz and composed music for the documentary film ''

The Plow That Broke the Plains ''The Plow That Broke the Plains'' is a 1936 short documentary film that shows the cultivation of the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada following the Civil War and leading up to the Dust Bowl as a result of farmers' exploitati ...

'' for the United States government's

Resettlement Administration The Resettlement Administration (RA) was a New Deal U.S. federal agency created May 1, 1935. It relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government. On September 1, 1937, it was succeeded by the Farm S ...

(RA). Thomson incorporated folk melodies and religious musical themes into the film score and subsequently composed an orchestral suite of the same name which was recorded by

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...

and the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

Symphony Orchestra in 1946 for RCA Victor (# 11-9522,11-9523). In 1938 he also formed a collaboration with Lorentz and the operatic singer

Thomas Hardie Chalmers Thomas Hardie Chalmers (October 20, 1884 – June 11, 1966) was an American opera singer and actor. Biography Chalmers was born on October 20, 1884 in New York City, the son of Thomas Hardie and Sophia Amanda (De Bann) Chalmers. In 1909, he wen ...

on the documentary film '' The River'' for the United States government's Farm Security Administration. Thomson composed an orchestra suite based on the score; when it was published, the musical journal ''

Notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * Notes (album), ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) sho ...

'' commented: "Delightful as background music, the piece is an awful bore when you try to give it your full attention". Subsequently, in 1948 he collaborated with the director

Robert J. Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...

on the

docufiction Docufiction (or docu-fiction) is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) a ...

film ''

Louisiana Story ''Louisiana Story'' is a 1948 American black-and-white drama film directed by Robert J. Flaherty. Although it has historically been represented as a documentary film, the events and characters depicted are fictional and the film was commissioned ...

'', for which he received the

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted ...

in 1949. At the time, the award was the only Pulitzer Prize in music granted for a musical composition written exclusively for film. Thomson's suite based on the score was premiered by

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association wit ...

and the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

in 1949 to widespread critical acclaim. Following the publication of his book, ''The State of Music'', Thomson established himself in New York City as a rival of

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

. Thomson's criticisms of Copland were phrased in terms that brought accusations of antisemitism, but Copland remained on good terms with him, and Thomson admitted his envy of Copland's greater success as a composer. Thomson was also a music critic for the ''

New York Herald-Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'' from 1940 to 1954. A fellow critic, Robert Miles, accused him of being "vindictive and of settling scores in print".Miles, Robert
"Virgil Thomson All Told"
''The Sewanee Review'', vol. 106, no. 1 (Winter, 1998), pp. xx–xxii In a 1997 article in '' American Music'', Suzanne Robinson writes that Thomson, motivated by "a mixture of spite, national pride, and professional jealousy" was consistently "severe and spiteful" to

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

. Miles records that Thomson agitated for more performances in New York of new music, including his own. Thomson's definition of music was "that which musicians do", and his views on music are radical in their insistence on reducing the rarefied aesthetics of music to market activity. He even went so far as to claim that the style a piece was written in could be most effectively understood as a consequence of its income source.

Later years

In 1969, Thomson composed ''Metropolitan Museum Fanfare: Portrait Of An American Artist'' to accompany the Museum's Centennial exhibition "New York Painting And Sculpture: 1940–1970". Thomson became a sort of mentor and father figure to a new generation of American tonal composers such as

and

, a circle united as much by their shared homosexuality as by their similar compositional sensibilities. Women composers were not part of that circle, and one writer has suggested that, as a critic, he selectively omitted mention of their works, or adopted a more passive tone when praising them.

Awards and honors

Thomson was a recipient of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

's Sanford Medal. In 1949, he was awarded the

for the score to the film ''

'' and in 1977, he was awarded The

Edward MacDowell Medal The Edward MacDowell Medal is an award which has been given since 1960 to one person annually who has made an outstanding contribution to American culture and the arts. It is given by MacDowell, the first artist residency program in the United Sta ...

The MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...

for outstanding contributions to American culture. In addition, the

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five hono ...

award was bestowed upon Thomson in 1983. In 1988, he was awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 at ...

, an international professional music fraternity.

Death

Thomson died on September 30, 1989, in his suite at the

in Manhattan, aged 92. He had lived at the Chelsea for close to 50 years.

Works

Thomson's compositions are:

Operas

* ''

'', libretto by

(1928) * ''

'', libretto by Gertrude Stein, 1947 * ''

'', libretto by

Jack Larson Jack Edward Larson (February 8, 1928 – September 20, 2015) was an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer best known for his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the television series '' Adventures of Superm ...

(1966–1968)

Ballet

* ''Filling Station'' choreography by

Lew Christensen Lewellyn Farr Christensen (May 6, 1909 – October 9, 1984) was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984. ...

(1937) * ''Bayou'' choreography by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

(1952); music from ''Acadian Songs and Dances'' from the film ''Louisiana Story'' * ''The Harvest According'' choreography by

Agnes de Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...

(1952); music from ''Symphony on a Hymn Tune,'' ''Concerto for Cello,'' and Suite from ''The Mother of Us All'' * ''Hurray!'' (originally entitled ''Fourth of July, 1900'') choreography by

Erick Hawkins Frederick "Erick" Hawkins (April 23, 1909November 23, 1994) was an American modern-dance choreographer and dancer. Early life Frederick Hawkins was born in Trinidad, Colorado, on April 23, 1909. He majored in Greek civilization at Harvard Univer ...

(1975) music: ''Symphony No. 2'' * ''Parson Weems and the Cherry Tree'' choreography by

(1975)

Film scores

* ''

'' film by Pare Lorentz (1936) Produced by the Works Progress Administration--Farm Security Administration * '' The River'' film by Pare Lorentz (1937) Produced by the Works Progress Administration--Farm Security Administration * ''The Spanish Earth'' film by Joris Ivens and Ernest Hemingway (1937) A montage of recorded Spanish folk music made in collaboration with Marc Blitzstein * ''Tuesday in November'' a U.S. Office of War Information film by John Berry (1945) * ''

'' film by Robert Flaherty (1948) * ''The Goddess La Deesse'' film written by Paddy Chayevsky, directed by John Cromwell (1957) * ''Power Among Men'' produced by the United Nations film unit (1958) * ''Journey to America'' a film for the U.S. Pavillion at the New York World's Fair, produced and directed by John Houseman (1964) * ''The Baby Maker'' film by James Bridges (1970) * ''Suddenly an Eagle'' ABC News film (1975)

Incidental music

* ''Le Droit de Varech'' (manuscript, 1930) accordion solo * ''A Bride for the Unicorn'' (manuscript, 1934) male chorus, 3 perc. * ''Macbeth'' (manuscript, 1936) chamber orch. (Shakespeare; for Orson Welles, WPA Federal Theater) * ''Injunction Granted'' (manuscript, 1936) 4-person chamber group with 16 percussionsts * ''Horse Eats Hat (Un Chapeau de paille d'Italie)'' (manuscript, 1936) chamber orch. (for WPA-Theater) * ''Hamlet'' (manuscript, 1936) 9 players (Shakespeare; for John Houseman, WPA Federal Theater) * ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (manuscript, 1937) oboe, 2 trpts, 2 perc (Shakespeare play) * ''Androcles and the Lion'' (manuscript, 1938) not orchestrated (George Bernard Shaw play at WPA Federal Theater) * ''The Trojan Women'' (manuscript, 1940) 6 players (play by Euripides; for John Houseman, CBS Workshop) * ''The Life of a Careful Man'' (manuscript, 1941) chamber orch & women's voices (soundtrack for CBS Workshop) * ''Oedipus Tyrannos'' (manuscript, 1941) flute, 2 horns, perc, male chorus (play by Sophocles at Fordham Univ.) * ''King Lear'' (manucsript, 1952) 10 payers (Shakespeare, for TV-Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation) * ''The Grass Harp'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1952) flute, harp, celeste, vln, vla, cello (Truman Capote play) * ''Ondine'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1954) 8 players * ''King John'' (manuscript, 1956) 2 horns, 2 trpts, 2 perc (Shakespeare; for John Houseman at the American Shakespeare Festival Theater in CT) * ''Measure for Measure'' (manuscript, 1956) 7 players & boy soprano (Shakespeare; for Houseman and ASFT in CT) * ''Othello'' (manuscript, 1957) 8 players (Shakespeare; for Houseman and ASFT in CT) * ''The Merchant of Venice'' (manuscript, 1957) 8 players and tenor solo (for AFST in CT) * ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (manuscript, 1957) 9 players and tenor solo (Shakespeare; for Houseman and ASFT in CT) * ''Bertha'' (manuscript, 1959) trumpet solo (for Living Theater/Cherry Tree Theater)

Orchestra

* ''Two Sentimental Tangos'' (manuscript, 1923); orchestrated from the original piano version * '' Symphony on a Hymn Tune'' (Southern, 1928) * Suite from ''The Plow That Broke the Plains'' (G. Schirmer, 1936) * Suite from ''The River'' (Southern, 1937) * Suite from ''Filling Station'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1937) * ''The John Mosher Waltzes'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1937); orchestrated from the piano portrait of John Mosher (excerpted from ballet ''Filling Station'') * Symphony No. 2 in C major (Leeds/Belwin Mills, 1931, rev. 1941) * Eight Portraits for orchestra (1942-1944) (grouping by G. Schirmer) # ''Bugles and Birds'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) from piano portrait of Pablo Picasso # ''Canons for Dorothy Thompson'' Portrait for Orchestra (G. Schirmer, 1942) # ''Fugue'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) from piano portrait of Alexander Smallens # ''The Mayor LaGuardia Waltzes'' Portrait for Orchestra (G. Schirmer, 1942) # ''Cantabile for Strings'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) from the piano portrait of Nicholas de Chatelain # ''Pastorale'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) from piano portrait of Aaron Copland (later used in the film ''Tuesday in November'') # ''Percussion Piece'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) from piano portrait of Jessie K. Lasell # ''Tango Lullaby'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) from piano portrait of Flavie Alvarez de Toledo * ''Meditation'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) orchestrated from piano portrait of Jere Abbott * ''Fugue and Chorale on Yankee Doodle'' (G. Schirmer, 1945) from the film ''Tuesday in November'' * ''Three Pictures for Orchestra'' (1947–1952) # ''The Seine at Night'' (G. Schirmer, 1947) # ''Wheat Field at Noon'' (G. Schirmer, 1948) # ''Sea Piece with Birds'' (G. Schirmer, 1952) * Suite from ''Louisiana Story'' (G. Schirmer, 1948) Pulitzer Prize 1949 * ''Acadian Songs and Dances from Louisiana Story'' (G. Schirmer, 1948) * ''At the Beach: Concert Waltz for Trumpet and Band'' (Carl Fischer, 1949) * ''Solemn Music'' for band (G. Schirmer, 1949) later also for orchestra (written after the death of Gertrude Stein) * Suite from ''The Mother of Us All'' (G. Schirmer, 1949) * Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (Ricordi/Belwin Mills, 1950) * Concerto for Flute, Strings, harp and Percussion: ''A Portrait of Roger Baker'' (1954) lso arranged for flute and piano* ''Eleven Chorale Preludes op. 122,'' by Johannes Brahms, orchestrated by Virgil Thomson (Boosey & Hawkes, 1956) * ''The Lively Arts Fugue'' (manuscript, 1957) * ''Fugues and Cantilenas'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1959) from the United Nations film ''Power Among Men'' * ''Solemn Music and a Joyful Fugue'' (G. Schirmer, 1962) 'Solemn Music'' originally for band(''Joyful Fugue'' later also arranged for band) * '' Pilgrims and Pioneers'' (G. Schirmer, 1964) from the film ''Journey to America'' * ''Autumn: Concertino for Harp, Strings and Percussion'' (G. Schirmer, 1964) * ''Fantasy in Homage to an Earlier England'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1966) * ''Edges: A Portrait of Robert Indiana'' (G. Schirmer, 1969) for band, orchestrated from piano original * ''Study Piece: Portrait of a Lady'' (G. Schirmer, 1969) for band, orchestrated from piano portrait of Louise Crane * Symphony No. 3 (Boosey & Hawkes, 1972) orchestration of String Quartet No. 2 * ''Thoughts for Strings'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981) * ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'' (1981–1982) 11 piano portraits orchestrated by Thomson, Scott Wheeler and Rodney Lister # ''A Love Scene'' (orch. Thomson) (''Dead Pan: Mrs. Betty Freeman'') # ''Intensely Two: Karen Brown Waltuck'' (orch. Thomson) # ''Loyal, Steady Persistent: Noah Creshevsky'' (orch. Thomson) # ''Something of a Beauty: Anne-Marie Soullière'' (orch. Thomson) # ''David Dubal in Flight'' (orch. Thomson) # ''Scott Wheeler: Free-Wheeling'' (orch. Wheeler) # ''Dennis Russel Davies: In a Hammock'' (orch. Wheeler) # ''Richard Flender: Solid, Not Stolid'' (orch. Wheeler) # ''Bill Katz: Wide Awake'' (orch. Lister) # ''Sam Byers: With Joy'' (orch. Lister) # ''Christopher Cox: Singing a Song'' (orch. Lister) * ''Four Saints: An Olio for Chamber Orchestra'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''A Pair of Portraits:'' ''A Double Take'' and ''Major Chords'' (manuscript, 1984) orchestrated from piano portraits of John Houseman and Anthony Tommasini

Vocal

* Vernal Equinox (manuscript, 1920) voice, piano; text by Amy Lowell * The Sunflower (manuscript, 1920) voice, piano; text by William Blake * ''Susie Asado'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1926) voice, piano; text by Gertrude Stein * ''Five Phrases from "The Song of Solomon"'' (American Music Edition/Presser, 1926) for soprano and percussion; biblical text # ''Thou That Dwellest in the Gardens'' # ''Return, O Shulamite'' # ''O, My Dove'' # ''I am My Beloved's'' # ''By Night'' * ''The Tiger'' (G. Schirmer, 1926) voice, piano; text by William Blake * ''Presciosilla'' (G. Schirmer, 1927) voice, piano; text by Gertrude Stein * ''La Valse Grégorienne'' (Southern, 1927, rev. 1971) medium voice, piano; text by Georges Hugnet (English translation as ''Gregorian Waltz'' by Donald Sutherland) # ''Les Ecrevisses'' (Crayfish) # ''Grenadine'' (Pomegranate) # ''La Rosée'' (Dew) # ''Le Wagon Immobile'' (The Motionless Box-Car) * ''Le Berceau de Gertrude Stein, ou Le Mystere de la Rue de Fleurus'' (Southern, 1928) voice, piano; eight poems by Georges Hugnet (English translation as ''The Cradle of Gertrude Stein or Mysteries in the rue de Fleurus'' by Donald Sutherland) usic by Thomson entitled ''Lady Godiva's Waltzes''* ''Trois Poemes de la Duchesse de Rohan'' (individually published, 1928) voice, piano # ''A son Altesse le Princesse Antoinette Murat'' (''To Her Highness Princess Antoinette Murat'') (manuscript) # ''Jour de chaleur aux bains de mer'' (''Hot Day at the Seashore'') (Boosey & Hawkes; English translation by Sherry Mangan # ''La Seine'' (printed in Parnassus: Poetry in Review 5, 1977) * ''Commentaire sur Saint Jérome'' (Southern, 1928) voice, piano (text by Marquis de Sade; English translation as ''Commentary on Saint Jerome'' by Donald Sutherland) * ''Les Soirées Bagnolaises'' (manuscript, 1928) voice, piano (text by Georges Hugnet) * ''Portrait of F. B.'' (Frances Blood) (G. Schirmer, 1929) voice, piano (text by Gertrude Stein) * ''Le Singe et le léopard'' (Southern, 1930) voice, piano (text by Jean de La Fontaine; English translation as ''The Monkey and the Leopard'' by Donald Sutherland) * ''Oraison Funèbre de Henriette-Marie de France, Reine de la Grande-Bretagne'' (manuscript, 1930, rev. 1934) voice, piano (text by Jacques Bossuet; translated as ''Funeral Oration of Henriette-Marie of France, Queen of Great Britain'' by Donald Sutherland) * ''Air de Phèdre'' (Southern, 1930) voice, piano (text by Jean Racine; translated as ''Phaedra's Farewell'' by Donald Sutherland) * ''Deux Soeurs qui ne sont pas soeurs'' (Southern, 1930) voice, piano (text by Gertrude Stein; English translation as ''Two Sisters Not Sisters'') (piano accompaniment is a portrait of Stein's dog, Basket I) * ''Stabat Mater'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1931, rev. 1981); arranged for voice and string orchestra from the original for voice and string quartet (or piano) * ''Chamber Music'' (manuscript, 1931) voice, piano (text by Alfred Kreymbord) * ''La Belle en dormant'' (G. Schirmer, 1931) voice, piano (text by Georges Hugnet; English translation as ''Beauty Sleeping'' by Elaine de Sirçay) # ''Pour chercher sur la carte des mers'' (''Scanning Booklets from Ocean Resorts'') # ''La Première de toutes'' (''My True Love Sang me No Song'') # ''Mon Amour es bon à dire'' (''Yes My Love is Good to Tell Of'') # ''Partis les vaisseaux'' (''All Gone Are the Ships'') * ''Pigeons on the Grass Alas'' (G. Schirmer, 1934) baritone, piano (from the opera ''Four Saints in Three Acts,'' text by Gertrude Stein) * ''Go to Sleep, Alexander Smallens, Jr.'' (manuscript, 1935) voice unaccompanied * ''Go to Sleep, Pare McTaggett Lorentz'' (manuscript, 1937) voice unaccompanied * ''Dirge'' (G. Schirmer, 1939) voice, piano (text by John Webster) * ''The Bugle Song'' (manuscript, 1941) mz-sop or baritone and piano (text by Alfred Lord Tennyson; published for unison children's chorus; additional manuscript for 2-part children's chorus) * ''Five Songs from William Blake'' (Southern, 1951) baritone and orchestra; orchestrated from the original for baritone and piano (text by William Blake; commissioned by the Louisville Philharmonic) # ''The Divine Image'' # ''Tiger! Tiger!'' # ''The Land of Dreams'' # ''The Little Black Boy'' # ''And Did Those Feet'' * ''Consider, Lord'' (Southern, 1955) voice, piano (text by John Dunne) * ''Remember Adam's Fall'' (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1955) voice, piano (anonymous text) * ''At the Spring'' (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1955) Voice, piano (text by Jasper Fisher) * ''The Bell Doth Toll'' (Southern, 1955) voice, piano (text by Thomas Heywood) * ''Look How the Floor of Heaven'' (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1955) voice, piano (text by William Shakespeare) * ''If Thou A Reason Dost Desire to Know'' (Southern, 1958) voice, piano (text by Sir Francis Kynaston) * ''John Peel'' (Southern, 1955) voice, piano (text by John Woodcock Graves) * Shakespeare Songs (Southern, 1957) voice, piano (text by William Shakespeare; 4 songs are from incidental music Thomson wrote for Shakespeare stage plays) # ''Was This Fair Face the Cause?'' (from ''All's Well That Ends Well'') # ''Take, O Take Those Lips Away'' (from ''Measure for Measure'') # ''Tell Me Where is Fancy Bred'' (from ''Merchant of Venice'') # ''Pardon, Goddess of the Night'' (from ''Much Ado About Nothing'') # ''Sigh No More, Ladies'' (from ''Much Ado About Nothing'') * ''Tres Estmpas de Ninez'' (Southern, 1957) voice, piano (text by Reyna Rivas; English translation as ''Three Sketches from Childhood'' by Sherry Mangan) # ''Todas las horas'' (''All Through the Long Day'') # ''Son amigos de todos'' (''They Are Everyone's Friends'') # ''Nadie lo oye como ellos'' (''No One Can Hear Him The Way They Can'') * ''Mostly About Love'' (G. Schirmer, 1959; published separately) voice, piano (text by Kenneth Koch; orig. title: ''Songs for Alice Esty'') # ''Love Song'' # ''Down at the Docks'' # ''Let's Take a Walk'' # ''A Prayer to St. Catherine'' * ''Collected Poems'' (Southern, 1959) soprano, baritone and orch. (or piano) * ''Mass for Solo Voice'' (G. Schirmer, 1962); Voice (or unison choir) and orchestra (or piano) * Praises and Prayers (G. Schirmer, 1963; published separately) voice and piano # from ''The Canticle of the Sun'' (text by St. Francis of Assisi) # ''My Master Hath a Garden'' (anonymous; also versions for SATB or SSA chorus) # ''Sung by the Shepherd's'' (''Hymn to the Nativity'' by Richard Crashaw) # ''Before Sleeping'' (anonymous) # ''Jerusalem, My Happy Home'' (from The Meditation of St. Augustine) * ''Two by Marianne Moore'' (G. Schirmer, 1963; published separately) # ''English Usage'' # ''My Crow Pluto'' * ''The Feast of Love'' according to the poem

Pervigilium Veneris ''Pervigilium Veneris'' (or ''The Vigil of Venus'') is a Latin poem of uncertain date, variously assigned to the 2nd, 4th or 5th centuries. It is sometimes thought to have been by the poet Tiberianus, because of strong similarities with his po ...

for baritone and chamber orchestra (or piano) (G. Schirmer, 1964) * ''From Byron's "Don Juan"'' (Southern, 1967) for tenor and orchestra * from ''Sneden's Landing Variations'' (Lingus Press, 1972) voice, piano (text by Frank O'Hara) * The Courtship of Yongly Bongly Bo (G. Schirmer, 1974) voice, piano (text by Edward Lear; orig. part of Lear Cantata) * Go to Sleep, Gabriel Liebowitz (manuscript, 1979) voice unaccompanied * What Is It? (Presser, 1979) voice, piano (or guitar) (text by Thomas Campion) * The Cat (G. Schirmer, 1980) soprano and baritone & piano (text by Jack Larson)

Choral

* ''De Profundis'' (Weinitraub, 1920/revised 1951) for mixed chorus * ''O My Deir Hert'' (Heritage, 1921/rev. 1978) for mixed chorus; text by Martin Luther * ''Sanctus'' (manuscript, 1921) for men's chorus * ''Tribulationes Civitatum'' (Weintraub, 1922) for mixed (or men's) chorus * ''Three Antiphonal Psalms'' (G. Schirmer, 1924) for SA or TB chorus (Psalms 123, 133 & 136) * ''Agnus Dei'' (Presser, 1924) for 3 equal voices * ''Missa Brevis'' (manuscript, 1924) for men's chorus * ''Fête Polonaise'' (manuscript 1924) arranged from Chabrier for men's chorus & piano * ''Benedictus'' (manuscript, 1926) * ''Sanctus'' (manuscript, 1926) * ''Capital Capitals'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1927) for TTBB (or 4 male voices) & piano (text by Gertrude Stein) * ''Saints' Procession'' (G. Schirmer, 1928) for mixed chorus, mz-s, bass solos & piano (text by Gertrude Stein from ''Four Saints in Three Acts'') * ''Seven Choruses from the "Medea" of Euripides'' (G. Schirmer, 1934; text translated by Countee Cullen) for women's chorus & percussion (also arranged for mixed chorus by Daniel Pinkham) # ''O gentle heart'' # ''Love, like a leaf'' # ''O, happy were our fathers'' # ''Weep for the little lambs'' # ''Go down, O Sun'' # ''Behold, O Earth'' # ''Immortal Zeus controls the fate of Man'' * ''Mass for Two-Part Chorus and Percussion'' (MCA/Belwins Mills, 1934) * ''My Shepherd Will Supply My Need'' (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1937; text is Isaac Watt's paraphrase of Psalm 23) (also versions for men's or women's chorus, or for voice and piano or organ) * ''Scenes from the Holy Infancy According to Saint Matthew'' (G. Schirmer, 1937) for mixed chorus and men's solos * ''The Bugle Song'' (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1941; text by Alfred Lord Tennyson) for unison children's chorus (or solo voice) and piano * ''Surrey Apple-Howler's Song'' (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1941) children's chorus * ''Welcome to the New Year'' (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1941; text by Elanor Farjeon) for children's (or mixed) chorus * ''Hymns from the Old South'' (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1949) for mixed chorus (published separately) # ''Death, 'Tis a Melancholy Day'' (Isaac Watts) # ''Green Fields'' (John Newton) # ''The Morning Star'' (Anonymous) * ''Kyrie Eleison'' (Gray/Belwins Mills, 1953) ater part of the ''Missa pro defunctis''* ''Never Another'' (Columbia, 1955; text by Mark Van Doren) * ''Song for the Stable'' (Columbia, 1955; text by Amanda Benjamin Hall) for mixed chorus * ''Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion'' (Southern, 1955) mixed chorus (or solo voice), viola, clarinet and harp (or just piano) * ''Tiger! Tiger!'' (Southern, 1955; text by William Blake) SATB (or TTBB) chorus and piano (orig. for solo voice from Campion cycle) * ''Crossing Brooklyn Ferry'' to poems by

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

(Boosey & Hawkes, 1961); mixed chorus and orchestra * ''Missa pro defunctis'' (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1960) for mixed chorus and orchestra * ''Dance in Praise'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1962; text by John Symonds); mixed chorus and orchestra * ''The Holly and the Ivy'' (G. Schirmer, 1963) SATB chorus (or solo voice) & piano * ''My Master Hath a Garden'' (G. Schirmer, 1963) for SATB (or SSAA) chorus & piano * ''Five Auvergnat Folk Songs'' (Presser, 1964) mixed chorus versions of 5 Joseph Canteloube songs (with original piano or orch accomp) # ''La Pastoura als camps (La Bergère aux champs)'' # ''Bailèro (Chant de bergers de Haute-Auvergne)'' # ''Pastourelle'' # ''La Fiolairé (La Fileuse)'' (Anonymous) # ''Passo pel prat (Viens par le pré)'' * ''When I Survey the Bright Celestial Sphere'' (Peters, 1964; text by William Habbingdon) * ''The Nativity As Sung By the Shepherds'' (G. Schirmer, 1967; Richard Crashaw) for mixed chorus, soloists & orch. * ''How Will Ye Have Your Partridge Today?'' (manuscript, 1967; text by Nicholas Brown) Round for 3 voices * ''A Hymn for Pratt Institute'' (manuscript, 1968; text by Rolf Fjelde) for mixed chorus * ''Cantata on Poems of Edward Lear'' (G. Schirmer, 1974) for chorus, soloists & orch. (or piano) # ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' for soprano and baritone # ''The Jumblies'' (Anonymous) for soprano and chorus # ''The Pelican Chorus'' for soprano, baritone and chorus # ''Half an Alphabet'' for chorus # ''The Akond of Swat'' for baritone and chorus * ''The Peace Place'' (Heritage, 1979; text by Jack Larson) for mixed chorus and piano evised as ''Fanfare for Peace''* ''A Prayer to Venus'' (G. Schirmer, 1981; text by John Fletcher) for mixed chorus and piano * ''Cantantes Eamus'' (G. Schirmer, 1982; text by Virgil) for men's chorus and piano * ''Fanfare for Peace'' (Southern, 1983; text by Jack Larson) for chorus, brass & perc (or piano) evision of ''Peace Place''* ''Southern Hymns'' (Southern, 1984) for mixed chorus and piano # ''"How Bright is the Day!"'' (Rev. S.B. Sawyer) # ''Mississippi "When Gabriel's Awful Trumpet Shall Sound"'' (from ''Kentucky Harmony'') # ''Death of General Washington'' (Stephen Jenks) # ''Convention "How Firm a Foundation"'' for chorus from Caldwell's ''Union Harmony'')

Keyboard

* Prelude (McAfee Music, 1921) piano (also version for organ by Calvin Hampton) * Pastorale on a Christmas Plainsong (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1922) organ *# Divinium Mysterium *# God Rest Ye Merry *# Picardy * Fanfare (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1922) organ * Prelude (G. Schirmer, 1922) organ * Passacaglia (G. Schirmer, 1922, rev. 1974) organ * Two Sentimental Tangos (manuscript, 1923) piano (originally Three Sentimental Tangos; also orchestrated) * Five Chorale-Preludes (G. Schirmer, 1924) organ *# O, Sacred Head Now Wounded! *# The New-Born Babe (1st version) *# The New-Born Babe (2nd version) *# The New-Born Babe (3rd version) *# Praise God, Ye Christians Ev'rywhere * ''Synthetic Waltzes'' (Presser, 1925) 2 pianos (or 1 piano, 4 hands) * ''Five Two-Part Inventions'' (Presser, 1926) piano (4 of these arranged for guitar by David Leisner) * ''Ten Easy Pieces and a Coda'' (Southern, 1926) piano * ''Variations on Sunday School Tunes'' (Gray/Belwin Mills, 1927) organ (orig. published separately; now collected as ''Variations on Four Sunday School Themes'') *# ''Come, Ye Disconsolate'' *# ''There's Not a Friend Like the Lowly Jesus'' *# ''Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown?'' *# ''Shall We Gather At the River?'' * ''Piano Sonata No. 1'' (MCA/Belwin Mills, 1929) ater scored for orchestra as ''Symphony No. 2''* ''Piano Sonata No. 2'' (MCA/Belwin Mills, 1929) [later score for harp and orchestra as ''Autumn: Concertino for Harp, Strings and Percussion'') * ''Piano Sonata No. 3 "on white keys"'' (Southern, 1930) (for Gertrude Stein) * Symphony No. 2 (Leeds/Belwin Mills, 1932) reduced from orchestra for piano, 4 hands * ''Suite from "The Plow That Broke the Plains"'' (G. Schirmer, 1936) reduced for orchestra for piano * ''Filling Station'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1937) piano version of ballet score * ''Church Organ Wedding Music'' (Randall M. Eagen and Associates, 1940, rev. 1978) * ''Piano Sonata No. 4: Guggenheim jeune'' (Portrait of Peggy Guggenheim) (Southern, 1940) * ''Ten Etudes for Piano'' (Carl Fischer, 1944) * ''Nine Etudes for Piano'' (G. Schirmer, 1940-1951) * ''Walking Song'' (manuscript, 1951) for piano (from the movie ''Tuesday in November''); also version for 2 pianos by Gold and Fizdale * ''For a Happy Occasion'' (Peters, 1951) (Originally entitled ''Happy Birthday, Mrs. Zimbalist'') * ''A Study in Stacked-Up Thirds'' (Southern, 1958) [later a portrait of Eugene Ormandy] * ''Pange Lingua'' (G. Schirmer, 1962) for organ * ''Pastor Weems and the Cherry Tree'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1975) piano version of the ballet * ''Theme for Improvisation'' (manuscript, 1981) for organ

Piano portraits

(Thomson began writing portraits of friends and acquaintances who passed through his life beginning 1929 through 1985. Written in the subject's presence in one sitting, they're mostly for piano, usually under 3 minutes each. He orchestrated many and used several as part of larger works.) * ''Travelling in Spain: Alice Woodfin Branlière'' (Boosey & Hakwes, 1929) * ''Alternations: A Portrait of Maurice Grosser'' (G. Schirmer, 1929) * ''Catalan Waltz: A Portrait of Ramón Senabre'' (G. Schirmer, 1929) * ''Clair Leonard's profile'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1930) * ''Madame Dubost chez elle'' (Southern, 1930) * ''Pastoral: A Portrait of Jean Ozenne'' (G. Schirmer, 1930) * ''Russell Hitchcock, Reading'' (Southern, 1930) * ''Sea Coast: A Portrait of Constance Askew'' (G. Schirmer, 1935) * ''A Portrait of R. Kirk Askew'' (G. Schirmer, 1935) * ''Souvenir: A Portrait of Paul Bowles'' (G. Schirmer, 1935) * ''Ettie Stettheimer'' (Southern, 1935) * ''An Old Song: A Portrait of Carrie Stettheimer'' (G. Schimer, 1935) * ''Tennis: A Portrait of Henry McBride'' (G. Schirmer, 1935) * ''The Hunt: A Portrait of A. Everett Austin, Jr.'' (G. Schirmer, 1935) * ''Hymn: A Portrait of Josiah Marvel'' (G. Schirmer, 1935) * ''The John Mosher Waltzes'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1935) (used in ballet ''Filling Station'') * ''Prelude and Fugue: A Portrait of Miss Agnes Rindge'' (G. Schirmer, 1935) * ''Helen Austin at Home and Abroad'' (Southern, 1935) * ''Meditation: A Portrait of Jere Abbott'' (G.Schirmer, 1935) (later orchestrated) * ''Connecticut Waltz: A Portrait of Harold Lewis Cook'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1935) * ''A Day Dream: Portrait of Herbert Whiting'' (Carl Fischer, 1935) * ''Portrait of Claude Biais'' (manuscript, 1938) * ''A French Boy of Ten: Louis Lange'' (Southern, 1938) * ''Maurice Bavoux: Young and Alone'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1938) * ''The Bard: A Portrait of Sherry Mangan'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''In a Bird Cage: A Portrait of Lise Deharme'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''With Trumpet and Horn: A Portrait of Louise Ardant'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Poltergeist: A Portrait of Hans Arp'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Fanfare for France: A Portrait of Max Kahn'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) (later for brass and perc; also cello and piano) * ''Barcarolle: A Portrait of Georges Hugnet'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) (later as ''Barcarolle for Woodwinds'') * ''Swiss Waltz: A Portrait of Sophie Tauber-Arp'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Eccentric Dance: Portrait of Madame Kristians Tonny'' (Carl Fischer, 1940) * ''Tango Lullaby: A Portrait of Mll. lavieAlvarez de Toledo'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part of ''Eight Portraits for orchestra'') * ''Invention: Theodate Johnson Busy and Resting'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940) * ''Bugles and Birds: A Portrait of Pablo Picasso'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part of ''Eight Portraits for orchestra'') * ''Piano Sonata No. 4: Portrait of Peggy Guggenheim'' (Southern, 1940) * ''Lullaby Which is Also a Spinning Song: A Portrait of Howard Putzel'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Five-Finger Exercise: A Portrait of Leon Kochnitzky'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''The Dream World of Peter Rose-Pulham'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Dora Maar or the Presence of Pablo Picasso'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940) * ''Pastoral: A Portrait of

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

'' (Southern, 1940) * ''Aria: A Portrait of Germaine Hugnet'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Toccata: A Portrait of Mary Widney'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Awake or Asleep: Pierre Mabille'' (Southern, 1940) * ''Cantabile: A Portrait of Nicolas de Chatelain'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part of ''Eight Portraits for orchestra'') * ''Duet: A Portrait of Clarita Comtesse de Forceville'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940) * ''Stretching: A Portrait of Jamie Campbell'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1940) * ''Canons with Cadenza: A Portrait of André Ostier'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) * ''Fugue: A Portrait of Alexander Smallens'' (G. Schirmer, 1940) (also part of ''Eight Portraits for orchestra'') * ''With Fife and Drums: A Portrait of Mina Curtiss'' (G. Schirmer, 1941) * ''Insistences: A Portrait of Louise Crane'' (G. Schirmer, 1941) * ''Percussion Piece: A Portrait of Jessie K. Lasell'' (manuscript, 1941) (also part of ''Eight Portraits for orchestra'') * ''Parades: A Portrait of Florine Stettheimer'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1941) later for brass and percussion as ''Metropolitan Museum Fanfare'') * ''James Patrick Cannon, Professional Revolutionary'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1942) * ''Scottish Memories: Peter Monro Jack'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1942) * ''Prisoner of the Mind: Schuyler Watts'' (Southern, 1942) * ''Wedding Music: A Portrait of Jean

rs. Schuyler Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...

Watts'' (G. Schirmer, 1942) * ''Aaron Copland, Persistently Pastoral'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1942) (also part of ''Eight Portraits for orchestra'' as ''Pastorale'') * ''Five-Finger Exercise: Portrait of Briggs Buchanan'' (Carl Fischer, 1943) * ''Solitude: A Portrait of Lou Harrison'' (G. Schirmer, 1945) * ''Chromatic Double Harmonies: Portrait of Sylvia Marlowe'' (G. Schirmer, 1951) [part of ''Nine Etudes'') * ''Homage to Marya Freund and to the Harp'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1956) * ''Edges: A Portrait of Robert Indiana'' (G. Schirmer, 1966) (later for band) * ''For

's Birthday, 18 November 1969: A Study in Stacked-Up Thirds'' (Southern, 1969) * ''Man of Iron: A Portrait of Willy Eisenhart'' (G. Schirmer, 1972) (later the last movement in the brass quintet ''Family Portrait'') * ''Bill Katz: Wide Awake'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981) * ''Norma Flender: Thoughts about Flying'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981) * ''Richard Flender: Solid Not Stolid'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'', 1982) * ''Scott Wheeler: Free-Wheeling'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1981) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''Gerald Busby: Giving Full Attention'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Noah Creshevsky: Loyal, Steady, Persistent'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''Sam Byers: With Joy'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''Morris Golde: Showing Delight'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Christopher Cox: Singing a Song'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''Barbara Epstein: Untiring'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Dead Pan: Mrs. Betty Freeman'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''John Wright, Drawing'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Franco Assetto, Drawing'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Round and Round: Dominique Mabokov'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Karen Brown Waltuck: Intensely Two'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''Anne-Marie Soullière: Something of a Beauty'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Buffie Johnson: Drawing V.T. in Charcoal'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Craig Rutenberg: Swinging'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Paul Sanfacon: On the Ice'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1983) * ''Molly Davies: Terminations'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Dennis Russel Davies: In a Hammock'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''Rodney Lister: Music for a Merry-Go-Round'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Doña Flor: Receiving'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Dr. Marcel Rochce: Making a Decision'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''David Dubal in Flight'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) (also part of ''Eleven Portraits for Orchestra'') * ''Peter McWilliams: Firmly Spontaneous'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Vassilis Voglis: On the March'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Power Boothe: With Pencil'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Mark Beard: Never Alone'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Louis Rispoli: In a Boat'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Malitte Matta: In the Executive Style'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Glynn Boyd Harte: Reaching'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Senza Expressione: Bennett Lerner'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Phillip Ramey: Thinking Hard'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Charles, Fussell: In Meditation'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''Brendan Lemon: A Study Piece for Piano'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) * ''John Houseman: No Changes'' (manuscript, 1984) (also part of ''A Pair of Portraits for Orchestra'' with the title ''A Double Take'') * ''Lines: for and about Ron Henggeler'' (manuscript, 1984() * ''Boris Baranovic: Whirling'' (manuscript, 1984) * ''Tony Tommasini: A Study in Chords'' (manuscript, 1984) (also part of ''A Pair of Portraits for Orchestra'' with the title ''Major Chords'') * ''Christopher Beach: Alone'' (manuscript, 1985) * ''Danyal Lawson: Playing'' (manuscript 1985)

Chamber ensemble

* ''Sonata da Chiesa'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1926, rev. 1973), for clarinet, trumpet, horn, trombone, viola * ''Portraits for Violin Alone'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1928; additional portrait added in 1940) *# ''Señorita Juanita de Medina Accompanied by Her Mother'' *# ''Madame Marthe-Marthine'' *# ''Georges Hugnet, Poet and Man of Letters'' *# ''Miss Gertrude Stein as a Young Girl'' *# ''Cliquet-Pleyel in F'' *# ''Mrs. C.W.L. (Chester Whitin Lasell)'' *# ''Sauguet, From Life'' *# ''Ruth Smallens'' (1940) * ''Five Portraits for Four Clarinets'' (G. Schirmer, 1929) for SSAB clarinets *# ''Portrait of Ladies: A Conversation'' *# ''Portrait of a Young Man in Good Health: Maurice Grosser with a Cold'' *# ''Christian Bérard, Prisoner'' *# ''Christian Bérard as a Soldier'' *# ''Christian Bérard in Person'' * ''Le Bains-Bar'' (manuscript, 1929) for Violin and Piano (also for piano quintet) [later arranged as ''At the Beach'' for trumpet and band (or piano)] * ''Sonata for Violin and Piano'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1930) * ''Portraits for Violin and Piano'' (G. Schirmer, 1930; additional portrait added 1940) (ultimately published with a 1983 addition as ''Five Ladies'') *# ''Alice Tolkas'' *# ''Mary Reynolds'' *# ''Anne Miracle'' *# ''Yvonne de Casa Fuerte'' (1940) * ''String Quartet No. 1'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1931, rev. 1957) * ''Serenade for Flute and Violin'' (Southern, 1931) * ''String Quartet No. 2'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1932, rev. 1957) (later scored for orchestra as ''Symphony No. 3'') * ''Four Portraits'', for cello and piano arranged in 1942 by Luigi Silva: *# ''Bugles and Birds'' ''(

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

)'' (1940) *# ''Tango Lullaby'' ''(Flavie Alvarez de Toledo)'' (1940) *# ''In a Bird Cage'' ''( Lise Deharme)'' (1940) *# ''Fanfare for France'' ''( Max Kahn)'' (1940) * ''Sonata for Flute Alone'' (Presser, 1943) * ''Barcarolles for Woodwinds'' (G. Schirmer, 1944) for flute, oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon (orchestrated from piano portrait of George Hugnet) * ''Fanfare for France'' (Boosey & Hawkes, 1944) orchestrated for brass and percussion from piano portrait of Max Kahn ne of ten fanfares commissioned by Cincinnati Symphony* ''Sonorous and Exquisite Corpses'' (Peters, 1944-1947) written collaboratively by John Cage, Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison and Virgil Thomson; orchestrated 1982 by Robert Hughes for flute/piccolo, clarinet, horn, bassoon, & piano and published as ''Party Pieces.'' (

Exquisite corpse Exquisite corpse (from the original French term ', literally exquisite cadaver), is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. ...

is a method by which the composers add to a composition in sequence: each would write a bar of music plus 2 notes, fold the paper at the bar, and pass it to the next composer, who would use the 2 notes as a base for continuing the composition.) # ''Vivace'' (Cage-Harrison) # ''Adagio'' (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) # ''Grazioso'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Allegretto'' (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) # ''Slowly, yet flowing'' (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) # ''Flowing-broad'' (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) # ''Allegro'' (Cage-Harrison) # ''Majestic-broad'' (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) # ''Vivo'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Flowing-rubato'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Waltz tempo'' (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) # ''Flowing'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Allegro'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''A slow, walking tempo'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Maestoso, ma teneramente'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Allegro preciso'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''March tempo'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Pastoral-softly-legato'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''A slow 2-walking tempo'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) # ''Allegro'' (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) * ''At the Beach'' (Carl Fischer, 1949) Concert Waltz for trumpet and band (or piano) * ''Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion'' (Southern, 1951) mezzo-soprano, clarinet, viola and harp (or mezzo and piano) * ''Lamentations, Etude for Accordion'' (Santee Music, 1959) * ''Variations for Koto'' (manuscript, 1961) * ''Ode to the Wonders of Nature'' (G. Schirmer, 1965) for brass and percussion * ''Etude for Cello and Piano, a Portrait of Frederic James'' (manuscript, 1966) * ''Metropolitan Museum Fanfare: Portrait of An American Artist'' (G. Schirmer, 1969) orchestrated for brass and percussion from piano portrait of Florine Stettheimer * ''Family Portrait'' (G. Schirmer, 1974) for brass quintet # ''A Fanfare: Robin Smith'' # ''At Fourteen: Anne Barnard'' # ''Digging: A Portrait of Howard Rea'' # ''A Scherzo: Priscilla Rea'' # ''Man of Iron: Willy Eisenhart'' (from piano original) * ''A Short Fanfare'' (manuscript, 1981) for 3 trumpets and 2 side drums * ''Bell Piece'' (G. Schirmer, 1983) for

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

(2 or 4 players) * ''Cynthia Kemper A Fanfare'' (G. Schirmer, 1983) for violin & piano (later published as part of ''Five Ladies'') * ''Lili Hastings'' (manuscript, 1983) violin and piano * ''A Portrait of Two'' (G. Schirmer, 1984) for oboe, bassoon & piano * ''Jay Rosen'' (manuscript, 1984) for tuba and piano * ''Stockton Fanfare'' (Gentry Publications, 1985) for 3 trumpets and 2 side drums

Bibliography

Included among Virgil Thomson's publications are:Virgil Thomson's Publications on Worldcat Identities worldcat.org
/ref> * Thomson, Virgil. (1940) ''The State of Music''. New York. Morrow. * —. (1945) ''The Musical Scene''. New York. A. A. Knopf. * —. (1948) ''The Art of Judging Music''. New York. A. A. Knopf. * —. (1951) ''Music, Right and Left''. New York. Henry Holt and Co. * —. (1966) ''Virgil Thomson''. New York. Alfred A. Knopf. * —. (1971) ''American Music Since 1919''. New York. Holt Rinehart and Winston. * —. (1981) ''A Virgil Thomson Reader''. Boston. Houghton and Mifflin. * —. (1989) ''Music With Words: A Composer's View''. New Haven. Yale University Press.

References

Sources * * *

External links

*
Virgil Thomson on archive.org
*
Art of the States: Virgil ThomsonVirgil Thomson FoundationVirgil Thomson oral histories at Oral History of American MusicVirgil Thomson Papers at Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Yale University

Virgil Thomson
at Music of the United States of America (MUSA) *, WNCN-FM (date unknown) * *, WNCN-FM, November 20, 1981 *, WNCN-FM, November 27, 1981
Review
by Tim Page in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

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Thomson interviewed by Vivian Perlis
excerpt
Guide to the Virgil Thomson Papers 1962–1967
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research CenterFinding aid to Virgil Thomson papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Virgil 1896 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century LGBT people American classical composers American expatriates in France American film score composers American male classical composers American male film score composers American music critics American opera composers Ballet composers Centaur Records artists Composers for carillon Harvard University alumni Kennedy Center honorees LGBT classical composers LGBT film score composers American LGBT musicians LGBT people from Missouri MacDowell Colony fellows New York Herald Tribune people Male opera composers Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Opera critics Pulitzer Prize for Music winners United States National Medal of Arts recipients Writers from Missouri