Virgil Thomson

American composer and critic (1896-1989) · United States · On the map · Musicians · Died at 92

Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music.

Virgil Thomson is read about 62 times a day, in 25 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

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A life in dates

1989Died30 September 19891988National Medal of ArtsAward1981National Book Critics Circle Award in CriticismAward1949Pulitzer Prize for MusicAward1896Born25 November 1896

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Media & music

Photos 3

Maurice Grosser in 1935

Gertrude Stein in 1934, photographed by Carl Van Vechten

Awards

National Medal of Arts1988

National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism1981

Pulitzer Prize for Music1949

Guggenheim Fellowship

Kennedy Center Honors

About this person

He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassicist, and a composer of "an Olympian blend of humanity and detachment" whose "expressive voice was always carefully muted" until his late opera Lord Byron which, in contrast to all his previous work, exhibited an emotional content that rises to "moments of real passion".

Country

United States