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Biographical Information:
Morton Gould was born 10 December, 1913 in Richmond Hill,
New York.
He developed a love of music at a young age, and was
recognized as a child prodigy who had a talent for composing and improvising.
At age six, he had his first composition published. Eventually,
Gould studied at Julliard School when it was still the Institute of Musical
Art.
As a teenager, Gould worked in New York's vaudeville
and movie theaters during the Great Depression.
Once Radio City Music Hall opened, Gould applied for
and was given the job as staff pianist.
At age twenty-one, he was conducting and arranging orchestral
pieces for WOR Mutual Radio.
Gould and his music appeared on a variety of programs
such as the "Cresta Blanca Carnival" and "The Chrysler
Hour" reaching an audience of millions.
Gould went on to compose a wide variety of music for
Broadway, film, television, and even ballet.
Broadway scores:
Billion Dollar Babies
Arms and the Girls
Film Music: Delightfully Dangerous
Cinerama Holiday
Windjammer |
Television Music: Holocaust
The CBS documentary, World War I
Ballet scores: Interplay
Fall River Legend
I'm Old Fashioned |
Gould integrated jazz, blues, gospel, country-and-western,
and folk elements into all of his compositions which gave them a distinct
form, and a genuine "American" sound.
Because his music was so distinctive and truly "American",
Gould received three commissions for the United States Bicentennial: American
Ballads, Symphony of Spirituals, and Something to Do.
As a conductor, Gould led all of the major American orchestras
as well as those of Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, and Australia.
In 1966, he won a Grammy award for Ives's first symphony
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
In 1983 he won the American Symphony Orchestra League's
Golden Baton award. Morton Gould was elected to the American Academy of
Arts and letters in 1986, named Musical America's Composer of the Year
in 1993, and, served the distinguished eighth year tenure as president
of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
On December 4th, 1994, he was honored by the John F.
Kennedy Center for the performing arts.
Tragically, Gould died suddenly on the morning of February
21st, 1996 in Orlando, Florida at the age of 82.
He left behind a legacy of music which will stand the
test of time and remain a part of American Music history for the rest
of time.
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