Virgil Thomson: Biography from Answers.com Mobile

Virgil Thomson

(born Nov. 25, 1896, Kansas City, Mo., U.S. — died Sept. 30, 1989, New York, N.Y.) U.S. composer and critic. He attended Harvard University, intending to become a pianist and organist. Studying in Paris with Nadia Boulanger (1921), he met the French composers known as Les Six and their circle and began to compose. While residing in Paris (1925 – 40), he met Gertrude Stein, with whom he wrote the operas Four Saints in Three Acts (1928) and The Mother of Us All (1946), affecting a charmingly naïve style. Back in New York City, he served as music critic of the Herald Tribune (1940 – 54); his gracefully written criticism was respected for its concern with music rather than performers. His other works include the film scores The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) and The Louisiana Story (1949, Pulitzer Prize).

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