Last Saturday marked the 70th birthday of one of America's most eminent composers, John Corigliano. His father, the esteemed violinist John Corigliano Sr., served as concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic for more than 20 years under the batons of both Arturo Toscanini and Leonard Bernstein. The family stayed in Westport during the summers that the young Corigliano was growing up.
At a pre-concert talk held at the Norwalk Concert Hall several years ago, Corigliano reminisced about the good times he had in Westport. He mentioned that his father would often go outside and practice the Brahms, Mendelssohn or Tchaikovsky concertos on a hill. What a treat that must have been for the neighbors on Valley Road.
With music in his genes, Corigliano studied composition with Otto Luening at Columbia University. He worked as a music programmer for radio station WQXR, as music director for radio station WBAI, produced records for Columbia Masterworks, worked with Leonard Bernstein on the Young People’s Concerts and taught at the Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School and CUNY's Lehman College.
At the age of 26, his Sonata for Violin and Piano won the chamber music competition of the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in Italy. With this victory came financial support from Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation and lucrative commissions from performing organizations including the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, etc.
His numerous awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Grawemeyer Award, two Grammy awards for Best Contemporary Composition, the Composition of the Year award from the International Music Awards for his opera The Ghosts of Versailles, the Academy Award for the musical score of the The Red Violin, the Pulitzer Prize, the Gold Medal of the National Arts Club, the President’s Medal of George Washington University and the Peabody Medal of Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters as well as the American Academy and Institue of Arts and Sciences.
To acquaint yourself with his music, the Library has Concerto for Piano & Orchestra, Creations and Other Works, Phantasmagoria and The Red Violin.