Short bio Peter Mennin
Birthday:
1923 in Erie, PA
Died:
1983 in New York, NY
Active:
1940s - 1970s
Genre:
Classical,Avant-Garde
Period:
Contemporary
Full biography Peter Mennin
Peter Mennin was a prominent American composer, educator, and administrator. He was born on May 17th, 1923 and passed away on June 17th, 1983. Mennin was known for his symphonic works, which included nine symphonies, several concertos, and numerous works for orchestra. He started composing at a very young age, and by the age of 11, he had already attempted to write his first symphony.
Mennin was a student of influential composers Howard Hanson and Bernard Wagenaar. He later became a composition professor at the Juilliard School of Music, eventually becoming the school's president in 1962, a position he held until his death in 1983.
In addition to his work as a composer and educator, Mennin was also an active administrator and advocate for classical music. He served on the board of the American Symphony Orchestra League and was also a member of the National Council on the Arts.
Mennin's music was known for its complexity and intricacy, often featuring densely layered textures and complex harmonies. His compositions have been performed by some of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to his nine symphonies, Mennin wrote concertos for the violin, cello, and piano, as well as numerous works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments. He was also the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
Overall, Peter Mennin was a highly respected and prolific composer whose works continue to be performed and recorded today. His contributions to the world of classical music will always be remembered.
Compositions featuring Peter Mennin
| # | Name | Duration | Genre | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Symphony No. 9 | 21:09 min | Symphony | 1981 |
| 2 | Symphony No. 8 | 27:29 min | Symphony | 1973 |
| 3 | Symphony No. 7 "Variation-Symphony" | 26:16 min | Symphony | 1964 |
| 4 | Piano Sonata | 16:54 min | Keyboard | 1963 |
| 5 | Concerto for piano & orchestra | 25:54 min | Concerto | 1958 |
| 6 | Cello Concerto | 25:48 min | Concerto | 1956 |
| 7 | Sonata concertante for violin & piano | 19:08 min | Chamber Music | 1956 |
| 8 | Symphony No. 6 | 25:53 min | Symphony | 1953 |
| 9 | Moby Dick, concertato for orchestra | 10:49 min | Orchestral | 1952 |
| 10 | String Quartet No. 2 | 17:32 min | Chamber Music | 1951 |
| 11 | Canzona, for wind band | 4:50 min | Band Music | 1951 |
| 12 | Symphony No. 5 | 21:35 min | Symphony | 1950 |
| 13 | Pieces (5), for piano | 13:46 min | Keyboard | 1949 |
| 14 | Symphony No. 4 "The Cycle" | 24:02 min | Symphony | 1949 |
| 15 | Symphony No. 3 | 21:04 min | Symphony | 1946 |
| 16 | Fantasia for string orchestra | 9:01 min | Orchestral | 1946 |
| 17 | Folk Overture for orchestra | 7:01 min | Orchestral | 1945 |
| 18 | Symphonies | Symphony | - |
Albums featuring Peter Mennin
| # | Сover | Name album | Year | Music label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Myron Silberstein, Norman Lloyd, Peter Mennin – Piano Music(CD, ) | 2014 | Naxos |
| 2 |  |
Howard Hanson Conducts: Barber • Piston • Chadwick • Ives • MacDowell • Gould • Schuman • Mennin • Moore • Griffes ‒ Eastman-Rochester Orchestra – Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks(5×CD, Compilation, Reissue, Remastered) | 2004 | Mercury Living Presence |
| 3 |  |
IUP Wind Ensemble, Jack Stamp / Hazo • Danielpour • Mailman • Tull • Mennin • Torke • Yurko • Persichetti – Ride(CD, Album) | 2004 | Klavier Records |
| 4 |  |
Peter Mennin, The Louisville Orchestra – Symphony No. 5 / Concerto For Cello And Orchestra / Symphony No. 6(CD, Compilation, Remastered, Stereo, Mono) | 2003 | First Edition Music |
| 5 |  |
Paul Zukofsky / Roger Sessions, Peter Mennin, Easley Blackwood – Sessions • Sessions • Mennin • Blackwood • Zukofsky(CD, ) | 2002 | CP² Recordings |
| 6 |  |
Eastman Wind Ensemble, Frederick Fennell, Holst / Vaughan Williams / Mennin / Persichetti / Reed – Suites 1 & 2 / Folk Song Suite & Toccata Marziale / La Fiesta Mexicana(CD, Compilation, Mono) | 1999 | Mercury |
| 7 |  |
Robert Kurka, Peter Mennin, Walter Piston, The Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester, Robert Whitney, Jano Starker – Orchestral Works (American Archives Series)(CD, Album) | 1998 | Albany Records |
| 8 |  |
Peter Mennin, David Alan Miller, Albany Symphony Orchestra – Symphony No. 5 / Symphony No. 6 / Concertato "Moby Dick" / Fantasia For String Orchestra(CD, Album) | 1997 | Albany Records |
| 9 |  |
Music Of Peter Mennin(CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, Mono) | 1997 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 10 |  |
Peter Mennin - Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz – Moby Dick / Symphonies 3 & 7 | 1996 | Delos |
| 11 |  |
Robert Kurka, Peter Mennin, Walter Piston, The Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester, Robert Whitney, Jano Starker – Orchestral Works (American Archives Series)(CD, Album, Stereo) | 1991 | Albany Records |
| 12 |  |
Charles Ives, William Schuman, Peter Mennin / Howard Hanson, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra – Hanson Conducts Ives, Schuman, Mennin(CD, Compilation, Remastered) | 1991 | Mercury |
| 13 |  |
John Corigliano / David Diamond (2) / Peter Mennin / Benjamin Lees – Sonata No. 1 For Violin & Piano And American Violin Sonatas(CD, Album) | 1990 | Bay Cities |
| 14 |  |
Peter Mennin / Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Christian Badea – Symphony Nos. 8 & 9, Folk Overture | 1989 | New World Records |
| 15 |  |
Peter Mennin, Alberto Ginastera – Mennin/Symphony #4 "The Cycle" ● Ginastera/Milena For Soprano And Orch.(CD, Compilation) | 1989 | Phoenix (7) |
| 16 |  |
José Serebrier Conducts Peter Mennin, José Serebrier, William F. Lee, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, L'Orchestre Symphonique De La RTBF – Symphony No. 9 / Poema Elegiaco / Veri(LP, Album) | 1988 | Finnadar Records |
| 17 |  |
Peter Mennin, Henry Cowell, Lawrence Dillon, Martin Rokeach – Five Piano Pieces; Three Ostinati; Six Scenes And A Fantasy; Variations(LP, Album) | 1985 | CRS (5) |
| 18 |  |
Peter Mennin / Samuel Barber - Leonid Kogan, Ukrainian SSR Symphony Orchestra , Conductor Pavel Kogan – Symphony No. 7 / Violin Concerto(LP, Album) | 1981 | Мелодия |
| 19 |  |
Symphony No. 7 / Piano Concerto(LP, Compilation, Stereo) | 1979 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 20 |  |
David Diamond (2), Peter Mennin – Symphony No. 4, Symphony No. 7(LP) | 1976 | New World Records |
| 21 |  |
Peter Mennin - Janos Starker / Arthur Honegger, The Louisville Orchestra, Jorge Mester – Concerto For Cello And Orchestra | 1975 | First Edition Records |
| 22 |  |
Peter Mennin / Carl Czerny - Jean Wentworth & Kenneth Wentworth, Camerata Singers & Camerata Symphony Orchestra, Abraham Kaplan – Symphony No. 4, "The Cycle" For Chorus And Orchestra / Concerto For Piano-Four Hands & Orchestra In C Major, Op. | 1973 | Desto |
| 23 |  |
Mennin / Yardumian - John Ogdon, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Igor Buketoff – Piano Concerto / Passacaglia, Recitatives And Fugue | 1971 | RCA Red Seal |
| 24 |  |
Martinon, Mennin, Chicago Symphony – First Recordings - Symphony No. 4 "Altitudes" / Symphony No. 7 "Variation-Symphony" | 1968 | RCA Red Seal |
| 25 |  |
Henry Brant, Peter Mennin, Norman Dello Joio, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky – Symphony No. 1 - Concerto For Orchestra - Epigraph(LP, Stereo) | 1966 | Desto Records |
| 26 |  |
William Schuman / Peter Mennin / Charles T. Griffes, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, Howard Hanson – New England Triptych / Symphony No. 5 / Poem For Flute And Orchestra | 1964 | Mercury |
| 27 |  |
Frederick Fennell Conducting The Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Mennin, Perischetti, Thomson, Hanson, H. Owen Reed – La Fiesta Mexicana/Canzona/A Solemn Music/Chorale And Alleluia(LP, Reissue, Mono) | 1956 | Mercury |
| 28 |  |
Peter Mennin / Wallingford Riegger / Ernst Toch - The Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney – Symphony No. 6 / Variations For Piano And Orchestra / Notturno(LP, Mono) | 1955 | First Edition Records |
| 29 |  |
Wallingford Riegger, Peter Mennin, Howard Hanson, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Eastman Rochester Symphony Orchestra, The Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York – Wallingford Riegger Symphony No 3 Peter Mennin Symphony No 3 | 1954 | Columbia Masterworks |
| 30 |  |
Ray Green / Peter Mennin / Norman Dello Joio – Sunday Sing Symphony / Concertato For Orchestra / Epigraph(LP) | 1953 | American Recording Society |
| 31 |  |
Juilliard String Quartet, Peter Mennin, Andrew Imbrie – Quartet No. 2 / Quartet In B-Flat | 1953 | Columbia Masterworks |
| 32 |  |
Roger Sessions, Peter Mennin – Roger Sessions: Symphony No. 2 (1946), Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 3 (1946)(LP, Album, Stereo) | - | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 33 |  |
Peter Mennin, Norman Dello Joio, Hans Swarowsky, Henry Brant – Henry Brant Symphony No. 1 / Peter Mennin Concertato For Orchestra / Norman Dello Joio Epigraph(LP, Album, Mono) | - | Desto |
| 34 |  |
Peter Mennin, Joaquín Rodrigo, The Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney – Symphony No. 5 / Concerto For Violoncello And Orchestra(LP) | - | First Edition Records |
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