Short bio Roger Sessions
Full biography Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer who made a significant contribution to the development of avant-garde classical music. Born on December 28, 1896, in Brooklyn, New York, Sessions began his career writing in a neoclassical style before turning towards abstraction. He entered Harvard University at the age of 14 and graduated at age 18. During his four years there, he wrote numerous articles for the Harvard Musical Review.
Sessions learned to speak many languages and became involved with the European scene , writing to composers in their own language. He was a close friend of composers like Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein and played an influential role in the development of modern classical music in America.
Sessions composed symphonic and instrumental music, often using complex harmonic and rhythmic structures. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for his orchestral work "Concerto for Orchestra". It constitutes Sessions's turn toward abstraction , and critics have characterized the piece as a Whitmanesque pageant belying the composer's.
Sessions passed away on March 16 , 1985, in Princeton, New Jersey, leaving behind a rich legacy of avant-garde classical music. His music has been described as "difficult", due to its complex structures and use of dissonance. Nonetheless, his influence on modern classical music cannot be overstated.
In conclusion, Roger Sessions was a pioneering figure in the development of avant-garde classical music in America. He was a prolific composer who made significant contributions to modern music until his passing in 1985.
Compositions featuring Roger Sessions
| # | Name | Duration | Genre | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Concerto for Orchestra | 16:04 min | Concerto | 1979 |
| 2 | Symphony No.9 | 28:22 min | Symphony | 1978 |
| 3 | Duo for violin & cello | 8:53 min | Chamber Music | 1978 |
| 4 | Pieces (5) for piano | 15:11 min | Keyboard | 1974 |
| 5 | Concertino for chamber orchestra | 16:22 min | Concerto | 1972 |
| 6 | Canons for string quartet, "To the Memory of Igor Stravinsky" | 2:02 min | Chamber Music | 1971 |
| 7 | When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd, cantata for soloists, chorus & orchestra | 42:19 min | Choral | 1970 |
| 8 | Rhapsody for orchestra | 11:42 min | Orchestral | 1970 |
| 9 | Symphony No. 8 | 14:15 min | Symphony | 1968 |
| 10 | Symphony No.7 | 22:54 min | Symphony | 1967 |
| 11 | Pieces (6) for cello | 11:51 min | Chamber Music | 1966 |
| 12 | Symphony No.6 | 20:33 min | Symphony | 1966 |
| 13 | Sonata for piano ("Kennedy Sonata" ), No.3 | 21:01 min | Keyboard | 1964 |
| 14 | Symphony, No 5 | 18:28 min | Symphony | 1964 |
| 15 | Montezuma, opera | Opera | 1964 | |
| 16 | Divertimento for orchestra | 23:22 min | Orchestral | 1959 |
| 17 | Symphony No. 4 | 23:57 min | Symphony | 1958 |
| 18 | Quintet for 2 violins, 2 violas & cello | 20:43 min | Chamber Music | 1958 |
| 19 | Symphony No. 3 | 30:07 min | Symphony | 1957 |
| 20 | Piano Concerto | 19:37 min | Concerto | 1955 |
| 21 | Idyll of Theocritus, for soprano & orchestra | 37:42 min | Vocal Music | 1954 |
| 22 | Sonata for violin & piano | Chamber Music | 1953 | |
| 23 | Sonata for violin solo | 31:21 min | Chamber Music | 1953 |
| 24 | String Quartet No. 2 | 33:19 min | Chamber Music | 1951 |
| 25 | Adagio, for piano | 3:23 min | Keyboard | 1947 |
| 26 | Second Sonata for piano | 14:18 min | Keyboard | 1946 |
| 27 | Symphony No.2 | 26:18 min | Symphony | 1944 |
| 28 | Turn, O Libertad, for chorus & piano, 4 hands | 2:34 min | Choral | 1944 |
| 29 | Duo for violin & piano | 14:13 min | Chamber Music | 1942 |
| 30 | Waltz for Brenda, for piano | 1:22 min | Keyboard | 1939 |
| 31 | From My Diary, for piano | 8:36 min | Keyboard | 1937 |
| 32 | Little Piece for piano | 0:21 min | Keyboard | 1936 |
| 33 | String Quartet No. 1 in E minor | 30:40 min | Chamber Music | 1936 |
| 34 | Scherzino for piano | 0:27 min | Keyboard | 1935 |
| 35 | March for piano | 1:10 min | Keyboard | 1935 |
| 36 | Violin Concerto | 31:39 min | Concerto | 1935 |
| 37 | On the Beach At Fontana, for voice & piano | 2:30 min | Vocal Music | 1930 |
| 38 | Piano Sonata No. 1 | 15:45 min | Keyboard | 1927 |
| 39 | Symphony No.1 in E minor | 18:47 min | Symphony | 1926 |
| 40 | The Black Maskers, suite from the incidental music | 21:43 min | Orchestral | 1923 |
| 41 | The Black Maskers, incidental music for orchestra | Orchestral | 1923 | |
| 42 | Waltz for piano | 1:32 min | Keyboard | - |
Albums featuring Roger Sessions
| # | Сover | Name album | Year | Music label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Godfrey Winham, Roger Sessions, Barry David Salwen, Joel Suben, Orchestra Of The West, Polish National Radio Symphony – Orchestral Works(CD, Album) | 2020 | Albany Records |
| 2 |  |
Roger Sessions - David Bowlin, David Holzman – Music For Violin & Piano(CD, ) | 2015 | Bridge Records (4) |
| 3 |  |
Elliott Carter, Roger Sessions, Jason Eckardt, Miranda Cuckson, Blair McMillen – Carter - Sessions - Eckardt(CD, Album, Stereo) | 2014 | Urlicht Audio Visual |
| 4 |  |
Roger Sessions & Ralph Shapey - David Holzman – Sessions & Shapey(CD, Album) | 2007 | Bridge Records (4) |
| 5 |  |
Cage, Cowell, Druckman, Feldman, Ives, Riley, Sessions - Francesco Dillon, Lucas Fels, Mike Svoboda, Banda Comunale Di Pollenza, Fausto Bongelli, Peter Söderberg, Stefano Scodanibbio, Terry Riley – From The New World (Rassegna Di Nuova Musica Vol. 1)(CD, | 2006 | Stradivarius |
| 6 |  |
Aaron Copland • Roger Sessions • George Perle • Bernard Rands - The American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein – Inscape • Symphony No. 8 • Trancendental Modulations • ...Where The Murmurs Die...(CD, Album) | 2005 | New World Records |
| 7 |  |
Roger Sessions - Barry David Salwen – Complete Works For Solo Piano(CD, Album, Reissue, Stereo) | 2005 | Albany Records |
| 8 |  |
Roger Sessions – The Louisville Orchestra – Divertimento For Orchestra / Idyll Of Theocritus(CD, Compilation) | 2003 | First Edition Music |
| 9 |  |
Paul Zukofsky / Roger Sessions, Peter Mennin, Easley Blackwood – Sessions • Sessions • Mennin • Blackwood • Zukofsky(CD, ) | 2002 | CP² Recordings |
| 10 |  |
Randall Hodgkinson , Robert Helps - Roger Sessions / Donald Martino – Piano Sonata No. 2 / Piano Sonata No. 3 /Fantasies And Impromptus(CD, Compilation) | 1998 | New World Records |
| 11 |  |
Matt Haimovitz - Britten · Davidovsky · Harbison · Hindemith · Perle · Sessions – The 20th-Century Cello · Vol. 2(CD, Album) | 1997 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 12 |  |
Roger Sessions – American Composers Orchestra, Dennis Russell Davies – Symphonies 6, 7 & 9 | 1995 | Argo (2) |
| 13 |  |
Roger Sessions / Stefan Wolpe - Paul Zukofsky, Orchestre Philharmonique, Gunther Schuller / Orchestra Of The 20th Century, Arthur Weisberg – Violin Concerto / Symphony(CD, Compilation, Stereo, Mono) | 1994 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 14 |  |
Sessions, Harbison, William Bennett (4), San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt – Symphony No. 2 / Symphony No. 2 / Oboe Concerto | 1994 | Decca |
| 15 |  |
Roger Sessions - Curtis Macomber, Joel Krosnick, Barry David Salwen – Duo For Violin And Violoncello – Six Pieces For Violoncello – Duo For Violin And Piano – Sonata For Violin(CD, Album) | 1994 | Koch International Classics |
| 16 |  |
Francis Thorne / Roger Sessions - Ursula Oppens, Robert Taub, The Westchester Philharmonic, Paul Dunkel – Piano Concerto No. 3 / Concerto For Piano And Orchestra(CD, Album) | 1994 | New World Records |
| 17 |  |
Cage, Sessions, Ives, William Grant Naboré – American Piano Music Of The 20th Century: In Memoriam XI.22.1963(CD, ) | 1993 | Doron Music |
| 18 |  |
Peter Lawson - Griffes, Sessions, Ives – American Piano Sonatas Volume 2 | 1993 | Virgin Classics |
| 19 |  |
Roger Sessions, The Group For Contemporary Music – String Quintet · Canons · Six Pieces For Violoncello · First String Quartet | 1993 | Koch International Classics |
| 20 |  |
McPhee, Sessions, Thomson, Howard Hanson, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra – Hanson Conducts McPhee, Sessions, Thomson(CD, Compilation, Reissue) | 1992 | Mercury Living Presence |
| 21 |  |
Roger Sessions - Barry David Salwen – Complete Works For Solo Piano(CD, Album) | 1992 | Koch International Classics |
| 22 |  |
Curtis Macomber - Roger Sessions, Joel Hoffman, Bruce Adolphe – Soliloquy(CD, ) | 1992 | Koch International Classics |
| 23 |  |
Symphonies Nos. 1 2 3(CD, Compilation, Stereo, Mono) | 1990 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 24 |  |
The Juilliard String Quartet, Sessions, Wolpe, Babbitt – Sessions / Wolpe / Babbitt | 1990 | New World Records |
| 25 |  |
O'Riley - Robert Helps, John Adams, Todd Brief, Roger Sessions – Helps / Adams / Brief / Sessions(CD, ) | 1990 | Albany Records |
| 26 |  |
William Schuman / Aaron Copland / Roger Sessions, Juilliard Orchestra Conducted By Otto-Werner Mueller / Sixten Ehrling And Paul Zukofsky – In Praise Of Shahn / Connotations / Black Maskers Suite | 1988 | New World Records |
| 27 |  |
Roger Sessions - Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Christian Badea – Symphony No. 4 · Symphony No. 5 · Rhapsody For Orchestra | 1987 | New World Records |
| 28 |  |
Randall Hodgkinson - Donald Martino / Roger Sessions – Fantasies And Impromptus / Piano Sonata No. 2(LP) | 1984 | New World Records |
| 29 |  |
Robert Black (4) Plays Roger Sessions, Miriam Gideon, Ben Weber (2) – 5 Pieces, Sonata, Variazioni(LP, Stereo) | 1983 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 30 |  |
Sessions / Panufnik - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa – Concerto For Orchestra / Sinfonia Votiva (Symphony No. 8) | 1982 | Hyperion |
| 31 |  |
William Naboré - Ives / Cage / Sessions – American Piano Music Of The 20th Century(LP, Album) | 1981 | Pan (5) |
| 32 |  |
Roger Sessions / The Louisville Orchestra, Peter Leonard – Symphony No. 7 / Divertimento For Orchestra(LP, Album, Stereo) | 1981 | First Edition Records |
| 33 |  |
Milton Babbitt / Roger Sessions – Philomel / Piano Sonata No.3(LP, Compilation) | 1980 | New World Records |
| 34 |  |
Walter Piston / Roger Sessions - Budapest String Quartet, Pro Arte String Quartet – String Quartet No.2; String Quartet No.1 In E Minor(LP, Album, Mono) | 1979 | New World Records |
| 35 |  |
Alan Marks - Boulez / Sessions / Chavez – Alan Marks Plays Modern Classics(LP, Stereo) | 1978 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 36 |  |
Samuel Barber, Paul Bowles, Aaron Copland, Theodore Chanler, Israel Citkowitz, John Duke (4), Robert Helps, Roger Sessions / James Agee, Jane Bowles, E. E. Cummings, Leonard Feeney, James Joyce, Archibald MacLeish, Walter De La Mare, James Purdy, Edwin Ar | 1977 | New World Records |
| 37 |  |
Roger Sessions, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa – When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom'd | 1977 | New World Records |
| 38 |  |
Roger Sessions / Easley Blackwood - Paul Zukofsky – Sonata For Violin / Second Sonata(LP, Stereo) | 1976 | CP² Recordings |
| 39 |  |
Krzysztof Penderecki / Roger Sessions / J. S. Bach - Roy Christensen – Capriccio Per Siegfried Palm / Six Pieces For Violoncello / Suite No. 1 In G Major(LP) | 1976 | Gasparo |
| 40 |  |
Barber, Sessions, Ginastera, Howard Hanson – Barber Sessions Ginastera(LP, Compilation, Reissue, Stereo) | 1974 | Mercury |
| 41 |  |
Robert Gross, Richard Grayson - Sessions / Rosen / De La Vega – Solo Sonata / Five Pieces / Segmentos(LP) | 1973 | Orion |
| 42 |  |
Sessions / Musgrave / Riegger – Rhapsody For Orchestra, Symphony VIII / Night Music / Dichotomy(LP, Stereo) | 1973 | Argo (2) |
| 43 |  |
Roger Sessions / George Crumb – Concertino For Chamber Orchestra / Songs, Drones And Refrains Of Death | 1973 | Desto |
| 44 |  |
Roger Sessions / William Frabizio - The Amado String Quartet – String Quartet No. 1 In E Minor / String Quartet In One Movement, Opus 23(LP) | 1972 | Apex (6) |
| 45 |  |
Roger Sessions - Robert Helps / Charles Wuorinen - Paul Zukofsky, Charles Wuorinen – Piano Sonata No. 3 / Duo For Violin And Piano(LP, Stereo) | 1971 | Acoustic Research |
| 46 |  |
Henry Cowell / Donald Lybbert / Roger Sessions / Louise Talma, Herbert Rogers – Session; Cowell; Lybbert; Talma(LP) | 1970 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 47 |  |
Violin Concerto | 1968 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 48 |  |
Sessions / Lees - Igor Buketoff, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Symphony No. 3 / Concerto For String Quartet And Orchestra | 1968 | RCA Victor |
| 49 |  |
Copland / Sessions / Carter - Beveridge Webster – Modern American Piano Music | 1966 | Dover Publications |
| 50 |  |
Walter Piston, Roger Sessions, Howard Hanson, Alan Hovhaness, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra – The Incredible Flutist / Suite From "The Black Maskers" / Merry Mount Suite / Prelude & Quadruple Fugue | 1965 | Mercury Living Presence |
| 51 |  |
Leon Fleisher, Aaron Copland / Leon Kirchner / Roger Sessions / Ned Rorem – Piano Sonata / Piano Sonata / From My Diary / Three Barcarolles | 1963 | Epic |
| 52 |  |
Hyman Bress / Charles Reiner / Sessions / Webern / Haba – The Violin Vol. 5(LP, Album) | 1963 | Folkways Records |
| 53 |  |
Stravinsky – Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky (Les Noces / Renard / Ragtime For Eleven Instruments) | 1962 | Columbia Masterworks |
| 54 |  |
Roger Sessions / William Mayer – Sessions : Piano Sonata No. 1 / Mayer : Piano Sonata | 1961 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 55 |  |
Roger Sessions / William Bergsma / Russell Smith (9) – Symphony No. 1 / Music On A Quiet Theme / Tetrameron | 1959 | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 56 |  |
Roger Sessions / Colin McPhee, Howard Hanson, Eastman-Rochester Orchestra – The Black Maskers / Tabuh-Tabuhan | 1959 | Mercury |
| 57 |  |
Roger Sessions, Howard Hanson, Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra – Suite From The Black Maskers(Reel-To-Reel, 7 ½ ips, ¼", 2-Track Stereo, 7" Cine Reel, Album) | 1958 | Mercury |
| 58 |  |
Roger Sessions / Colin McPhee – Second String Quartet / Concerto For Piano With Wind Octette Accompaniment | 1956 | Columbia Masterworks |
| 59 |  |
Virgil Thomson / Roger Sessions - Marilyn Mason (2) – Variations On Sunday School Tunes / Four Chorale Preludes | 1954 | Esoteric (2) |
| 60 |  |
Roger Sessions / Roy Harris / William Schuman - American Recording Society Orchestra : Walter Hendl – The Black Maskers / Symphony No. 3 / American Festival Overture | 1953 | American Recording Society |
| 61 |  |
The Black Maskers (An Orchestral Suite In Four Movements) | 1952 | American Recording Society |
| 62 |  |
Ives, Sessions - Patricia Travers With Otto Herz – Ives: Sonata No. 2, Sesssions: Duo For Violin And Piano(LP, 10", Mono) | 1951 | Columbia Masterworks |
| 63 |  |
Sessions - Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra Of New York, Dimitri Mitropoulos – Symphony No. 2(LP, 10", Mono) | 1950 | Columbia Masterworks |
| 64 |  |
Roger Sessions, James Bolle – Violin Concerto / Ritual(CD, Stereo) | - | Albany Records |
| 65 |  |
Pro Arte Quartet, Samuel Rhodes, Roger Sessions, Walter Mays – Pro Arte Quartet With Samuel Rhodes, Viola(CD, Stereo) | - | Albany Records |
| 66 |  |
Honegger, Messiaen, Sessions – Untitled(LP, Mono) | - | American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers |
| 67 |  |
Roger Sessions, Rebecca La Brecque – The Three Piano Sonatas(2×LP, Limited Edition, Numbered) | - | Opus One |
| 68 |  |
Roger Sessions, Peter Mennin – Roger Sessions: Symphony No. 2 (1946), Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 3 (1946)(LP, Album, Stereo) | - | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
| 69 |  |
Aaron Copland / Roger Sessions / Elliott Carter / Noël Lee – La Musique Américaine De Piano Au XXᴱ Siècle - Volume 2(LP, Stereo) | - | Valois |
| 70 |  |
Symphonies(Cassette, ) | - | Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI) |
Videos featuring Roger Sessions
Beveridge Webster plays Elliott Carter "Piano Sonata"
Elliott Carter Piano Sonata (1945-46)
Beveridge Webster, piano
Dover Publications HCR-5265
Walter Piston / The Incredible Flutist (Ballet Suite)
Walter Piston (1894-1976)
The Incredible Flutist (Ballet Suite) (1938)
00:00 - Introduction - Siesta in the Market Place
01:09 - Entrance of the Vendors
03:24 - Entrance of the Customers
03:53 - Tango of the Merchant's Daughters
07:20 - Arrival of the C
Music for Marcel Duchamp
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
Music for Marcel Duchamp · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: Wi
The Perilous Night: No. 6
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
The Perilous Night: No. 6 · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: W
The Perilous Night: No. 3
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
The Perilous Night: No. 3 · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: W
The Perilous Night: No. 1
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
The Perilous Night: No. 1 · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: W
The Perilous Night: No. 2
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
The Perilous Night: No. 2 · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: W
Piano Sonata No. 3: III. Lento e molto tranquillo. Elegy for John F. Kennedy (In memoriam...
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
Piano Sonata No. 3: III. Lento e molto tranquillo. Elegy for John F. Kennedy (In memoriam November 22, 1963) · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William G
Three-Page Sonata (Allegro moderato - Andante - Adagio - Allegro - March Time - Più mosso -...
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
Three-Page Sonata (Allegro moderato - Andante - Adagio - Allegro - March Time - Più mosso - Allegro - March Time - Più mosso) · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Wo
Piano Sonata No. 3: II. Molto allegro e con fuoco
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
Piano Sonata No. 3: II. Molto allegro e con fuoco · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released
The Perilous Night: No. 4
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
The Perilous Night: No. 4 · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: W
The Perilous Night: No. 5
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
The Perilous Night: No. 5 · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: W
Piano Sonata No. 3: I. Adagio misterioso - Sostenuto
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
Piano Sonata No. 3: I. Adagio misterioso - Sostenuto · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Releas
Bacchanale
Provided to YouTube by IDOL
Bacchanale · William Grant Naboré
Cage, Ives & Sessions: American Keyboard Music of the 20th Century (Piano Works)
℗ William Grant Naboré, licensed to Academy Classical Music
Released on: 1981-09-21
Piano: William Grant Na
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