Cohn, James (Myron)
Cohn, James (Myron)
Cohn, James (Myron), American musicologist, inventor, and composer; b. Newark, N.J., Feb. 12, 1928. He studied with Barlow at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. (194CM1), Harris at Cornell Univ. (1941–3), and Wagenaar at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (B.S., 1949; M.S., 1950), and later pursued postgraduate studies with Ruth Anderson at Hunter Coll. of the City Univ. of N.Y. (1973). He was a musicologist for ASCAP from 1954 to 1984. Cohn invented electronic devices that can be applied to keyboards or fingerboards to control pitch, intonation, loudness, vibrato, and tremolo.
Works
DRAMATIC: Opera: The Fall of the City (1952; Athens, Ohio, July 8, 1955). orch.: Sinfonietta (1946); Piano Concertino (1946); 8 syms.: No. 1 (1947), No. 2 (1949; Brussels, Dec. 11, 1953), No. 3 (1955; Detroit, Dec. 17, 1959), No. 4 (1956; Florence, Oct. 1, 1960), No. 5 (1959), No. 6 (1965), No. 7 (1967), and No. 8 (1978); Homage, overture (1959); Variations on “The Wayfaring Stranger” (1960; Detroit, Oct. 4, 1962); Enchanted Journey (1961); Prometheus, overture (1962); Concerto for Concertina and Strings (1966); The Little Circus (1974) (9) Miniatures (1975); A Song of the Waters (1976); March-Caprice for Bassoon and Strings (1982); 2 clarinet concertos: No. 1 (1986; Lubbock, Tex., July 10, 1997) and No. 2 (1996; Cali, Colombia, July 31, 1998); Mt. Gretna Suite for Chamber Ensemble (Mt. Gretna, Pa., July 14, 1991); Concerto for Trumpet and Strings (1996; Lexington Park, Md., April 26, 1998); Caprice (1998; Ostend, Belgium, July 6, 1999).chamber: Septet for Winds and Strings (1947); Sextet for Winds and Piano (1948); 3 string quartets, including Nos. 2 (1950) and 3 (1961); Sonata Romantica for Double Bass or Cello and Piano (1952; also for Bassoon and Piano, 1978); Sonata for Solo Cello (1953); Sonata for Solo Violin (1959); Flute Sonata (1974); Sonata Robusta for Bassoon and Piano (1980); 2 wind quintets (1981, 1992); Concerto da Camera for 5 Instruments (1982); The Goldfinch Variations for 3 Treble Instruments (1984); Viola Sonata (1987); Oboe Sonata (1988); Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello (1988); Horn Sonata (1988); Serenade for Flute, Violin, and Cello (1990); Sonata Notturna for 2 Flutes and Piano or Flute, Oboe, and Piano (1993); Arkansas Reel for Wind Quintet (1994); Suite for Clarinet and Guitar (1994); Piano Quartet (1995); Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1995). keyboard: piano:12 Variations on an Original Theme (1944); 5 sonatas (1947, 1956,1964, 1981,1986). vocal: Choral pieces.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire