Green, Ray (Burns)

Green, Ray (Burns), American composer; b. Cavendish, Mo., Sept. 13, 1909. He began piano study at 14, winning a composition scholarship to the San Francisco Cons., where he studied with Bloch (1927-33). After further studies with Elkus and Stricklen at the Univ. of Calif, at Berkeley (1933-35), he won a scholarship to Paris to study with Milhaud (composition) and Monteux (conducting). He returned to the U.S. (1937), where he was active with the WPA and served as director of the Federal Music Project of Northern Calif. (1939-41). He then was chief of music for the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C. (1946-18), and subsequently executive director of the American Music Center in N.Y. (1948-61). He also founded his own music publishing company, American Music Editions (1951). His works are often modal in harmonic settings; rhythmic animation is much in evidence in his pieces based on American rural songs.

Works

DRAMATIC Incidental music; dance scores. ORCH.: Piano Concertino (1937); Prelude and Fugue (1937); Sunday Sing Symphony for Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Orch. (1939-40); 3 Short Symphonies (1945-53; 1970; 1974); 3 Pieces for a Concert for Chamber Orch. (1947); Jig Theme and 3 Changes for Piano and Strings (1948); Violin Concerto (1952); Rhapsody for Harp and Orch. (1953); band music. CHAMBER: Suite for Violin and Piano (1929); Suite for Viola and Piano (1930); 5 Epigrammic Portraits for String Quartet (1933; rev. 1950-52); 5 Epigrammic Romances for String Quartet (1933); String Quartet (1933); Wind Quintet (1933); Holiday for 4 for Viola, Violin, Bassoon, and Piano (1936; rev. 1939); Concertante for Viola or Clarinet and Piano (1940; also for Viola and Orch., 1946); Concert Set for Trumpet, Piano, and Drums (1941). Piano : Sonata (1933); 12 Short Sonatas (1948-62); other works. VOCAL: Choral pieces.

Bibliography

S. Vise, R. G.: His Life and Stylistic Elements of His Music from 1938-1962 (diss., Univ. of Mo., 1976).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire