Kreutz, Arthur

Kreutz, Arthur, American composer, conductor, violinist, and teacher; b. La Crosse, Wise, July 25, 1906; d. Oxford, Miss., March 11, 1991. He studied at the Univ. of Wise, and Columbia Univ. After teaching at Columbia Univ. (1946–52), he was on the faculty of the Univ. of Miss. (1952–64). In 1940 he won the Prix de Rome, and later held a Guggenheim fellowship(1944-46).

Works

dramatic: Opera: Acres of Sky (1949-50; Fayettville, Ark., Nov. 16, 1951); The University Greys (1953; Clinton, Miss., March 15, 1954); Sourwood Mountain (1958; Clinton, Miss., Jan. 8, 1959). orch.:Paul Bunyan (1939); 4 syms. (1940, 1943, n.d., n.d.); American Dances (1941); 2 violin concertos (1944, 1965); Symphonic Blues (c. 1946); Mosquito Serenade for Strings (1947); Clarinet Concerto (c. 1947); Dixieland Concerto (1949); Dance Concerto for Clarinet and Orch. (1950); Concertino in Blue for Violin and Orch. (1963); Saxophone Concerto (c. 1963); Piano Concerto (1970); Concert Jazz (1988). chamber: Concertino for Oboe, Horn, and String Quartet (1944–5); String Quartet (1945); Quartet Venuti for String Quartet (1953); 3 Jazzsonatas for Violin and Piano (1961, 1968, c. 1984); Song and Dance for Oboe, 2 Violins, Viola, and Cello (1977); Jam Session for Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone Saxophones (1978); Saxonata for Tenor Saxophone and Piano (1979–80); Fantasy for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1983); several piano pieces. vocal: 3 Shakespearean Love Lyrics for High Voice and Chamber Orch. (1943); 4 Poems by Robert Burns for High Voice and Chamber Orch. (1944); New England Folksing for Chorus and Orch. (1946).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire