Vincent Persichetti

Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) was an American composer, pianist and teacher, born and died in Philadelphia. He taught at the Juilliard School from 1947 and wrote nine symphonies, twelve piano sonatas, choral works and many pieces for wind band. His music blends Classical, Romantic and modern elements, with lyrical, largely diatonic melodic lines. Persichetti studied with Russell King Miller at Combs, conducting with Fritz Reiner at Curtis and piano with Olga Samaroff at the Philadelphia Conservatory (doctorate 1945). He wrote the textbook Twentieth-Century Harmony (1961).