Rochberg, George (1918–2005)

US composer. He wrote in a serial idiom until 1964, when a family tragedy inspired a change of heart. Such works as the Sacred Song of Reconciliation (1970) and the Transcendental Varieties for strings (1975) have embraced tonality once more.

He studied composition with Georg Szell and L Manes (1899–1964) in New York, and then at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, with (Bartolomeo Melchiore) Rosario Scalero (1870–1954) and Menotti. In 1950 he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and, in 1956, a Guggenheim Fellowship. He taught at the Curtis Institute 1948–54 and was professor of music at Pennsylvania University 1968–83.

Works Opera The Confidence Man (after Melville, 1982).

Orchestral symphonic poem Night Music, six symphonies (1958–87), Time-Span (1960), Waltz Serenade, Sinfonia Fantasia, Imago Mundé (1975); violin concerto (1974), oboe concerto (1983).

Chamber Cantio Sacra for chamber orchestra, seven string quartets (1952–79), clarinet sonata, fantasia for violin and piano, two piano sonatas.