In the 21st century, one figure from the 20th who never fails to impress through his continued relevance and the wealth of discoveries to be made in his music is American composer Morton Gould. From a working-class background, Gould was a child prodigy whose talent was recognized early; nurtured at the Institute of Musical Art (later Juilliard) during the Great Depression, Gould was leading radio orchestras by the age of 21 and this set him on a career that led to a Grammy and, ultimately, a Pulitzer Prize for music, ...
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In the 21st century, one figure from the 20th who never fails to impress through his continued relevance and the wealth of discoveries to be made in his music is American composer Morton Gould. From a working-class background, Gould was a child prodigy whose talent was recognized early; nurtured at the Institute of Musical Art (later Juilliard) during the Great Depression, Gould was leading radio orchestras by the age of 21 and this set him on a career that led to a Grammy and, ultimately, a Pulitzer Prize for music, despite the fact that his work never gained serious consideration in academic circles. Few composers, however, had as much range as Gould, easily moving through big band charts, orchestral pop, serious, traditional extended works, avant-garde, and even, at the end of his career, incorporating hip-hop into his music. Gould was like a great big snowball, rolling along and picking up whatever musical idea or approach caught his fancy, much in the manner that has proved a regular working habit...
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