Photo: Carl Van Vechten / Adam Cuerden · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Virgil Thomson
Person · male · United States · Kansas City · born 1896 · died 1989 · recording since 1986
American composer and critic (1896–1989)
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Also known as 维吉尔·汤姆森
Timeline
19 events▣ Album 13✦ Award 3◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1890s
1940s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Music for the Films, "The River" & "The Plow That Broke the Plains"
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: Music for the Films, "The River" & "The Plow That Broke the Plains"
Album
source: musicbrainz
1990s
· Album
Album: The Mother of Us All (The Santa Fe Opera feat. conductor: John Crosby)
Album
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: McPhee: Tabuh-Tabuhan / Sessions: The Black Maskers / Thomson: Symphony on a Hymn Tune / The Feast of Love
Album
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: Symphony on a Hymn Tune / Symphony no. 2 in C major / Symphony no. 3 / Pilgrims and Pioneers
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
· Album
Album: Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion / Violin Sonata / Praises And Prayers
Album
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: John Corigliano: The Red Violin / Caprices / Violin Sonata / Virgil Thomson: Three Portraits / Five Ladies / Eight Portraits
Album
source: musicbrainz
Biography
English biography1,111 words · 5 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1363813605
Biography
Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassicist, and a composer of "an Olympian blend of humanity and detachment" whose "expressive voice was always carefully muted" until his late opera Lord Byron which, in contrast to all his previous work, exhibited an emotional content that rises to "moments of real passion".
Early years
Thomson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. As a child he befriended Alice Smith, great-granddaughter of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter-day Saint movement. During his youth he often played the organ in Grace Church (now Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral), as his piano teacher was the church's organist. After World War I, he entered Harvard University thanks to a loan from Dr. Fred M. Smith, the president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and father of Alice Smith. His tours of Europe with the Harvard Glee Club helped nurture his desire to return there.
At Harvard, Thomson focused his studies on the piano work of Erik Satie. He studied in Paris on fellowship for a year, and after graduating lived in Paris from 1925 until 1940. While studying in Paris he was influenced by several French composers who were members of "Les Six" including: Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honegger, Georges Auric, and Germaine Tailleferre. He eventually studied with Nadia Boulanger and became a fixture of "Paris in the twenties".
In Paris in 1925, he cemented a relationship with painter Maurice Grosser, who was to become his life partner and frequent collaborator. Later he and Grosser lived at the Hotel Chelsea, where he presided over a largely gay salon that attracted many of the leading figures in music and art and theater, including Leonard Bernstein, Tennessee Williams, and many others. He also encouraged many younger composers and literary figures such as Theodor Adorno, Ned Rorem, Lou Harrison, John Cage, Frank O'Hara, and Paul Bowles. Grosser died in 1986, three years before Thomson.
His most important friend from this period was Gertrude Stein, who was an artistic collaborator and mentor to him. After meeting Stein in Paris in 1926, Thomson invited her to prepare a libretto for an opera which he hoped to compose. Their collaboration resulted in the premier of the groundbreaking composition Four Saints in Three Acts in 1934. At the time, the opera was noted for its form, musical content and the portrayal of European saints by an all-black cast. Years later in 1947, he collaborated once again with Stein on his provocative opera The Mother of Us All which portrays the life of the social reformer Susan B. Anthony. Thomson incorporated musical elements from Baptist hymns, Gregorian chants and popular songs into both scores while demonstrating a restrained use of dissonance.
Thomson's contributions to music were not limited to the operatic stage, however. In 1936, he established a collaboration with the film director Pare Lorentz and composed music for the documentary film The Plow That Broke the Plains for the United States government's Resettlement Administration (RA). Thomson incorporated folk melodies and religious musical themes into the film score and subsequently composed an orchestral suite of the same name which was recorded by Leopold Stokowski and the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra in 1946 for RCA Victor (# 11-9522,11-9523). In 1938 he also formed a collaboration with Lorentz and the operatic singer Thomas Hardie Chalmers on the documentary film The River for the United States government's Farm Security Administration. Thomson composed an orchestra suite based on the score; when it was published, the musical journal Notes commented: "Delightful as background music, the piece is an awful bore when you try to give it your full attention".
Subsequently, in 1948 he collaborated with the director Robert J. Flaherty on the docufiction film Louisiana Story, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1949. At the time, the award was the only Pulitzer Prize in music granted for a musical composition written exclusively for film. Thomson's suite based on the score was premiered by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1949 to widespread critical acclaim.
Following the publication of his book, The State of Music, Thomson established himself in New York City as a rival of Aaron Copland. Thomson's criticisms of Copland were phrased in terms that brought accusations of antisemitism, but Copland remained on good terms with him, and Thomson admitted his envy of Copland's greater success as a composer. Thomson was also a music critic for the New York Herald Tribune from 1940 to 1954. A fellow critic, Robert Miles, accused him of being "vindictive and of settling scores in print". In a 1997 article in American Music, Suzanne Robinson writes that Thomson, motivated by "a mixture of spite, national pride, and professional jealousy" was consistently "severe and spiteful" to Benjamin Britten. Miles records that Thomson agitated for more performances in New York of new music, including his own.
Thomson's definition of music was "that which musicians do", and his views on music are radical in their insistence on reducing the rarefied aesthetics of music to market activity. He even went so far as to claim that the style a piece was written in could be most effectively understood as a consequence of its income source.
Later years
In 1969, Thomson composed Metropolitan Museum Fanfare: Portrait Of An American Artist to accompany the Museum's Centennial exhibition "New York Painting And Sculpture: 1940–1970".
Thomson became a sort of mentor and father figure to a new generation of American tonal composers such as Ned Rorem, Paul Bowles and Leonard Bernstein, a circle united as much by their shared homosexuality as by their similar compositional sensibilities. Women composers were not part of that circle, and one writer has suggested that, as a critic, he selectively omitted mention of their works, or adopted a more passive tone when praising them.
Awards and honors
Thomson was a recipient of Yale University's Sanford Medal. In 1949, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for the score to the film Louisiana Story and in 1977, he was awarded The Edward MacDowell Medal by The MacDowell Colony for outstanding contributions to American culture. In addition, the Kennedy Center Honors award was bestowed upon Thomson in 1983. In 1988, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Ronald Reagan. He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.
Death
Thomson died on September 30, 1989, in his suite at the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan, aged 92. He had lived at the Chelsea for close to 50 years.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 27 | 88.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 15 | 85th |
| Studio albums | 13 | 93.5th |
| Awards recorded | 5 | 97.4th |
| Timeline events | 19 | 93.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 3 | 15.8th |
| Genres | 7 | 93th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (15 release groups · 13 studio albums)
Albums · 13
Music for the Films, "The River" & "The Plow That Broke the Plains"
1986 · studio album
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Tracklist · 14 tracks · 45:44
1The Plow That Broke the Plains, Suite for orchestra: I. Prelude1:202The Plow That Broke the Plains, Suite for orchestra: II. Pastorale (Grass)1:233The Plow That Broke the Plains, Suite for orchestra: III. Cattle2:294The Plow That Broke the Plains, Suite for orchestra: IV. Blues (Speculation)2:235The Plow That Broke the Plains, Suite for orchestra: V. Drought1:006The Plow That Broke the Plains, Suite for orchestra: VI. Devastation4:067Concertino for harp, strings & percussion "Autumn": I. Salute to the Wind1:488Concertino for harp, strings & percussion "Autumn": II. Dialogue2:009Concertino for harp, strings & percussion "Autumn": III. Love Scene3:2410Concertino for harp, strings & percussion "Autumn": IV. Promenade1:5311The River, Suite: I. The Old South9:5012The River, Suite: II. Industrial Expansion in the Mississippi Valley4:4613The River, Suite: III. Soil Erosion and Floods5:2614The River, Suite: IV. Finale3:56The River / The Plow That Broke the Plains
1989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 15 tracks · 48:40
1The River: The Old South0:392The River: Prologue3:453The River: [untitled]3:434The River: Industrial Expansion in the Mississippi Valley4:275The River: Soil Erosion & Floods7:506The River: Finale3:417The Plow That Broke the Plains: Prelude & Fugue3:358The Plow That Broke the Plains: Grass -- Pastorale1:179The Plow That Broke the Plains: Cattle2:0210The Plow That Broke the Plains: The Homesteader4:0711The Plow That Broke the Plains: War and the Tractor3:2212The Plow That Broke the Plains: Blues (Speculation)2:0013The Plow That Broke the Plains: Drought1:2414The Plow That Broke the Plains: Wind and Dust2:2915The Plow That Broke the Plains: Devastation4:191991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 26 tracks · 1:08:33
1In Paris: Prelude4:132In Paris: La Valse Grégorienne2:363In Paris: Preciosillo4:054Three Portraits: Madame Dubost Chez Elle0:415Three Portraits: Clair Leonard's Profile0:556Three Portraits: Russell Hitchcock, Reading1:107Five Phrases From the Song of Solomon4:368Four New England Portraits: A Day-Dream: A Portrait of Herbert Whiting1:439Four New England Portraits: Meditation: A Portrait of Jere Abbott1:4110Four New England Portraits: Hymn: A Portrait of Josiah Marvel1:3511Four New England Portraits: The Hunt Hymn: A Portrait of A.E. Austin1:1812Three French Boys: Portrait of Claude Biais1:1513Three French Boys: A French Boy of Ten: Louis Lange0:5414Three French Boys: Maurice Bavoux: Young and Alone1:5715Three Parision Portraits: Poltergeist: A Portrait of Hans Arp0:5016Three Parisian Portraits: Aria: A Portrait of Germaine Hugnet3:0217Three Parisian Portraits: Swiss Waltz: A Portrait of Sophie Tauber-Arp2:0918At the Chelsea Hotel: At the Beach5:2019At the Chelsea Hotel: Peter Monro Jack: Scottish Memories2:0720At the Chelsea Hotel: Homage to Marya Freund and to the Harp1:2021Five Shakespeare Songs: 1. 'Was This Fair Face the Cause?'; 2. 'Take, O, Take Those Lips Away'; 3. 'Tell Me Where Is Fancy Bred'; 4. 'Paradon, Goddess of the Night'; 5. 'Sigh No More, Ladies'11:2622Man of Iron: A Portrait of Will Eisenhart2:1323The Courtship of the Yongly-Bongly-Bo7:1824Dr. Marcel Roche: Making a Decision1:1625Mally Davies: Terminations0:5226Jane Bowles: Early and as Remembered2:011992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:29:48
Disc 11Four Saints in Three Acts: Prologue10:422Four Saints in Three Acts: Act I, Tableau 1. "Saint Teresa in a storm at Avila"5:463Four Saints in Three Acts: Act I, Tableau 2. "Saint Teresa could be photographed"1:564Four Saints in Three Acts: Act I, Tableau 3. "Saint Teresa as a young girl being widowed" / "Many saints seen"2:415Four Saints in Three Acts: Act I, Tableau 4. "Could all four saints not only be in brief"3:266Four Saints in Three Acts: Act I, Tableau 5. "Saint Ignatius could be in porcelain"3:257Four Saints in Three Acts: Act I, Tableau 6. "A scene and withers"3:018Four Saints in Three Acts: Act I, Tableau 7. "Saint Teresa has been with him"4:21Disc 21Four Saints in Three Acts: Act II. "Act two... Saint Ignatius was very well known"4:552Four Saints in Three Acts: Act II. "How many saints are there in it"4:273Four Saints in Three Acts: Act II. "Scene eight... To wait"11:174Four Saints in Three Acts: Act III. "With withdrawn"4:015Four Saints in Three Acts: Act III. "Pigeons on the grass alas"12:216Four Saints in Three Acts: Act III. "Scene five... Alive"1:127Four Saints in Three Acts: Act III. "Once in a while and where and where around"2:088Four Saints in Three Acts: Act III. "One two three as one"6:569Four Saints in Three Acts: Act III. Intermezzo1:3510Four Saints in Three Acts: Prologue to Act IV. "Act four... How many acts are there in it"1:5111Four Saints in Three Acts: Act IV. "One at a time regularly"3:47The Mother of Us All (The Santa Fe Opera feat. conductor: John Crosby)
1992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 1:47:08
Disc 11The Mother of Us All: Overture "A Political Meeting"3:142The Mother of Us All: Act I, Scene 1 / Prologue6:473The Mother of Us All: Act I, Scene 217:104The Mother of Us All: Act I. Interlude "Cold Weather" / Scene 39:375The Mother of Us All: Act I, Scene 410:206The Mother of Us All: Act I, Scene 513:54Disc 21The Mother of Us All: Act II, Scene 1 / Last Intermezzo12:562The Mother of Us All: Act II, Scene 213:103The Mother of Us All: Act II, Scene 320:00Louisiana Story / The Plow that Broke the Plains
1992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 23 tracks · 1:08:07
1The Plow that Broke the Plains Suite: Prelude: Prologue1:512The Plow that Broke the Plains Suite: Grass: Pastorale1:283The Plow that Broke the Plains Suite: Cattle3:074The Plow that Broke the Plains Suite: Blues2:555The Plow that Broke the Plains Suite: Drought0:596The Plow that Broke the Plains Suite: Devastation5:497Louisiana Story Suite: Pastoral: The bayou and the marsh buggy6:568Louisiana Story Suite: Chorale: The derrick arrives3:319Louisiana Story Suite: Passacaglia: Robbing the alligator's nest6:3710Louisiana Story Suite: Fugue: Boy fights alligator3:4411Louisiana Story, Acadian Songs and Dances: Sadness2:4312Louisiana Story, Acadian Songs and Dances: Papa's Tune0:5913Louisiana Story, Acadian Songs and Dances: A Narrative2:0214Louisiana Story, Acadian Songs and Dances: The alligator and the 'coon2:2215Louisiana Story, Acadian Songs and Dances: Super-sadness1:4116Louisiana Story, Acadian Songs and Dances: Walking Song1:4517Louisiana Story, Acadian Songs and Dances: The Squeeze Box3:3018Power Among Men, Fugues and Cantilenas: Prelude with Fugal Exposition1:5819Power Among Men, Fugues and Cantilenas: Fugue No. 11:3520Power Among Men, Fugues and Cantilenas: Ruins and Jungles2:4021Power Among Men, Fugues and Cantilenas: Fugue No. 23:3022Power Among Men, Fugues and Cantilenas: Joyous Pastorale2:0923Power Among Men, Fugues and Cantilenas: Finale4:161992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:06:45
1Tabuh-Tabuhan (Toccata for Orchestra): I. Ostinatos6:322Tabuh-Tabuhan (Toccata for Orchestra): II. Nocturne5:073Tabuh-Tabuhan (Toccata for Orchestra): II. Finale5:064The Black Maskers (Orchestral Suite): I. Dance: Stridente-sarcastico4:115The Black Maskers (Orchestral Suite): II. Scene: Agitato molto7:386The Black Maskers (Orchestral Suite): III. Dirge: Larghissimo4:597The Black Maskers (Orchestral Suite): IV. Finale: Andante moderato un poco agitato4:488Symphony on a Hymn Tune: I. Introduction and Allegro7:489Symphony on a Hymn Tune: II. Andante cantabile4:3310Symphony on a Hymn Tune: III. Allegretto3:0411Symphony on a Hymn Tune: IV. Allegro5:1612The Feast of Love7:431999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:00:09
1Renascece (Concertino for Flute and Orchestra): I. Allegro con spirito4:002Renascece (Concertino for Flute and Orchestra): II. Andante3:423Renascece (Concertino for Flute and Orchestra): III. Presto3:094Poem for Flute and Orchestra10:135Concerto for Flute, Strings, Harp and Percussion: I. Rapsodico (orchestra tacet)2:456Concerto for Flute, Strings, Harp and Percussion: II. Lento5:077Concerto for Flute, Strings, Harp and Percussion: III. Ritmico6:298Night Soliloquy for Flute, Strings and Piano3:579Concerto for Flute and Orchestra: I. Moderato8:4710Concerto for Flute and Orchestra: II. Andante6:1111Concerto for Flute and Orchestra: III. Vivace, ritmico5:49Symphony on a Hymn Tune / Symphony no. 2 in C major / Symphony no. 3 / Pilgrims and Pioneers
1999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:04:18
1Symphony no. 2 in C major: I. Allegro militaire4:072Symphony no. 2 in C major: II. Andante5:583Symphony no. 2 in C major: III. Allegro6:234Symphony no. 3: I. Allegro moderato3:525Symphony no. 3: II. Tempo di Valzer3:556Symphony no. 3: III. Adagio sostenuto4:417Symphony no. 3: IV. Allegretto4:008Pilgrims and Pioneers9:429Symphony on a Hymn Tune: I. Introduction and Allegro8:0810Symphony on a Hymn Tune: II. Andante cantabile4:4911Symphony on a Hymn Tune: III. Allegretto3:0912Symphony on a Hymn Tune: IV. Alla breve5:34The Plow That Broke the Plains / The River
2001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 38:24
1The River: The Old South9:272The River: Industrial Expansion in the Mississippi Valley4:203The River: Soil Erosion and Floods6:244The River: Finale4:125The Plow that Broke the Plains: Prelude1:276The Plow that Broke the Plains: Pastorale (Grass)1:127The Plow that Broke the Plains: Cattle2:558The Plow that Broke the Plains: Blues (Speculation)2:359The Plow that Broke the Plains: Drought0:5810The Plow that Broke the Plains: Devastation4:54Four Songs to Poems of Thomas Campion / Violin Sonata / Praises And Prayers
2005 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 50:51
1Synthetic Waltzes5:022Four Songs to the Poems of Thomas Campion: I. Follow Your Saint2:123Four Songs to the Poems of Thomas Campion: II. There Is a Garden in Her Face1:574Four Songs to the Poems of Thomas Campion: III. Rose Cheek'd Laura, Come!2:545Four Songs to the Poems of Thomas Campion: IV. Follow Thy Fair Sun2:366Sonata for Violin and Piano: I. Allegro3:177Sonata for Violin and Piano: II. Andante Mobile2:578Sonata for Violin and Piano: III. Tempo Di Valzer1:259Sonata for Violin and Piano: IV. Andante/Doppio Movimento5:1910Two by Marianne Moore: I. English Usage2:2311Two by Marianne Moore: II. My Crow Pluto2:1912Praises and Prayers: I. From the Canticle of the Sun5:4813Praises and Prayers: II. My Master Hath a Garden1:4914Praises and Prayers: III. Sung by the Shepherds4:2815Praises and Prayers: IV. Before Sleeping2:1916Praises and Prayers: V. Jerusalem, My Happy Home4:062008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 26 tracks · 1:04:43
1The Red Violin Caprices: Theme1:342The Red Violin Caprices: Variation 10:443The Red Violin Caprices: Variation 22:104The Red Violin Caprices: Variation 31:215The Red Violin Caprices: Variation 42:346The Red Violin Caprices: Variation 51:127Violin Sonata: I. Allegro2:488Violin Sonata: II. Andantino7:109Violin Sonata: III. Lento4:5810Violin Sonata: IV. Allegro8:13113 Portraits (arr. S. Dushkin for violin and piano): No. 1. Barcarolle, a Portrait of Georges Hugnet1:48123 Portraits (arr. S. Dushkin for violin and piano): No. 2. Tango Lullaby, a Portrait of Mlle. Alvarez de Toledo2:20133 Portraits (arr. S. Dushkin for violin and piano): No. 3. In a Bird Cage, a Portrait of Lise Deharme2:05145 Ladies: I. Cynthia Kemper, a Fanfare1:01155 Ladies: II. Anne Miracle1:12165 Ladies: III. Alice Toklas3:03175 Ladies: IV. Yvonne de Casa Fuerte1:44185 Ladies: V. Mary Reynolds1:28198 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 3. Georges Hugnet, Poet and Man of Letters1:28208 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 1. Senorita Juanita de Medina Accompanied By Her Mother2:12218 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 2. Madame Marthe-Marthine2:09228 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 4. Miss Gertrude Stein As a Young Girl1:47238 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 5. Cliquet-Pleyel in F2:25248 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 6. Mrs. C[hester] W[hitin] L[asell]1:45258 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 7. Sauguet, from Life1:15268 Portraits for Violin Alone: No. 8. Ruth Smallens4:17Jamestown Concerto: American Music for Cello and Orchestra
2008 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:11:57
1Jamestown Concerto: London 1606. The Virginia Company4:112Jamestown Concerto: Settlements Along the River4:543Jamestown Concerto: The Long Winters4:414Jamestown Concerto: Pocahontas in London5:425Jamestown Concerto: Jamestown: Four Hundred Years On5:156Poem "Orpheus with his lute"0:427A Song of Orpheus-- Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra23:108Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra: Rider on the Plains7:539Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra: Variations on a Southern Hymn9:0610Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra: Children's Games6:23
Album · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Plow That Broke the Plains / The RiverSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 21 tracks · 55:401The Plow that Broke the Plains: Prelude4:04 2The Plow that Broke the Plains: Pastorale (Grass)1:19 3The Plow that Broke the Plains: Cattle2:06 4The Plow that Broke the Plains: The Homesteader2:48 5The Plow that Broke the Plains: Warning1:30 6The Plow that Broke the Plains: War and the Tractor3:54 7The Plow that Broke the Plains: Speculation (Blues)2:55 8The Plow that Broke the Plains: Drought1:46 9The Plow that Broke the Plains: Wind and Dust2:03 10The Plow that Broke the Plains: Devastation4:34 11The River: Prelude0:40 12The River: First Forest1:01 13The River: A Big River2:46 14The River: Cotton Pickers2:42 15The River: Rains1:19 16The River: Logging2:00 17The River: Coal2:37 18The River: Floods7:39 19The River: Requiem1:14 20The River: Tenancy3:20 21The River: Finale3:23 | Soundtrack | October 2007 | |
| 2021 | Virgil Thomson: Quartet No. 2 / William Schuman: VoyageSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 9 tracks · 42:211String Quartet No. 2: I. Allegro moderato5:11 2String Quartet No. 2: II. Tempo di valzer3:38 3String Quartet No. 2: III. Adagio sostenuto4:29 4String Quartet No. 2: IV. Allegretto6:58 5Voyage: I. Anticipation5:17 6Voyage: II. Caprice1:49 7Voyage: III. Realization6:24 8Voyage: IV. Decision4:22 9Voyage: V. Retrospection4:13 | Compilation | 18 June 2021 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Virgil Thomson head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 27 | 88.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 15 | 85th |
| Studio albums | 13 | 93.5th |
| Awards recorded | 5 | 97.4th |
| Timeline events | 19 | 93.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 3 | 15.8th |
| Genres | 7 | 93th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Pulitzer Prize for Music | won | |
| 1981 | National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism | won | |
| 1988 | National Medal of Arts | won | |
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | won | |
| — | Kennedy Center Honors | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virgil_Thomson_by_Carl_Van_Vechten.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0b0e4a44-b090-4f78-8db9-376dc32f407fdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0b0e4a44-b090-4f78-8db9-376dc32f407fcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q544485genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q544485seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Thomsonbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Thomson
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: notable long tail (listeners 0, 27 language versions)
Image: Carl Van Vechten / Adam Cuerden · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q544485 · MusicBrainz: 0b0e4a44-b090-4f78-8db9-376dc32f407f
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