Paul Creston

Italian American composer and teacher Paul Creston was born Giuseppe Guttoveggio in New York City on 10 October 1906 to immigrants from Sicily. He taught himself to compose strongly rhythmic but conservative sounding music.

He wrote six symphonies and several concertos for different instruments, and his music was very popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Several Paul Creston works have become popular with concert wind bands.

From 1968 until 1975 he taught at Central Washington State College. His students included John Corigliano and Elliott Schwartz. He was also the author of two books - Principles of Rhythm (1964) and Rational Metric Notation (1979).

Paul Creston died in the San Diego suburb Poway on 24 August 1985, aged seventy-eight.

 

A selection of articles about Paul Creston

Echoes of Oblivion by Robert McCarney - Extraordinary Adventures

CD Spotlight. Black-sheep Relative - American saxophone concertos, heard by Ron Bierman. '... the two premieres are definitely worth hearing.'

CD Spotlight. Discussion partners - Contemporary American piano concertos, reviewed by Ron Bierman. '... a masterful performance.'

Ensemble. Vocal power - Tenor Andrew Richards scores in American music, by Lawrence Budmen

CD Spotlight - American voices. '... compellingly energetic rhythmic forces, clear, translucent orchestration, bold themes and simple structures.' Symphonies by George Antheil and Paul Creston, examined by Peter Dale