Grammy now in hand, music prof reflects

Penn Music Professor Emeritus George Crumb isn't sure what to think about the Grammy Award he won last month. "It's my first Grammy," he said. "I have no idea what it really means for a composer." But the Grammy -- awarded to Crumb for Best Contemporary Classical Composition -- is just the latest in a long line of accomplishments for the world-famous composer, who spent 32 years teaching at the University. Since he began composing classical music as a teenager, Crumb -- who had been nominated for a Grammy once before -- has created a sound that many feel has revolutionized modern classical music. "I think that he has a unique voice, and he embodies many of the spiritual elements of our time," said Jay Reise, a colleague and former student of Crumb's. "His spiritual message is very strong. His music is beautiful." The 71-year-old composer is known for blending ordinary sounds with instruments from around the world. "George brought something different everywhere he went," Music Department Chairman Gary Tomlinson said. "It's eminently approachable music as much as it is unique and different." During his career, Crumb has written pieces in numerous different compositional styles, including sonatas, choral pieces and orchestral works. Tomlinson, who worked with Crumb for over 15 years, said his unusual style has made a tremendous impact on the classical world. "George brought an extraordinarily fresh voice to composition," Tomlinson said. "What you get is a theatrical musical experience that is really unique among late modernist composers." Crumb took up music very early in his life, and credits his parents with opening his ears to different styles of composition. "My parents were musicians, so it was in the family," Crumb said. "I paid my dues as a clarinetist and pianist." Crumb began teaching at the University in 1965. In 1983, he became an Annenberg Professor of the Humanities. While at Penn, Crumb began to develop the style that would make him famous. He cites early 20th century composers Claude Debussy and Gustav Mahler as being influential in shaping his compositions. "In the 60s, I began to find my own voice," Crumb said. "What you're looking for is kind of your own voice. It's always what you have in the back of your mind." James Primosch, a colleague and former student, said Crumb's works signified the beginning of a trend toward incorporating more fundamental elements of musical style. "He represented a kind of contrary trend at the time," Primosch said. "The music at the time was tending to be more esoteric. He did some work that was more in touch with the elemental aspects of music." Reise said that Crumb taught him to listen analytically. "I think the thing that you learn from most good teachers is that you learn to listen," Reise said. "The more deeply you can listen, the more critically you can evaluate the music and the more in depth you can go." Primosch said Crumb had a tremendous knowledge of classical music, and he was extremely good at conveying it to his students. "He has the repertoire at his fingertips," Primosch said. "To have that knowledge is a remarkable thing." "I enjoyed [teaching at Penn]," said Crumb, who retired in 1997. "We always had an international range of students. I'm not one of the composers who hated to teach." Crumb is also known for his whimsical methods of scoring music. For example, he once arranged the score for one of his pieces in the shape of a musical note. And University President Judith Rodin has a sketch of that score on the wall in her office. "He is sensational," Rodin said. "He's extremely talented across a wide variety of artistic media." Crumb has won a host of other awards, including a Pulitzer Prize for his work "Echoes of Time and the River." Tomlinson said that despite the revered status that Crumb has achieved, he has not let success go to his head. "George was always extraordinarily easy to get along with," Tomlinson said. "He has a very down-home sensibility about him." "He is one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met," Reise added. "With all the success, this is the kind of person you would want it to happen to."