Frederic Rzewski

Frederic Rzewski was among the major figures of the American musical avant-garde to emerge in the 1960s, and he was highly influential as a composer and performer. Rzewski's music helped define postwar American new music. He consistently gave exuberant boyish pleasures of a composer like Copland within the rigorously experimental framework of a composer like Cage. Often unapologetically tonal and fun, Rzewski's music cuts right through the frequent churlishness of avant-garde music. He was also an important educator. Rzewski was born on April 13, 1938 in Westfield, Massachuse...