The American composer and pianist William Bolcom was a pupil of Darius Milhaud at Mills College, and of Milhaud and Messiaen in Paris. He returned to America to hold various university teaching positions and to develop his own interpretation of ragtime. He joined the teaching staff of the University of Michigan in 1973. After earlier use of serialism, he developed his own particular musical idiom, influenced in good part by his interest in and performance of popular music-hall and parlour songs.
Vocal and Choral Music
Bolcom’s work is summarised in his monumental setting of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience, written between 1956 and 1981, and scored for soloists, three choruses and orchestra. His songs range from settings of Blake and Whitman to settings of Roethke.
Orchestral and Chamber Music
Bolcom’s orchestral music includes six symphonies, piano concertos and multiple concertos. He has also made a significant contribution to chamber music.