Born in Berlin, Lukas Foss emigrated in 1933 with his family to the United States, where he attended the Curtis Institute, later to study composition with Hindemith at Yale and to succeed Schoenberg at the University of California Los Angeles. For many years he held a leading position in American music. After a period of neoclassicism he went on to explore the possibilities of serialism, leading to experiments in indeterminacy and the aleatoric, with a third period, from about 1975, of minimalism and the exploration of electronic possibilities.

Vocal and Stage Music

Foss’s vocal music ranges from early settings of the American poet Carl Sandburg, to W.H. Auden, Archilochus and Walt Whitman. Works drawing inspiration from Jewish sources include Song of Anguish, based on the prophet Isaiah, Elegy for Anne Frank, the hymn from the morning liturgy Adon Olam, and Lamdeni, based on one of the oldest examples of notated Jewish music. His stage music includes a ballet, The Gift of the Magi, and three operas.

Orchestral and Chamber Music

Foss’s orchestral music comprises symphonies and concertos, among other works. The first of these includes Symphony of Chorales (Symphony No. 2), Symphony of Sorrows (Symphony No. 3) and Windows to the Past (Symphony No. 4); the second includes two clarinet concertos, three piano concertos and a Guitar Concerto.

Piano Music

In his piano music Foss often combined the traditional with the popular or experimental. The spirit of Bach hovers over his Passacaglia, Four Inventions and Scherzo ricercato. For Lenny, Variation on ‘New York, New York’ is a 1988 tribute to his former fellow student Leonard Bernstein.