George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano , and using a mallet to play the strings of a contrabass , among numerous others. He is not an electronic music composer, however many works call for amplification of instruments, such as Black Angels or Ancient Voices of Children . Crumb's music contains an intense humanism, which is reflected in his personal definition... of music: "a system of proportions in the service of spiritual impulse." Crumb was born in Charleston, West Virginia, and began to compose at an early age. He studied music first at the Mason College of Music in Charleston where he received his Bachelor's degree in 1950.
more