Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) USA
- andreachamizoalber
- Aug 31
- 1 min read
Composer and ethnomusicologist. She studied at the Chicago Conservatory with Adolf Weidig, who encouraged her to publish her first Piano Preludes, which express her ultramodern style. Here is a selection (more videos of these preludes are available on YouTube), as well as a link to view and download the scores for Preludes 6 to 9.
Ruth was actively involved in promoting contemporary music and was one of the founders of the International Society for Contemporary Music. A scholarship awarded by the Guggenheim Foundation in 1930 allowed her to spend time in Europe, where she came into contact with the most important composers of the time: Bartók, Schoenberg, and Berg.
Her creative work was influenced by Skriabin, where she experimented with atonality and irregular rhythms. She later wrote serial music. I'm sharing two works. First, her Piano Study in Mixed Accents (referring to Skriabin's influence) with a link to download the score.
The following is her most popular work, String Quartet, from 1931, which you can listen to below. The link to download the score is also included.
Some more of Ruth's work.
Music for small orchestra
Suite No. 2 for strings and piano
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