Vivian Fine (1913-2000) USA
- andreachamizoalber
- Aug 31, 2025
- 1 min read
Composer Vivian Fine was born in Chicago and at the age of 5 became the youngest student ever to receive a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College. Fine composed her first work at 13 while studying harmony with Ruth Crawford (who is also featured on this blog) and made her professional debut as a composer at 16, premiering her Solo for Oboe and Four Pieces for Two Flutes. Here is The Flicker for solo flute, with a link to the score:
Vivian was a member of Aaron Copland's Young Composers Group. In 1937, she helped found the American Composers Alliance, serving as vice president from 1961 to 1965. In addition to her composing career, she also played the piano. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known contemporary pianists in New York. She premiered works by Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, and Henry Cowell, among others. I'm sharing her Concertino for piano and percussion, as well as the link to the score:
Fine's style early in her career was highly dissonant and contrapuntal. In 1934, she began studying with Roger Sessions, and her works became more tonal, such as her Suite in E-flat and the Concertante for piano and orchestra, which I share below with the link to the score:
In 1946, with her Capriccio for oboe and string trio https://imslp.org/wiki/Capriccio_for_Oboe_and_String_Trio_(Fine%2C_Vivian)
she returned to a freer mode of expression using a variety of techniques. A sense of humor is particularly noticeable in Fine's works, as in The Race of Life and Memoirs of Uliana Rooney.
Finally, here is her Brass Quartet with a link to the score:
Comments