Composers who died young

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Havergal Brian. He should have lived a few months into 1973 to see the first LP of his music issued.   

[Lethevich]

As we seem to be amassing a secondary list of middle aged guys too (): Schumann, Bizet, Chausson, Albéniz, Weber, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky...

For the original list: Vincenzo Bellini, Giovanni Pergolesi, Peter Warlock, Lili Boulanger, George Gershwin, Guillaume Lekeu.

I need to explore some of Vivier's music as I heard it is quite good. Wasn't he a Spectralist?

It's sad that the best disc of his music is OOP link

[rhomboid]

-Toivo Kuula. Died at 35 two weeks after he was shot in the head. Intriquinf, passionate late romantic music with a serious intent to develop a new style of impressionism wich he never quite realised.

Didn't know him. An extensive production for his age. I made an entry in Wikipedia Spanish.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toivo_Kuula

[abidoful]

Didn't know him. An extensive production for his age. I made an entry in Wikipedia Spanish.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toivo_Kuula

Yeah, but most of his works are miniatures and he was no prodigy; he started composing seriously only at about 22-24.

[(poco) Sforzando]

As we seem to be amassing a secondary list of middle aged guys too (): Schumann, Bizet, Chausson, Albéniz, Weber, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky...

If Havergal Brian qualifies (96), next thing we'll be hearing about Elliott Carter when he dies.

[Lethevich]

If Havergal Brian qualifies (96), next thing we'll be hearing about Elliott Carter when he dies.

Hehe, Brian was many things, but young is not one of them

[Mirror Image]

Lili Boulanger

I mentioned her earlier and will say that it's truly a shame in her case as she showed so much potential and the works she did compose show a brilliant mind at work.

[springrite]

Lili Boulanger and Lekeu are the first two names that comes to mind, although I suspect that had they both lived long lives, Boulanger would have given us more great music than Lekeu.

[Sid]

I too think that passing away in one's 40's or 50's is still young, at least by today's standards when life expectancy in the West is about 70-75...

Dorian Le Gallienne (1915-1963) - Australian modernist composer

Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) - American avant-garde composer, influenced people like Carter...

[Coco]

Another middle-age death: Jean Barraqué (45), who wrote a small but essential amount of music, and seemed to have had a pretty difficult life.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

If Havergal Brian qualifies (96), next thing we'll be hearing about Elliott Carter when he dies.

[knight66]

Thomas Linley is the other one that always springs to my mind - the 'English Mozart' He was, in fact, Mozart's exact contemporary, close friend and fellow pupil, a hugely talented figure who died young, much younger than Mozart himself, in a boating accident.

Luke, I had never heard of this composer. I looked on Amazon and have ordered this....



The customer review on Amazon was for once very informative. Thanks for mentioning Linley Jnr.

Mike

[Sid]

Another middle-age death: Jean Barraqué (45), who wrote a small but essential amount of music, and seemed to have had a pretty difficult life.

I was thinking of Barraque as well, but couldn't remember his name. Like Mussorgsky (another one who left us way too early), he was a heavy alcoholic. I heard part of Barraque's piano sonata on youtube, and it struck me as being in the league of Boulez's 2nd sonata, composed around the same time. They were of the same generation (of course Boulez, who has probably avoided such harmful addictions and maybe has better genes, is still with us in fairly advanced age). As a tangent to this, I just finished reading Augusten Burrough's memoir Dry, which is about how he kicked his heavy booze addiction. Pretty harrowing reading, it takes the reader right into the head of an alcoholic, and to tell you the truth it ain't very pretty (or straightforward) in there. I'm glad that both my parents were teetotallers & this has rubbed off on me. I hardly drink a drop (although I am an ex-smoker, so I know what addiction of another kind is about)...

[abidoful]

There's terrible "drinking-culture" in Finland among the musicians----alcoholism is even considered "cool".

[Coco]

I was thinking of Barraque as well, but couldn't remember his name. Like Mussorgsky (another one who left us way too early), he was a heavy alcoholic. I heard part of Barraque's piano sonata on youtube, and it struck me as being in the league of Boulez's 2nd sonata, composed around the same time. They were of the same generation (of course Boulez, who has probably avoided such harmful addictions and maybe has better genes, is still with us in fairly advanced age). As a tangent to this, I just finished reading Augusten Burrough's memoir Dry, which is about how he kicked his heavy booze addiction. Pretty harrowing reading, it takes the reader right into the head of an alcoholic, and to tell you the truth it ain't very pretty (or straightforward) in there. I'm glad that both my parents were teetotallers & this has rubbed off on me. I hardly drink a drop (although I am an ex-smoker, so I know what addiction of another kind is about)...

I didn't know Barraqué was an alcoholic — the wiki bio makes it seem like he was simply ill for most of his life. I'm interested in reading this:



It's rather expensive. I'll have to check the big library here for it.

Also, not to bring the thread further off track, but I can relate — both my parents are alcoholics, which would probably be the sole reason why I never drink if it weren't for the fact that... I just don't like it!

[matti]

There's terrible "drinking-culture" in Finland among the musicians----alcoholism is even considered "cool".

Is there? Is it? Examples, gossips please! I do think you need to update your knowledge, even the rock musicians are turning sober nowadays.

[karlhenning]

Is there? Is it? Examples, gossips please! I do think you need to update your knowledge, even the rock musicians are turning sober nowadays.

I see our Andy has been busting heads over there, very good, very good.

[abidoful]

Is there? Is it? Examples, gossips please! I do think you need to update your knowledge, even the rock musicians are turning sober nowadays.

When I was a student people drank heavily for example in masterclasses (=summercourses). Besides that drinking wasn't banned or anything. Comment's more like "well, if you can play at 9 am at my class class I don't care"). So it was very pro-alcohol. Certainly not anti. And all those stories about Sibelius and his drinking. It was cool to be "a drunk" and still be able to play great!

The sad thing is that quite few people really had/have serious problems with drinking. I can recall at least 3 of my friends and colleques who had/have those problems. And one of my teachers died of that...

Anyway, I don't know how's the situation nowadays; I wouldn't know since i'n not young anymore

[matti]

When I was a student people drank heavily for example in masterclasses (=summercourses). Besides that drinking wasn't banned or anything. Comment's more like "well, if you can play at 9 am at my class class I don't care"). So it was very pro-alcohol. Certainly not anti. And all those stories about Sibelius and his drinking. It was cool to be "a drunk" and still be able to play great!

The sad thing is that quite few people really had/have serious problems with drinking. I can recall at least 3 of my friends and colleques who had/have those problems. And one of my teachers died of that...

Anyway, I don't know how's the situation nowadays; I wouldn't know since i'n not young anymore

I'm sure you are partly right, but being drunk and playing great is not possible, the human body does not work that way, not even a Finnish one. The legend of Sibelius being a hard core alcoholic may have been true at some point of his life, but staying alive that long... his liver must have been more of a miracle in the field of medicine than all his symphonies put together in the musical one.

I am not young either, but I think alcoholism is hardly admired anymore, in any field of expertise. There are sad examples of course who suffer from it, but they are considered... well sad. Not tolerated well, no matter how talented. It's a hard core world, (unfortunately) too hard for hard core drunks.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

The legend of Sibelius being a hard core alcoholic may have been true at some point of his life, but staying alive that long... his liver must have been more of a miracle in the field of medicine than all his symphonies put together in the musical one.