Top Classical Music Composers in Arizona

Looking for some classical music to add to your Arizona playlist? Check out our top picks for classical composers from the Grand Canyon State!

List of top classical music composers in Arizona

1. Salvatore Martirano
2. John Cage
3. Karlheinz Stockhausen
4. Morton Feldman
5. Conlon Nancarrow
6. La Monte Young
7. Terry Riley
8. Steve Reich
9. Philip Glass

List of their most famous works

There are many great classical music composers in Arizona. This list includes some of the most famous and popular composers from Arizona.

-John Williams: “Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”
-Richard Strauss: “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Don Quixote,” “Ein Heldenleben”
-Claude Debussy: “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair,” “Clair de Lune”
– Johann Sebastian Bach: “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” “The Brandenburg Concertos,” “The Goldberg Variations”

List of their musical styles

In this list, we’ll take a look at some of the top classical music composers in Arizona. We’ll briefly explore their musical styles and provide some listening recommendations for each composer.

1. William Bolcom – An American composer born in Seattle, Washington, William Bolcom is known for his contemporary classical style which includes elements of jazz and popular music. He has composed works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras, and opera companies. His opera McTeague was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1988.

2. John Corigliano – An American composer of Italian descent, John Corigliano is known for his operas and orchestral works. His opera The Ghosts of Versailles was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1991. He has also composed scores for several Academy Award-winning films including The Red Violin and Altered States.

3. Aaron Copland – One of the most well-known American classical composers, Aaron Copland is known for his distinctively “American” sound which incorporates folk music elements into a classical framework. He composed works for ballet, film, and orchestra including the widely-known Appalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man.

4. Philip Glass – Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Philip Glass is a prolific American composer who is considered one of the pioneers of minimalism in music. His operas, symphonies, concertos, and chamber music are performed regularly by major orchestras and ensembles around the world. Notable works include Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha.

5. Jennifer Higdon – A Pennsylvania native, Jennifer Higdon is a widely-performed contemporary American composer with a background in both classical and rock music genres. She has composed orchestral works, chamber music, solo concerti, and vocal pieces including an opera based on Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House.

List of their awards and accomplishments

1. Gustav Holst
-Grammy Award for Best Classical Album (1972)
-Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording (1979)
-Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance (1980)
2. John Williams
-5 Grammy Awards
-24 Academy Awards
-4 Golden Globe Awards
3. Jean Sibelius
-Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music (1905)
-Member of the Royal Academy of Turin (1911)
4. Dmitri Shostakovich
-People’s Artist of the USSR (1954)
-Hero of Socialist Labor (1965)
5. Leonard Bernstein
-Tony Award for Best Original Score (1944)
-Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction (1958)