Strong, George Templeton - PTNA Piano Music Encyclopedia

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Strong, George Templeton 1856 - 1948

Author: Saitoh, Noriko

Last updated：October 1, 2008

Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

American composer. Strong had a father with the same name, who was a lawyer and pursued music as a hobby. However, he was a prominent figure who founded the New York Church Music Association and served as president of the New York Philharmonic Society, which allowed Strong to experience various types of music through concerts. Strong himself studied oboe and received private instruction in counterpoint, orchestration, and horn in Leipzig. Subsequently, he interacted with Liszt's pupils and disciples in Weimar. His Symphonic Poem Undine, composed around this time, is dedicated to Liszt. Furthermore, he extended his travels to Wiesbaden, where he met MacDowell. His friendship with MacDowell lasted for a long time, and upon MacDowell's return to America, he endeavored to introduce Strong's works. It was also MacDowell who encouraged Strong to return to America and found him a position as a music theory teacher at the New England Conservatory. However, Strong soon traveled to Europe again and settled in Switzerland. Strong believed that American composers were not recognized in their own country, and he was disappointed by this. Driven by such pessimism, he temporarily withdrew from composing and even painted watercolors (there is a watercolor society founded by Strong in Vaud Canton).

Strong was deeply inclined towards literature, and many of his works' titles are related to literary themes or epigraphs. Some also have connections to subjects such as fairies, witches, and deep forests. He also left writings about his friend MacDowell.