Charles Tomlinson Griffes died at the young age of thirty-five in 1920, due to complications from influenza, pneumonia, and pleural empyema.
Composition History
The legendary Ferruccio Busoni, a renowned pianist and composer, intervened with G. Schirmer to recommend Griffes's pieces, leading to his first publishing contract.
Composer Biography
Griffes's piano studies were initially supported by Mary Selena Broughton, a New Zealand-born teacher at Elmira College who had trained with Karl Klindworth, a pupil of Liszt.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Griffes was fascinated by the avant-garde music of Debussy, Ravel, and Scriabin, writing to his mother, "I don't know what I shall do in America without all these things."
Composer's Artistic Vision
Griffes often chose literary texts, including excerpts from Yeats, Poe, and Verlaine, to preface his piano pieces, even selecting them after the music was composed.
Composer Biography
Charles Tomlinson Griffes, an American composer, was born in Elmira, New York, a small community over 200 miles from New York City.
Composer Biography
Griffes was remarkably candid about his gay life in his diary entries, and his relationship with Emil Joël, a civil engineering student, became central to his world.
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