Born: 31 October 1906, France
Died: 13 August 1996
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
1906, Oct. 31 Born, Arcachon, France
1911 Began piano lessons
1914 (summer) Moved with mother, Cécile Talma, to New York
1922-1930 Studied at the Institute of Musical Art, New York City
1926-1927 (summers) Studied piano with Isidore Philipp at the Fontainebleau School of Music
1926-1928 (winters) Taught theory and ear training at the Manhattan School of Music
1928-1939 (summers) Studied composition with Nadia Boulanger at the Fontainebleau School of Music
1928-1979 Periodically worked as teacher and assistant professor of music, Hunter College, New York City
1931 Bachelor of Music, New York University
1932 Awarded Joseph Bearns Prize for Composition
1933 Master of Arts, Columbia University
1936-1939 (summers) Became first American to teach at Fontainebleau
1943 First visit to the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire. Performed Four-Handed Fun with composer and life-long friend Lukas Foss. Composed Piano Sonata no. 1
1944 Composed Toccata for Orchestra
1946-1947 Awarded successive Guggenheim Fellowships
1949-1982 Periodically studied or taught solfege, analysis, and harmony at Fontainebleau
1950 Composed The Divine Flame
1955 Awarded Fulbright Fellowship
1958 Composed The Alcestiad
1962 The Alcestiad became first American opera to be performed at a major European opera house
1963 All the Days of My Life commissioned by the Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress
1974 Became first woman elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters
1990 Composed Infanta Marina
1996, Aug. 13 Died, Yaddo Artist Colony, Saratoga Springs, New York