Composer; born in New York City. In his teens he studied in New York with Rubin Goldmark; in France during 1921--24, he worked with the later-famous pedagogue Nadia Boulanger. Returning to New York, he began the wide-ranging activities that would characterize his career: composing painstakingly, performing as a pianist, promoting new music, and teaching. His first successes came from the performances of such important conductors as Walter Damrosch, who premiered the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra in 1925, and Serge Koussevitsky, who became a leading champion of the composer. Meanwhile, he helped create and performed in forums for new works including the Yaddo Festival (which began in 1932). He also helped found organizations including the American Composers Alliance and Cos Cob Press, taught at schools including Tanglewood (1940--65), and wrote a series of books beginning with the 1939 What to Listen for in Music. After his early jazz-inspired works such as Music for the Theater (1925), and a few severe, avant-garde pieces such as the Piano Variations (1930), his most famous works began with the El Salón México of 1936; this and later pieces, among them the much-loved Appalachian Spring of 1944, are marked by a warm and rhythmically lively style based on a sophisticated adaptation of American folk material. He largely retired from composing in the 1970s. 1925 Music for the TheatreSymphonies 1925 Dance SymphonySymphonies 1926 Piano ConcertoSymphonies 1928 Study on a Jewish Theme 1928 No.1Symphonies 1930 VariationsPiano music 1933 No.2Symphonies 1935 StatementsSymphonies 1936 El Salón MéxicoSymphonies 1938 Billy the KidBallet 1938 Outdoor OvertureSymphonies 1940 Quiet CitySymphonies 1941 SonataPiano music 1942 RodeoBallet 1942 Fanfare for the Common ManSymphonies 1942 Lincoln PortraitSymphonies 1943 Violin Sonata 1944 Appalachian SpringBallet 1946 No.3Symphonies 1948 Clarinet ConcertoSymphonies 1950 Piano Quartet 1950 12 Poems of Emily DickinsonSongs 1955 The Tender LandOperas 1957 Orchestral VariationsSymphonies 1957 FantasyPiano music 1960 Nonet for strings 1963 ConnotationsSymphonies 1964 Music for a Great CitySymphonies 1967 InscapeSymphonies 1971 Threnody I: Igor Stravinsky, in memoriam 1972 Night ThoughtsPiano music 1972 3 Latin American SketchesSymphonies