The American composer and teacher George Crumb (born 1929) developed an immediately recognizable style based on the coloristic potential of instruments and voices, evoking mystery, sensuality, and great spatial dimension.

George Crumb was born in Charleston, West Virginia, on October 24, 1929. He began writing music shortly after his tenth year, motivated by his father, who was a clarinetist and bandleader, and by the popular and religious music of his native Appalachia. The latter, especially, remained an influence in his mature compositions. His mother was also a cellist, so Crumb's childhood was saturated with musical inspiration, such that by nine years old he already played piano by ear. He earned degrees from Mason College, Charleston, (B.M., 1950); the University of Illinois (M.M., 1952); and the University of Michigan (D.M.A., 1959), where he studied with Ross Lee Finney. Crumb also studied with Boris Blacher at the Berkshire Music Center and at...