Bolcom, William (1938-…), an American composer and pianist, won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for music for his 12 New Etudes for Piano. In his compositions, Bolcom attempts to break down distinctions between classical and popular music. His works reflect the influences of such styles as ragtime, waltzes, music hall songs, and pop music. Bolcom has made solo piano recordings of his own works and those of American composers, such as George Gershwin and Scott Joplin, and French-born composer Darius Milhaud.
Several of Bolcom’s major works explore powerful philosophical themes. Perhaps the best known is Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1982) for soloists, choruses, and orchestra. The work sets to music 46 poems by the English mystical poet William Blake.
Bolcom has composed three operas: McTeague (1992), based on a novel by the American writer Frank Norris; A View from the Bridge (1999), based on a play by the American dramatist Arthur Miller; and A Wedding (2004), based on an American motion picture co-written and directed by Robert Altman. Bolcom has also composed symphonies, concertos, chamber music, vocal music, and several compositions for theater.
William Elden Bolcom was born on May 26, 1938, in Seattle. He showed musical talent as a child and began studying music at the University of Washington at the age of 11. He received his B.A. degree there in 1958. Bolcom studied composition with Milhaud from 1958 to 1960 and attended classes in musical aesthetics under French composer Olivier Messiaen in Paris in 1960 and early 1961. He completed his doctorate degree in composition at Stanford University in 1964.
In 1972, Bolcom met singer Joan Morris. They married in 1975 and collaborated on a number of recordings and recitals devoted to the history of American popular song. The concerts contributed to a revival of interest in this field, especially music of the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Bolcom has taught at the School of Music at the University of Michigan since 1973 and is the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished Professor of Music there. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
