Paul Creston

Paul Creston (born Giuseppe Guttoveggio; October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985) was an American composer of classical music. He composed six symphonies and several concertante works for violin, piano, accordion, marimba and saxophone.

Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self-taught as a composer. His work tends to be fairly conservative in style, with a strong rhythmic element. His pieces include six symphonies; a number of concertos including two violin concertos and a marimba concerto (premiered by Ruth Stuber); a piano concerto, premiered by Earl Wild; concerto for two pianos and orchestra; an accordion concerto; and a concerto for alto saxophone dedicated to Cecil Leeson). He composed a fantasia for trombone and orchestra (composed for and premiered by Robert Marsteller). For alto saxophone, he wrote also a Rapsodie for Jean-Marie Londeix; a suite (1935) and a sonata (Op. 19, 1939), dedicated to Leeson. The sonata was arranged by Marco Ciccone for saxophone and orchestra in 2008. Creston composed a suite for organ, Op. 70. Several of his works were inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman.

Creston was one of the most performed American composers of the 1940s and 1950s. Several of his works have become staples of the wind band repertoire. Zanoni, Prelude and Dance and the Celebration Overture have been and still are on several state lists for contests^[clarify] across the USA.^{[citation needed]}

Creston was also a teacher, whose students included the composers Irwin Swack, John Corigliano, Alvin Singleton, Elliott Schwartz, Frank Felice, Charles Roland Berry; accordionist and composer William Schimmel; and the jazz musicians Rusty Dedrick and Charlie Queener (See List of music students by teacher: C to F §Paul Creston). He wrote the theoretical books Principles of Rhythm (1964) and Rational Metric Notation (1979). He taught at Central Washington State College from 1968 to 1975.

Creston died at age 78, in Poway, California, a suburb of San Diego.

Pantonal Lullaby, Op. 121