Schuller, Gunther (Alexander)

(born Nov. 22, 1925, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. composer, conductor, and educator. Son of a violinist, he trained at the Manhattan School of Music. He played French horn with the Cincinnati Orchestra from age 18 and with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra (1945–59), as well as with jazz musicians such as Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet. His “third stream” music (combining classical and jazz styles) includes compositions such as Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee (1959). Of Reminiscences and Reflections (1993) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1994. He was president of the New England Conservatory of Music (1967–77) and directed the Berkshire Music Center (1974–84). A preeminent authority on jazz, he wrote the acclaimed Early Jazz (1968) and The Swing Era (1988).

Schuller, Gunther (1925– ) composer, French hornist, educator, jazz scholar; born in New York City. He became first chair of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at age 19. He left that post to pursue composition and teach at Yale (1964–66); from 1966 to 1977 he was president of the New England Conservatory; meanwhile he taught at Tanglewood in the summer, and from 1974 to 1984, he directed the music school there. A prolific composer, his mature work uses 12-tone technique often inflected by his involvement in jazz. His prose writings include the classic 1968 study Early Jazz.