American composer
William Jennings Bryan "Ben" Weber (July 23, 1916 in St. Louis – June 16, 1979 in New York City) was an American composer.
Weber He was "one of the first Americans to embrace the 12-tone techniques of Schoenberg, starting in 1938"; he was largely self-taught. He worked initially as a copyist and only came to recognition in the 1950s.
Weber used the twelve-tone technique but, rather than avoid tonality, he worked with it and achieved a virtuoso Romantic style: "Weber could not stifle his bent for expansive lyricism and bold gestures," wrote music critic Anthony Tommasini, adding: "One gets the sense that his adaptation of the 12-tone technique was his way of ensuring that his music would keep its cutting edge and not slip into Romanticism. There is a rather Brahmsian spirit trying to emerge here." He composed chamber music for various combinations of instruments, orchestral music including concertos for violin and piano, piano music, and songs.
Weber also wrote an unpublished memoir, "How I Took 63 Years to Commit Suicide (as told to Matthew Paris)."
Awards.
Weber was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1950. He received a Thorne Music Award in 1965. which was given to composers of “mature years and recognized accomplishments".
References.
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