Ross Lee Finney: A Bio-Bibliography

by Susan Hayes Hitchens

With over 100 compositions in his catalog, Ross Lee Finney is a highly regarded composer whose career spans more than 50 years. This work offers contemporary music scholars, students, and enthusiasts an in-depth survey of the life, works, and writings of this important composer, theorist, and teacher. Finney is one of the first significant composers to come out of the American Midwest. He is known for blazing new trails by writing tonal music in the serialist style, developing a unique method of composition by applying physics' theory of complementarity to music, and using symmetrical hexachords to achieve an overall tonal effect. An important addition to any music library.

Of special interest are excerpts from the author's interview with Finney in 1992, which provide the reader with a unique insight into the life and work of this individual and innovative composer. The book is divided into four major a biography, a list of works including detailed information regarding premieres and other significant performances, a complete discography of all commercial recordings, and a comprehensive bibliography of writings by and about Finney. Two appendices provide alphabetical and chronological lists of compositions, and a comprehensive index includes all important names, institutions, places, and events mentioned throughout the text.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996