Bradley M. Johnson, horn
Amy Robertson, piano

Quincy Porter, a direct descendant of the great New England divine, Jonathan Edwards, and the son and grandson of Yale University professors, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1897. He studied the composition of music with Horatio Parker at Yale. Upon graduation, Porter went to Paris where he studied at the Schola Cantorum with Vincent d’Indy. After returning to this country he studied with Ernest Bloch. Porter also joined the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and played viola in the deRibaupierre Quartet. His great interest in chamber music composition dates from this period.

In 1928, Porter returned to Paris on a Guggenheim grant and remained there for the next three years. Ten years later, in 1938, he was associated with the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, first as dean, and later as the director. In 1946, Porter accepted a professorship at Yale University, which he held until his retirement in 1965. In 1954, Porter was commissioned to write a piece for the Louisville Orchestra. This work, Concerto Concertante (two pianos and orchestra) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music. He died suddenly in 1966.

Porter dedicated his 1948 composition Sonata for Horn and Piano to Willem A. Valkeneir (1887-1986), then the principal horn in the Boston Symphony Orchestra and one of the "founding fathers" of horn-playing in the United States. The work was conceived in response to a commission from the National Association of Schools of Music in 1944 to expand the inadequate supply of music for brass players. The piece is in three movements, each relying on melodic elements common to the entire work and very diverse in metric changes, tempo variances, and polyphony between the horn and piano. Part of the melodic structure of the piece is built on the same intervals that are heard in the chimes of clock towers around the world, including Wilson Hall on James Madison University’s campus. While both the piano and horn parts are demanding and exciting, it is clear that Porter appreciated the sound of the horn and its diversity in styles.

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Latest Update: 11/6/99
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