Springfield Symphony Orchestra; Robert Gutter, conductor; The Group for Contemporary Music String Quartet:; Benjamin Hudson and Carol Zeavin, violinists; Janet Lyman Hill, violist; Jerry Grossman, cellist; Catherine Rowe, soprano; Francis Thorne, piano; Harvey Sollberger, flute; Boehm Quintet: Donald Stewart, clarinet and Director; Susan Stewart, flute; Phillis Bohl, Oboe; Joseph Anderer, horn; Richard Vrotney, bassoon; Richard Fitz, percussion
Francis Thorne (b. 1922, Bay Shore, N. Y.) graduated from Yale University in 1943 with a B.A. in Music Theory and Composition, where he studied with Paul Hindemith and Richard Donovan. However, uncertain of his talent for composition, Mr. Thorne took up a business career, this following active wartime service in the Navy. However, by 1954 the urge to return to music became overwhelming, and there followed a period of study with Alexei Haieff and Leo Smit, interlarded with jazz piano playing at Hickory House in New York and TV appearances with a jazz trio. Concentration of activity in jazz continued through 1958, and included a major role in founding and producing the Great South Bay Jazz Festival with its commissions of works from Duke Ellington, John Lewis, and Charlie Mingus.
In the fall of 1958, Thorne went to Florence, Italy, for two years of intensive study with David Diamond.
“You'd never guess that Francis Thorne is a powerhouse,” writes musicologist H. Wiley Hitchcock, alluding to Thorne's humble appearance and demeanor, “until you hear him play swing piano and sing Tin Pan Alley classics, or considering his overseeing of the American Composers Orchestra...or listen to one or another of his hundred or so concert-music compositions.”
Among Thorne's official honors are three NEA grants, two MacDowell fellowships, grants from the Ford Foundation, BMI, the American Music Center, Harvard University, and the National Institute of Arts and Letters -- as well as commissions from the New York State Council on the Arts (1974), the Group for Contemporary Music (1975 & 1977), and the Concord String Quartet (1977). In 1988 he was elected to membership in the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Music of Francis Thorne
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD-R | $9.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Fanfare, Fugue & Funk
Francis Thorne
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Third String Quartet: I. Adagio cantabile
Francis Thorne
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Third String Quartet: II. Scherzo
Francis Thorne
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Third String Quartet: III. Variazioni
Francis Thorne
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Nocturnes: Night Song
Francis Thorne
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Nocturnes: Song After Campion
Francis Thorne
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Nocturnes: Horace 1, 25
Francis Thorne
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Nocturnes: Before Harvest
Francis Thorne
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Flute Sonatina: I. Allegro con spirito
Francis Thorne
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Flute Sonatina: II. Adagio
Francis Thorne
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Flute Sonatina: III. Presto giocoso
Francis Thorne
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Lyric Variations No. 2
Francis Thorne
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