Lyric for Strings

Composer: WALKER, George
  • Walker composed Lyric for Strings in 1946. The work can be performed by either string orchestra or string quartet.1
  • Walker wrote this piece while he was a student at the Curtis Institute. It premiered in a radio concert in 1946, performed by Curtis students.2
  • The original title of this piece was Lament. Walker wrote it after the death of his grandmother, and dedicated it to her: the dedication reads simply “To my grandmother.”3
  • In 1947, Lyric for Strings received a public premiere at a festival of American music in Washington, DC, performed by the National Gallery Orchestra.4

Sources

  1. Guthrie P. Ramsey, “Walker, George,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 12, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000029829. 
  2. George Walker, program notes to Lyric for Strings, George Walker, accessed August 12, 2021, http://georgetwalker.com/program_notes/notes_lyric.html. 
  3. Ibid.
  4. Ibid.

Cut IDs

21332