Cacioppo, George (Emanuel)

Cacioppo, George (Emanuel), innovative American composer; b. Monroe, Mich., Sept. 24, 1927; d. Ann Arbor, Mich., April 4, 1984. He studied with Ross Lee Finney at the Univ. of Mich, in Ann Arbor (M.A., 1952) and later with Roberto Gerhard there (1960); also with Leon Kirchner at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood. In 1960 he helped to organize the ONCE Festival in Ann Arbor, with which he was active until 1968; was an announcer and engineer at the Univ. of Mich, radio station (1960–84), and also taught periodically at the Univ. (1970–80). His interests in astronomy, mathematics, and poetry consumed him after 1970. His compositions written between 1960 and 1970 concern themselves with pitch relationships and with total-sound spectrums.

Works

Fantasy for Violin and Piano (1950); Music for 2 Trumpets and Strings (1951); Piano Sonata: In Memoriam Béla Bartók (1951); Overture and Elegy for Orch. (1952–53); String Trio (1960); Bestiary I: Eingang for Soprano, Piano, and 4 Percussionists (1961); 11 piano pieces for any number of pianos, with their realizations on tape sounding synchronously, or non-synchronously, and lasting any practical, or impractical, length of time, 2 of which are subtitled: No. 3, Cassiopeia (1962) and No. 11, Informed Sources (1970); 2 Worlds for Soprano and 7 Instruments (1962); Mod 3 for Flute, Double Bass, and Percussion (1963); Moved Upon Silence for 6 Percussionists (1963); The Advance of the Fungi for Textless Men’s Chorus, 3 Clarinets, 3 Trombones, 2 Horns, and Percussion (1964); Time on Time in Miracles for Soprano, 2 Horns, 2 Trombones, Cello, Piano, and Percussion (1964); Holy Ghost Vacuum, or America Faints for Electric Organ (Ann Arbor, March 29, 1966, composer organist); K for Live Electric Organs, Pianos, and Sound Modifiers (1967; rev. as K-2, 1968); Dream Concert for Organ, Voice, and Percussionist (1976).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire