Ferguson, Donald (Nivison)
Ferguson, Donald (Nivison)
Ferguson, Donald (Nivison), American music educator; b. Waupun, Wise., June 30, 1882; d. Minneapolis, May 11, 1985. He studied at the Univ. of Wise. (B.A., 1904), then went to London, where he studied composition with Josef Holbrooke and piano with Michael Hambourg (1905–08). He later studied at the Univ. of Minn. (M.A., 1922) and at the Univ. of Vienna (1929–30). In 1913 he joined the faculty of the Univ. of Minn., where he was named full prof, in 1927. He retired in 1950, but returned to teach as prof, emeritus there from 1953 to 1956. Concurrently he was head of the music dept. at Macalester Coll. in St. Paul (1950–59). From 1930 to 1960 he served as program annotator for the Minneapolis Sym. Orch.
Writings
A History of Musical Thought (N.Y., 1935; 3rd ed., rev., 1959); A Short History of Music (N.Y, 1943); Piano Music of 6 Great Composers (N.Y, 1947); Master-works of the Orchestral Repertoire (Minneapolis, 1954); Music as Metaphor; The Elements of Expression (Minneapolis, 1960); Image and Structure in Chamber Music (Minneapolis, 1964); The Why of Music (Minneapolis, 1969).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire