Fine, Vivian

Fine, Vivian, American composer, teacher, and pianist; b. Chicago, Sept. 28, 1913; d. Bennington, Vt, March 20, 2000. She became a scholarship student in piano at the age of 5 at the Chicago Musical Coll.; she studied piano with Djane Lavoie-Herz, harmony and composition with Ruth Crawford and Adolf Weidig, and composition with Cowell; in 1931 she went to N.Y., where she studied piano with Whiteside, composition with Sessions, and orchestration with Szell; she also appeared as a pianist. She held teaching positions at N.Y. Univ. (1945–48), the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (1948), the State Univ. of N.Y. at Potsdam (1951), the Conn. Coll. School of Dance (1963–64), and Bennington (Vt.) Coll. (1964–87). In 1980 she received a Guggenheim fellowship and was elected to the American Academy and Inst. of Arts and Letters. She was particularly adept at writing vocal and instrumental works in a dissonant but acceptable style. In 1935 she married the sculptor Benjamin Karp.

Works

DRAMATIC Theater : The Race of Life (1937; N.Y., Jan. 23, 1938); Opus 51 (Bennington, Vt., Aug. 6, 1938); Tragic Exodus (N.Y, Feb. 16, 1939); They Too Are Exiles (1939; N.Y., Jan. 7, 1940); Alcestis (NY., April 29, 1960); My Son, My Enemy (New London, Conn., Aug. 15, 1965). Opera : The Women in the Garden (1977; San Francisco, Feb. 12, 1978). ORCH.: Elegiac Song for Strings (1937; Lenox, Mass., Aug. 8, 1971); Concertante for Piano and Orch. (1944); Romantic Ode for Violin, Viola, Cello, and String Orch. (Bennington, Vt., Aug. 28, 1976); Drama for Orchestra (1982; San Francisco, Jan. 5, 1983); Poetic Fires for Piano and Orch. (1984; N.Y., Feb. 21, 1985, composer soloist); Dancing Winds (1987); After the Tradition for Chamber Orch. (1988). CHAMBER: String Trio (1930); Prelude for String Quartet (1937); Capriccio for Oboe and String Trio (1946); Violin Sonata (1952); String Quartet (1957); 3 Pieces for Flute, Bassoon, and Harp (1961); Dreamscape for 3 Flutes, Cello, Piano, and Percussion Ensemble (1964); Chamber Concerto for Solo Cello, Oboe, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, and Piano (1966); Quintet for String Trio, Trumpet, and Harp (1967); Brass Quintet (1978); Piano Trio (1980); Quintet for Oboe, Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1984); Cello Sonata (1986); also piano pieces; other works for solo instruments. VOCAL : The Great Wall of China for Medium Voice, 2 Violins, Viola, and Cello (1947); Psalm 13 for Baritone, Women’s Chorus, and Piano or Organ (1953); Valedictions for Soprano, Tenor, Chorus, and 10 Instruments (1959); Epitaph for Chorus and Orch. (1967; Bennington, Vt., Nov. 5, 1983); Sounds of the Nightingale for Soprano, Women’s Chorus, and Nonet (1971); Meeting for Equal Rights, 1866 for Soprano, Baritone, Narrator, Chorus, and Orch. (N.Y, April 23, 1976); 3 Sonnets for Baritone and Orch. (Bennington, Vt., Dec. 12, 1976); Ode to Purcell for Medium Voice and String Quartet (1984).

Bibliography

H. Von Gunden, The Music of V. F. (Lanham, Md., 1999).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire