Henry Brant

A great iconoclast in American music, Henry Brant (1913-2008) established his reputation early, with such avant-garde works as his Angels and Devils for 10 flutes (1931) and Music for a Five and Dime Store for violin, piano and kitchen utensils (1932). From 1951, Brant became concerned with spatial scoring among multiple groups and became the leading composer in this realm. Sometimes Brant worked with ensembles reaching gigantic proportions, such as in Rosewood for 100 guitars (1997) and Trinity of Spheres (1979) for three orchestras. A devotee of Charles Ives, Brant labored for more than 40 years on an orchestration of Ives' Concord Sonata.