AKA David Eugene Tudor

Born: 20-Jan-1926
Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA
Died: 13-Aug-1996
Location of death: Tomkins Cove, NY
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Pianist, Composer

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Avant-garde concert pianist

Tudor's career as a concert pianist began with a performance of Pierre Boulez in 1950 and lasted through the 1960s. He became known for performing, and in many cases premiering, works by contemporary avant-garde composers, including Morton Feldman, Earle Brown, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and La Monte Young. He worked closely with John Cage for many years, notably giving the premier performance of 4'33" on 29 August 1952. Toward the end of the 1950s he began to work in tape compositions, and by the end of the 60s his focus had shifted completely away from the piano and toward the budding world of electronic music, Tudor building his own machines and composing for them accordingly. His performed work frequently incorporated components of light, theatrics, and later film. Much was comissioned by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, where Cage was music director, a position Tudor assumed following that composer's death in 1992.

    Teacher: Darmstadt (1956-61)
    Teacher: Pianist-in-Residence, Black Mountain College

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