George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello, metallic vibrato for the piano, and using a mallet to play the strings of a contrabass, among numerous others. He is not an electronic music composer; however, many works call for amplification of instruments, such as Black Angels or Ancient Voices of Children. Crumb's music contains an intense humanism, which is reflected in his personal definition of music: "a system of proportions in the service of spiritual impulse." 

October 24th, 1929 in Charleston  /  Died:   Feb 6th, 2022