Biography:The American classical composer was known for his symphonic and chamber works in a neoclassical style. The many prizes for his work include two Pulitzer prizes for his third (1947) and seventh (1960) symphonies.
Piston was also a teacher with considerable influence on American music; he served as a professor at Harvard from 1926 to 1960, where his pupils included Leonard Bernstein, Elliott Carter, and Leroy Anderson.
1930-03-28 1st performance of Walter Piston's Suite for orchestra (Boston)
1938-04-08 Walter Piston's 1st Symphony in E, premieres in Boston, by the Boston Symphony, conducted by the composer
1938-05-30 Walter Piston's dance work, The Incredible Flutist, written for the Boston Pops Orchestra, which premieres it, Arthur Fiedler conducting
1944-03-05 1st performance of Walter Piston's 2nd Symphony by the National Symphony, in Washington, D.C.
1944-10-21 Walter Piston's "Fugue on a Victory Tune" premieres in NYC
1948-01-09 Walter Piston's 3rd Symphony in E, premieres in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra; conducted by Serge Koussevitzky; wins 1947 Pulitzer Prize
1951-03-30 1st performance of Walter Piston's 4th Symphony commissioned to mark the University of Minnesota's centennial, debuts by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Antal Doráti conducting
1955-11-25 Walter Piston's 6th Symphony, composed to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Boston Symphony, premieres, led by Charles Munch
1956-02-24 Walter Piston's 5th Symphony, commissioned by the Juilliard School of Music for their 50th anniversary, premiere performance by the Juilliard Orchestra, conducted by Jean Morel
1961-02-10 Walter Piston's 7th Symphony, commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra premieres under direction of Eugene Ormandy; wins 1961 Pulitzer Prize
1965-03-05 1st performance of Walter Piston's 8th Symphony (his last), by the Boston Symphony, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf
Arthur Sullivan
Béla Bartok
Charles Ives
Ramin Djawadi
Richard Strauss
Samuel Barber