Biography
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Born
24 December 1950 (age 74)
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Born In
Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, United States
Libby Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a prolific classical music composer who resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although she was born in Wilmington, Delaware, she grew up in Minnesota and received her education at the University of Minnesota. Among her most famous works is the opera Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus. In 1973, she became one of the founding members of the Minnesota Composers Forum, later renamed the American Composers Forum.
Larsen has created a catalogue of over 300 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral and choral scores. Her music has been praised for its dynamic, deeply inspired, and vigorous contemporary American spirit. Constantly sought after for commissions and premieres by major artists, ensembles and orchestras around the world, Libby Larsen has established a permanent place for her works in the concert repertory.
Larsen has been hailed as “the only English-speaking composer since Benjamin Britten who matches great verse with fine music so intelligently and expressively” (USA Today); as “a composer who has made the art of symphonic writing very much her own.” (Gramophone); as “a mistress of orchestration” (Times Union); and for “assembling one of the most impressive bodies of music of our time” (Hartford Courant). Her music has been praised for its “clear textures, easily absorbed rhythms and appealing melodic contours that make singing seem the most natural expression imaginable.” (Philadelphia Inquirer) “Libby Larsen has come up with a way to make contemporary opera both musically current and accessible to the average audience.” (The Wall Street Journal). “Her ability to write memorable new music completely within the confines of traditional harmonic language is most impressive.” (Fanfare)
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