This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of American composer Irving Fine. Concerts and celebrations are taking place in New York, Washington, and coming up this weekend, here in Connecticut.
Irving Fine was part of a group of composers in the 1940s that became known as the Boston Six. Fine, Lukas Foss, Harold Shapero -- even Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland -- were all huge admirers of the music of Stravinsky.
But Fine’s daughter, Connecticut resident Emily Fine, said her father’s music is not so cerebral.
"He is a clean composer," she said. "Every note there is there for a reason, but there’s tremendous humanity, and even some romanticism, and some lyricism and some humor -- a little bit of American soul, but there’s references to the harmonic and contrapuntal approach of Bach and Mozart."
Emily Fine was only ten when her father died. She said this year’s concerts help to draw attention to Irving Fine’s important place in American musical history
"In spite of the fact that he died at 47, and has left a relatively small body of work, his music is really universal, and important, and beautiful, and not really limited in its appeal," Fine said.
A concert this weekend in Woodbridge features Fine’s works for piano, voice, and woodwind quintet.
Free concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at JCC of Greater New Haven, 360 Amity Road, Woodbridge featuring the Elm City Winds with Emily Fine, daughter of the composer. Also, pianist Sara Kohane, piano and mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen. The concert is one of several events this year being coordinated by the Irving Fine Society.
