George Perle: The Man and the Musician

Perle was a signal figure in 20th-century music. With his long series of masterful compositions, he made a lasting contribution to the canon. As a musical thinker, Perle probed the internal workings of the musical giants of his century, and then developed his own manner of treating the twelve precious notes of our chromatic inheritance into his system of Twelve-tone Tonality. He published pathfinding volumes on this subject and others, including an autobiographical unfolding of his musical journey as a composer and theorist, The Listening Composer. Perle writings remain the standard for research into the life, music, and methodology of Alban Berg. Perle made astonishing discoveries concerning Berg, the man and the music, that illuminated the workings of this remarkable composer 's mind and output, and he played a significant role in the completion of Berg's second opera, Lulu. George Perle radiated broad culture, deeply, passionately, sometimes vehemently held ideas and ideals, and impeccable intellectual and personal integrity. He was a larger-than-life musical presence: an original genius, a transforming figure, an indefatigable worker, a keeper of the flame, and a devoted and beloved friend.