Avery Claflin

Who was Avery Claflin?

Avery Claflin was an American composer, although he studied law and business, later pursuing a career in banking. He served as president for the French American Banking Corp.

He took music courses at Harvard University. Among Claflin's teachers was the French composer Erik Satie. Claflin was a business associate of Charles Ives. Although he worked in business, Claflin found time to compose music and be active in various musical organizations. He retired in 1954, and he composed many of his works after this date.

Among his works is a madrigal, Lament for April 15, which uses as its text instructions for an Internal Revenue Service tax form. This choral work received its premiere in 1955 at Tanglewood, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Every year on April 15, Karl Haas, musician, conductor, and radio host, played a recording of this composition on his public radio program, Adventures in Good Music.