Jacob Druckman

Who was Jacob Druckman?

Jacob Raphael Druckman was an American composer born in Philadelphia. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood and later continued his studies at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. He worked extensively with electronic music, in addition to a number of works for orchestra or for small ensembles. In 1972 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his first large orchestral work Windows. He was composer-in-residence of the New York Philharmonic from 1982-1985. Druckman taught at Juilliard, The Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood, Brooklyn College, Bard College, and Yale University, among other appointments. He is Connecticut's State Composer Laureate.

Druckman died of lung cancer at age 67. His music is published by Boosey & Hawkes. He is the father of percussionist Daniel Druckman.

Notable musicians who have recorded his works include David Zinman, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Slatkin, Dawn Upshaw, Jan DeGaetani, and the American Brass Quintet.