William Flanagan

Who was William Flanagan?

William Flanagan was an American composer of the mid-twentieth century. Flanagan was a great admirer of Maurice Ravel and Aaron Copland, who became something of a mentor to Flanagan. His best work was in the realm of vocal music. Although little known today, as well as unsuccessful and undervalued in his time, a number of his brief vocal compositions, including Horror Movie and The Upside-Down Man, have been recorded. He is best known today as having been the long-time lover of playwright Edward Albee, with whom he wrote an opera after Bartleby, the Scrivener. He composed the music for Albee's adaptation of Carson McCullers' novel, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, as well as his adaptation of James Purdy's Malcolm. Flanagan committed suicide in 1969, after which Copland eulogized him in a memorial concert.