Robert Parris (1924-1999)
 An American composer who worked primarily in the Washington DC area, Parris was a Julliard student who later studied with Luening and Copland, though he counted their influence on his music as "minimal." Known as a musical colorist, Parris specializes in small ensembles, and has been known to push instruments to the limits of virtuouso playing -- his solo violin sonata is considered quite difficult, and the composer-directors of CRI believed his trombone concerto to be unplayable until they heard a recording of it. A longtime professor at George Washington University; Parris has had his works performed by Mstislav Rostropovich and the NSO.
In the early seventies, he turned to Borges for inspiration and produced the marvelous Book of Imaginary Beings.
Borges-Related Works
The Book of Imaginary Beings -- (1972). For flute, violin, cello, piano, celesta, and percussion; this work takes its title from Borges book of the same name.
More Information
There is a small Robert Parris entry on the CRI Web site.
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