Allen Shawn

Allen Shawn (born 1948) is an American composer, pianist, educator, and author who lives in Vermont.

His music

Among Shawn's available recordings include several compact discs of chamber music, a collection of piano music, and his "Piano Concerto" performed by Ursula Oppens with the Albany Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Alan Miller.

Shawn composed "And in the air these sounds . . ." for baritone and orchestra to celebrate [John Steinbeck's 100th birthday. The piece was premiered by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in spring 2003.

As author

Shawn is the author of a book about twentieth-century Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg titled "Arnold Schoenberg's Journey."

He is also the author of "Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life", which examines his experiences with anxiety and panic disorder, as well as his relationship with his autistic twin sister Mary.

Personal history

Shawn is the son of "The New Yorker" editor William Shawn and the brother of actor and playwright Wallace Shawn.

He teaches at Bennington College and was formerly married to novelist Jamaica Kincaid.

References

* Shawn, Allen. "Arnold Schoenberg's Journey" (New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2002).
* Shawn, Allen. "Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life" (New York: Viking, 2007).

External links

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7494941 Terry Gross "Fresh Air" interview with Allen Shawn] , NPR.org, 20 February 2007.
* [http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&first=Allen&last=Shawn&middle= Allen Shawn] at the Internet Off Broadway Database
* [http://members.aol.com/chaspen/shawn.html Allen Shawn Biography] at Chaspen Foundation for the Arts
* [http://www.bennington.edu/acad_fac_shawna.asp Resume] at Bennington College