1929–2022. American composer. in the American Avant-Garde tradition.

George Crumb is a highly distinctive American avant-garde composer known for graphic scores, unconventional extended techniques, and deeply evocative, often dark and mysterious soundscapes. 'contemplative' is warranted here because his music is genuinely meditative and exploratory rather than bombastic.

Signature works: Black Angels for Electric String Quartet, Ancient Voices of Children, Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale), Makrokosmos, A Haunted Landscape.