Virgil Thomson

Virgil Thomson

Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassicist, and a composer of "an Olympian blend of humanity and detachment" whose "expressive voice was always carefully muted" until his late opera Lord Byron which, in contrast to all his previous work, exhibited an emotional content that rises to "moments of real passion".

Birth and Death Data: Born Kansas City (largest city in State of Missouri, United States), Died September 30, 1989 (New York City (most populous city in the United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1946

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, conductor

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company	Matrix No.	Size	First Recording Date	Title	Primary Performer	Description	Role
Victor	D6RC-5623	12-in.	8/30/1946	The plow that broke the plains, part 1	Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski	Orchestra	composer
Victor	D6RC-5624	12-in.	8/30/1946	The plow that broke the plains, part 2	Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski	Orchestra	composer
Victor	D6RC-5625	12-in.	8/30/1946	The plow that broke the plains, part 3	Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski	Orchestra	composer
Victor	D6RC-5626	12-in.	8/30/1946	The plow that broke the plains, part 4	Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski	Orchestra	composer

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Thomson, Virgil," accessed December 26, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101912.

Thomson, Virgil. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101912.

"Thomson, Virgil." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 26 December 2025.