THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE (PITTSFIELD, MASS.) SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER 1996, P. B2:
John S. McLennan, 80, classical composer
TYRINGHAM--John Stewart McLennan, composer of contemporary classical music and lifelong resident of Tyringham, died Thursday evening at his home, Ashintully Farm.
Members of his family said the cause of death was cancer, which was diagnosed in mid-August.
Mr. McLennan's music was noted by critics and musicians for its harmonic richness, fresh approach to classical form, and intense lyricism. Critic Steve Elman wrote: "His music has the beauties of eloquent American speech -- simplicity, precision, and strength." Wide-ranging, his work included chamber and orchestral music, pieces for piano and organ, songs, and choral work. It was performed in America and abroad. In 1985 he received a music award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
He was born at Ashintully on Nov. 26, 1915, the son of Canadian Sen. John Stewart McLennan and Grace Henop Tytus McLennan. Mrs. McLennan, with her first husband, Egyptologist Robb de Peyster Tytus, who excavated the tomb of King Tutankhamen, had built Ashintully, a 35-4oom Palladian house completed in 1912.
Mr. McLellan's (sic) parents separated early in his childhood and he traveled extensively with his mother, a lecturer and journalist for The New York Herald Tribune. By his own account, "Schooling was often on a catch-as-catch can basis," and as a result, he attended 27 schools in 11 years. He left St. George's School in Newport, R.I., to pursue music, studying piano with Alexander Siloti and Erich Itor Kahn. He also attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.
While in his early 20s, Mr. McLennan returned to Ashintully Farm, occupying the house until shortly before it burned in the mid-1950s, when he moved into the farmhouse on the property.
The gardens at Ashintully, designed by Mr. McLennan, bring to the natural beauty of the Berkshire Hills the musician's passion for form. They are widely admired. Speaking of his decisions to live in Tyringham, he said, "By temperament, it is not that I'm not gregarious, but I've never had any inclination to join any 'groups' or 'camps.' I've lived independently, apart from city musical life and the social life that springs up around it."
Mr. McLennan was reluctant to "explain" his own music. "I've always had the feeling that too much is written about music; it seems to me that composers who write extensive notes about their own pieces don't have sufficient confidence in the music itself."
Mr. McLennan leaves his wife of 30 years, the former Katharine White Bishop; a sister, Mrs. Victoria Steward of Boston; two daughters from a previous marriage, Holly McLennan Ketron of Princeton, N.J., and Angelica McLennan Syp of Burlington, Vt.; four stepdaughters, Susan Bishop of New York City, Judith Bishop of San Francisco, Calif., Katharine Bishop of Boston, and Jennifer Bishop of Baltimore, md.; four grandchildren, and six step-grandchildren. All were present at his 80th birthday celebration in Tyringham last year.
John S. McLennan, 80, classical composer
TYRINGHAM--John Stewart McLennan, composer of contemporary classical music and lifelong resident of Tyringham, died Thursday evening at his home, Ashintully Farm.
Members of his family said the cause of death was cancer, which was diagnosed in mid-August.
Mr. McLennan's music was noted by critics and musicians for its harmonic richness, fresh approach to classical form, and intense lyricism. Critic Steve Elman wrote: "His music has the beauties of eloquent American speech -- simplicity, precision, and strength." Wide-ranging, his work included chamber and orchestral music, pieces for piano and organ, songs, and choral work. It was performed in America and abroad. In 1985 he received a music award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
He was born at Ashintully on Nov. 26, 1915, the son of Canadian Sen. John Stewart McLennan and Grace Henop Tytus McLennan. Mrs. McLennan, with her first husband, Egyptologist Robb de Peyster Tytus, who excavated the tomb of King Tutankhamen, had built Ashintully, a 35-4oom Palladian house completed in 1912.
Mr. McLellan's (sic) parents separated early in his childhood and he traveled extensively with his mother, a lecturer and journalist for The New York Herald Tribune. By his own account, "Schooling was often on a catch-as-catch can basis," and as a result, he attended 27 schools in 11 years. He left St. George's School in Newport, R.I., to pursue music, studying piano with Alexander Siloti and Erich Itor Kahn. He also attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.
While in his early 20s, Mr. McLennan returned to Ashintully Farm, occupying the house until shortly before it burned in the mid-1950s, when he moved into the farmhouse on the property.
The gardens at Ashintully, designed by Mr. McLennan, bring to the natural beauty of the Berkshire Hills the musician's passion for form. They are widely admired. Speaking of his decisions to live in Tyringham, he said, "By temperament, it is not that I'm not gregarious, but I've never had any inclination to join any 'groups' or 'camps.' I've lived independently, apart from city musical life and the social life that springs up around it."
Mr. McLennan was reluctant to "explain" his own music. "I've always had the feeling that too much is written about music; it seems to me that composers who write extensive notes about their own pieces don't have sufficient confidence in the music itself."
Mr. McLennan leaves his wife of 30 years, the former Katharine White Bishop; a sister, Mrs. Victoria Steward of Boston; two daughters from a previous marriage, Holly McLennan Ketron of Princeton, N.J., and Angelica McLennan Syp of Burlington, Vt.; four stepdaughters, Susan Bishop of New York City, Judith Bishop of San Francisco, Calif., Katharine Bishop of Boston, and Jennifer Bishop of Baltimore, md.; four grandchildren, and six step-grandchildren. All were present at his 80th birthday celebration in Tyringham last year.
THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE (PITTSFIELD, MASS.) SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER 1996, P. B2:
John S. McLennan, 80, classical composer
TYRINGHAM--John Stewart McLennan, composer of contemporary classical music and lifelong resident of Tyringham, died Thursday evening at his home, Ashintully Farm.
Members of his family said the cause of death was cancer, which was diagnosed in mid-August.
Mr. McLennan's music was noted by critics and musicians for its harmonic richness, fresh approach to classical form, and intense lyricism. Critic Steve Elman wrote: "His music has the beauties of eloquent American speech -- simplicity, precision, and strength." Wide-ranging, his work included chamber and orchestral music, pieces for piano and organ, songs, and choral work. It was performed in America and abroad. In 1985 he received a music award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
He was born at Ashintully on Nov. 26, 1915, the son of Canadian Sen. John Stewart McLennan and Grace Henop Tytus McLennan. Mrs. McLennan, with her first husband, Egyptologist Robb de Peyster Tytus, who excavated the tomb of King Tutankhamen, had built Ashintully, a 35-4oom Palladian house completed in 1912.
Mr. McLellan's (sic) parents separated early in his childhood and he traveled extensively with his mother, a lecturer and journalist for The New York Herald Tribune. By his own account, "Schooling was often on a catch-as-catch can basis," and as a result, he attended 27 schools in 11 years. He left St. George's School in Newport, R.I., to pursue music, studying piano with Alexander Siloti and Erich Itor Kahn. He also attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.
While in his early 20s, Mr. McLennan returned to Ashintully Farm, occupying the house until shortly before it burned in the mid-1950s, when he moved into the farmhouse on the property.
The gardens at Ashintully, designed by Mr. McLennan, bring to the natural beauty of the Berkshire Hills the musician's passion for form. They are widely admired. Speaking of his decisions to live in Tyringham, he said, "By temperament, it is not that I'm not gregarious, but I've never had any inclination to join any 'groups' or 'camps.' I've lived independently, apart from city musical life and the social life that springs up around it."
Mr. McLennan was reluctant to "explain" his own music. "I've always had the feeling that too much is written about music; it seems to me that composers who write extensive notes about their own pieces don't have sufficient confidence in the music itself."
Mr. McLennan leaves his wife of 30 years, the former Katharine White Bishop; a sister, Mrs. Victoria Steward of Boston; two daughters from a previous marriage, Holly McLennan Ketron of Princeton, N.J., and Angelica McLennan Syp of Burlington, Vt.; four stepdaughters, Susan Bishop of New York City, Judith Bishop of San Francisco, Calif., Katharine Bishop of Boston, and Jennifer Bishop of Baltimore, md.; four grandchildren, and six step-grandchildren. All were present at his 80th birthday celebration in Tyringham last year.
John S. McLennan, 80, classical composer
TYRINGHAM--John Stewart McLennan, composer of contemporary classical music and lifelong resident of Tyringham, died Thursday evening at his home, Ashintully Farm.
Members of his family said the cause of death was cancer, which was diagnosed in mid-August.
Mr. McLennan's music was noted by critics and musicians for its harmonic richness, fresh approach to classical form, and intense lyricism. Critic Steve Elman wrote: "His music has the beauties of eloquent American speech -- simplicity, precision, and strength." Wide-ranging, his work included chamber and orchestral music, pieces for piano and organ, songs, and choral work. It was performed in America and abroad. In 1985 he received a music award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
He was born at Ashintully on Nov. 26, 1915, the son of Canadian Sen. John Stewart McLennan and Grace Henop Tytus McLennan. Mrs. McLennan, with her first husband, Egyptologist Robb de Peyster Tytus, who excavated the tomb of King Tutankhamen, had built Ashintully, a 35-4oom Palladian house completed in 1912.
Mr. McLellan's (sic) parents separated early in his childhood and he traveled extensively with his mother, a lecturer and journalist for The New York Herald Tribune. By his own account, "Schooling was often on a catch-as-catch can basis," and as a result, he attended 27 schools in 11 years. He left St. George's School in Newport, R.I., to pursue music, studying piano with Alexander Siloti and Erich Itor Kahn. He also attended the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.
While in his early 20s, Mr. McLennan returned to Ashintully Farm, occupying the house until shortly before it burned in the mid-1950s, when he moved into the farmhouse on the property.
The gardens at Ashintully, designed by Mr. McLennan, bring to the natural beauty of the Berkshire Hills the musician's passion for form. They are widely admired. Speaking of his decisions to live in Tyringham, he said, "By temperament, it is not that I'm not gregarious, but I've never had any inclination to join any 'groups' or 'camps.' I've lived independently, apart from city musical life and the social life that springs up around it."
Mr. McLennan was reluctant to "explain" his own music. "I've always had the feeling that too much is written about music; it seems to me that composers who write extensive notes about their own pieces don't have sufficient confidence in the music itself."
Mr. McLennan leaves his wife of 30 years, the former Katharine White Bishop; a sister, Mrs. Victoria Steward of Boston; two daughters from a previous marriage, Holly McLennan Ketron of Princeton, N.J., and Angelica McLennan Syp of Burlington, Vt.; four stepdaughters, Susan Bishop of New York City, Judith Bishop of San Francisco, Calif., Katharine Bishop of Boston, and Jennifer Bishop of Baltimore, md.; four grandchildren, and six step-grandchildren. All were present at his 80th birthday celebration in Tyringham last year.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
