Robert Erickson

Robert Erickson (March 7, 1917 in Marquette, Michigan–April 24, 1997 in San Diego, California) was an American composer. He studied with Ernst Krenek from 1936-1947: "I had already studied—and abandoned—the twelve tone system before most other Americans had taken it up." He influenced notable students Morton Subotnick, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, and Paul Dresher. He is also the author of The Structure of Music: A Listener's Guide, which he claimed helped him overcome a "contrapuntal obsession",and Sound Structures in Music (1975).