Arts Blog

American composer Samuel Barber met his future partner, Italian composer, librettist, and director Gian Carlo Menotti, while the two were students at the Curtis Institute of Music. The two shared a similar proclivity for writing musical works from a young age and were only in their teens when they first connected in Philadelphia. Both artists went on to achieve widespread success, Barber within the stricter confines of classical music and Menotti cross-pollinating onto Broadway.

As both romantic and professional partners, Barber and Menotti would go on to collaborate as composer and librettist on several works, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Vanessa. While the couple separated in the early 1970s, they remained close friends. Menotti was with Barber when the latter succumbed to cancer in 1981.

Like Barber and Menotti, American composer John Cage and (PNW native) dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham met in an academic setting. The two artists met at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where Cage was an accompanist for the dance department. Cunningham originally attended the institution as an acting major but soon shifted his focus to dance. Their initial acquaintance would blossom into a lifelong partnership, both professional and personal.

Cage wrote countless works for Cunningham’s choreography. One distinctive result of these creative collaborations was the separation of music and dance, meaning that the music and choreography of a new work were independent of one another but performed simultaneously. Both together and separately, Cage and Cunningham were among the most innovative and influential artists of their time and were widely circulated within the Avant-Garde. The couple remained together until Cage died in 1992.

English composer Benjamin Britten and English tenor Peter Pears met through a mutual friend, and what started as a platonic musical partnership soon grew into a romantic one as well. Pears became a muse for Britten, inspiring several of the latter’s best-known compositions, such as Peter Grimes. In addition to performing Britten’s music, Pears also co-wrote the libretto for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Together, they played a significant role in the revitalization of English opera in the 20^th century.

Britten and Pears frequently toured together as a singer-accompanist duo. Their musical legacy became intertwined to a degree seldom seen in other musical couples. Though it was an open secret among many who knew the couple, Britten never spoke publicly about his relationship with Pears because of the era’s discrimination. They remained together for nearly 40 years, until Britten’s death in 1976.

American composer and flutist Jennifer Higdon met her wife, fellow flutist Cheryl Lawson, while they were in high school in eastern Tennessee. The two quickly became close friends. Once in college, they felt comfortable enough to come out publicly and embraced their destiny as romantic partners. Fun fact: conductor Marin Alsop officiated the couple’s marriage in 2014.

Higdon credits her relationship with Lawson, specifically her unwavering love and support, for her success as a composer. The couple has even established their own publishing company, making the creation of new music a joint effort. While Higdon focuses on the creative aspects, Lawson thrives on the company’s logistics and management. Higdon and Lawson’s love story is an inspirational one for the power of creative partnership.

American conductor Marin Alsop and American horn player Kristin Jurkscheit have been life partners for over 30 years. The musical couple met at the 1988 Tanglewood Music Festival, where Alsop was guest conducting, and Jurkscheit was performing. Over the subsequent years, Jurkscheit played in several orchestras led by Alsop. They went on to welcome a son into their family and decided to marry officially in 2020.

Alsop and Jurkscheit have become something of a power couple and continue working together to pave the way for future generations. Alsop became the first woman to lead a major orchestra in the United States, South America, Austria, and Great Britain. And while no longer working as a professional horn player, Jurkscheit currently serves as executive director of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, which Alsop founded to foster emerging women conductors.