Poem

Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920) was an American composer, whose life was tragically cut short by influenza at the age of 35. His Poem For Flute And Orchestra (1919) was one of the last works completed before he became ill, and is by far the most popular of his works today. It marks a new direction in his music, with a tendency to use a more abstract and complex style, in a slight break from the French Impressionism that had come to predominantly influence his work. He remains the prominent American composer from the turn of the last century.