Quizzes
Read Next
Ruth Crawford Seeger
American composer
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Also known as: Ruth Porter Crawford
Quick Facts
- Orig.:
- Ruth Porter Crawford
- Born:
- July 3, 1901, East Liverpool, Ohio, U.S.
- Died:
- Nov. 18, 1953, Chevy Chase, Md.
- Also Known As:
- Ruth Porter Crawford
- Movement / Style:
- serialism
Ruth Crawford Seeger (born July 3, 1901, East Liverpool, Ohio, U.S.—died Nov. 18, 1953, Chevy Chase, Md.) was a U.S. composer. She studied piano as a child and was self-taught as a composer until she entered the American Conservatory. After early works influenced by Alexander Scriabin, she wrote several astonishing serial pieces, including her String Quartet (1931). She married the musicologist Charles Seeger (1886–1979) in 1931, becoming folk singer Pete Seeger’s stepmother. She composed little after that but became an influential curator of American folk music.