Born in 1938 into a musical family, John Harbison studied at Harvard, and with Roger Sessions at Princeton. He is one of America�s most accomplished musicians, with four symphonies, three operas and a Pulitzer Prize-winning cantata to his credit. Harbison�s music is distinguished by its exceptional range, from the blues-influenced settings of Elizabeth Bishop�s poetry in North and South, to the use of eastern modes in his Book of Hours and Seasons. John Harbison�s Four Songs of Solitude are available on Naxos 8.559173.