George Theophilus Walker (June 27, 1922 – August 23, 2018) was an American composer, pianist, and organist, and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, which he received for his work Lilacs in 1996.
Originally titled Lament, the Lyric for Strings was first composed as the second movement of Walker’s String Quartet No. 1 in 1946 while he was a graduate student at the Curtis Institute of Music. The piece was given its world premiere later that year by the student orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music conducted by Seymour Lipkin.
In 1990, Walker expanded the work for string orchestra, retitling it Lyric for Strings; this new arrangement subsequently became Walker’s most performed composition. The work is dedicated to Walker’s grandmother, Melvina King, a formerly enslaved person, who died shortly before its completion. —Wikipedia
Lyric for Strings
Composed in 1946
By George Walker
