ABSTRACT
The works conceived for a large complement of wind instruments by Henry Dixon Cowell were, as expressions of the modern era, boldly original and delicately path-breaking. Most importantly, perhaps, they reflect the "central kindness and the gentle smile of the composer." Cowell began composing for wind band at San Quentin State Prison, where he was incarcerated from 1936 until 1940 as the result of a felony charge. The extensive correspondence between Cowell and Grainger, the so-called "prison dialogues," has never been fully explored, and yet it merits recognition as an incontrovertible testimony to the concerns for modern American wind band composition. The circumstances surrounding Cowell's arrest, along with the details of the subsequent legal proceedings and his incarceration, are important in understanding two facets of Cowell's wind band work. Soon after his release from prison in 1940 Cowell discovered that his compositional style was considered by some critics and composers to be old-fashioned.
