Born in Arkansas, and a pupil of Nicolas Slonimsky, Walter Piston and Roger Sessions, Conlon Nancarrow fought with the Republicans in Spain, and finding a cool reception on his return to America, moved to Mexico, where he became a citizen. Early interest in jazz and Bach eventually led to experimental work, not all of which was playable, a problem partly resolved by the construction of a player piano. Interest in the live performance of his work in the United States returned only in the last decade or so of his life.
