Born in Berlin, Lukas Foss studied the piano there with Julius Goldstein, followed, from 1933, by four years in Paris as a pupil of Lazare Lvy, Nol Gallon, and Louis Moyse, for piano, composition and flute respectively. In 1937 he moved to America, studying there at the Curtis Institute, where his composition teachers included Randall Thompson, with conducting tuition from Fritz Reiner. He also took conducting lessons with Koussevitzky, and composition at Yale with Hindemith. He made an early reputation in America as a composer and conductor. His compositional language has developed from the neo-classical to much less conventional experiments, using improvisational elements, and in later years tackling minimalism.
