Lucia Dlugoszewski

**Lucia Dlugoszewski** (1931–2000) was a trailblazing American composer and inventor whose work blurred the lines between music, dance, and experimental art. Known for her fearless creativity, she crafted custom instruments like the "timbre piano" (a modified grand piano filled with objects like paperclips and rubber bands) and explored radical textures in her compositions. Much of her career revolved around collaboration with choreographer Erick Hawkins—her partner and later husband—as music director for the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, where her scores became integral to the movement itself.

Dlugoszewski’s pieces, like *Fire Fragile Flight* and *Abyss and Caress*, shimmer with percussive unpredictability, often using everyday objects to create otherworldly sounds. A Guggenheim Fellow and one of the first women to gain prominence in avant-garde composition, she redefined how music could interact with physical space and emotion. Though her name isn’t as widely recognized today, her legacy lingers in the worlds of contemporary classical music and dance.

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