William Bolcom

Composer and pianist William Bolcom received the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in Music for 12 New Etudes for Piano, a virtuosic and stylistically diverse set of solo pieces completed between 1977 and 1986. Written as a sequel to his earlier 12 Etudes for Piano (1959–66), the New Etudes explore a wide range of pianistic techniques and musical idioms, blending classical tradition with jazz, ragtime, and modernist influences.