Composers who stopped composing long before the ends of their lives

[Peter1953]

These days I'm discovering Glazunov's orchestral music. I thought it was a pity that he couldn't finish his 9th and only composed a single movement. In fact, he left it in 1910 in piano score, and it was the conductor Gavriil Yudin who orchestrated the movement in 1947-48. Glazunov could have finished his 9th, but obviously he didn't want to.
I wasn't aware of the fact that Glazunov stopped composing at two-thirds into his life. Serebrier discussed this in the booklet notes. He thinks that Glazunov, who composed in a late Romantic style, found himself out of place (like Sibelius). In the early 20th century concert music changed drastically. Perhaps Glazunov thought his music had become old fashioned. I believe Serebrier's thoughts makes sense.

There must be other composers who stopped composing long before the ends of their lives. Any other examples? And what could be, or is the reason why? How about Cliffe?

[JimL]

The most famous example is Rossini, although technically he didn't stop composing.  He merely stopped composing for public consumption, since he churned out operas for the masses.  The last 39 years of his life he composed enormous amounts of songs, piano pieces and a couple of major choral works, but they all remained unpublished in his lifetime, IIRC.  Rufinatscha's final work, also IIRC, dates from 1878.  He died in 1893.  That's 15 years he could have kept on composing, but apparently he didn't.

[alberto]

First names coming to mind.
Rufinatscha, according to the booklet of the now well known Chandos cd, apparently composed nothing during the last 13 years of his life.
Sibelius (already quoted in the topic) after the great incidental music for The Tempest composed some minor work (the masonic choruses, for instance?). Apparently he completed an eigth Sympony and destroyed it.
Dukas is said to have destroyed a lot of works (after La Peri?).
Duparc for health reasons did not compose for decades.
Rossini, after giving up to operas, in more than thirty years released two substantial works (the Stabat Mater and the Petite Messe Solennelle) and a lot of short vocal or pianistic works.
Ravel for health reasons could't compose for the last five years.
These are just first thoughts. I leave the topic to somebody else.

[albion]

In British music, Cliffe is perhaps the prime example, but the same category must also include Cipriani Potter.

Apart from providing a new slow movement for his E flat symphony in 1846, Potter composed very little after 1837, devoting the last thirty years of his life to teaching and academic administration. 

[eschiss1]

though it is worth bringing up that Elgar and Sibelius' silences were less silent than is often bruited about- few large works but lots of brief works (and the best of Elgar's partsongs are very good indeed, after all. The set he composed at the time the 2nd symphony was being written is well-known and should be still better-. Though that is a different topic, one I think has been touched on elsewhere...)
Eric

[Jim]

Howard Ferguson comes to mind. A fine craftsman (e.g. Octet, Partita) he stopped composing when he felt he said all he had to say. I think there are barely 20+ compositions.

[Mark Thomas]

Welcome, Jim!

[Lionel Harrsion]

Howard Ferguson comes to mind. A fine craftsman (e.g. Octet, Partita) he stopped composing when he felt he said all he had to say. I think there are barely 20+ compositions.

A very pertinent observation, Jim.  In addition to the Octet and the Partita, I would draw attention to Ferguson's F Minor Piano Sonata which is a masterful creation including a ravishingly beautiful, songful slow movement.  I'd urge any lover of late romantic piano music who's not already familiar with Ferguson's output to try it.

[chill319]

I think it striking that MacDowell effectively stopped composing at age 42, while at the height of his powers. Two years more or less elapsed between his completion of opus 62 and the incident with the cab.

[Hovite]

I wasn't aware of the fact that Glazunov stopped composing at two-thirds into his life.

It's not true: he died in 1936 and his rather splendid saxophone concerto dates from 1934.

[TerraEpon]

He DID stop writing symphonies well before then, though.

Not quite the same, but Gliere had a very odd sort of career. He wrote almost only chamber music, mixing in some songs, and adding in piano pieces, outside of his first symphony, Op. 8. His first orchestral work after that was the second symphony, Op. 25, after that The Sirens, Op. 33, and then the third symphony Op. 42 after THAT The Zaporozhy Cossacks Op. 64. But at that point on he wrote almost no chamber music, only a one opus of piano music. His operas and ballets all came after this, and his third and last symphony was in 1911 when he died in 1956.

[eschiss1]

And Glazunov's string quartet no.7 is from 1930.  He was writing quite a few, not just compositions, but large-scale compositions, in the years before his death. They just weren't (completed) symphonies. (sigh. sorry!!!!!!!!!!)
Re Gliere: after the 3rd symphony 2 string quartets,  12 pieces op.51, 10 duets op.53, 10 duets op.65, so 2 major works and 3 groups of smaller works at least. (and quite a few concertos and occasional orchestral works post-3rd symphony...)
E.

[jimmattt]

Minna Keal started out a promising career and had to stop composing in the 1920's or so due to family obligations, but the happy side of this story is she started composing again in 1975 I think after a 46 year silence, started with Opus 1 all over again. OK, so doesn't fit entirely, but interesting to me and her music is well worth the wait. 

[Peter1953]

Thank you all for your interesting posts.

I wonder whether Thalberg composed anything after his retirement in 1864 in Posilippo, to devote himself to viticulture. He passed away on 27 April 1871. Maybe Thal can tell us?

Luckily some of the composers who stopped composing years before their deaths left us quite some music, like Glazunov. However, in the case of Cliffe we have to regret that he composed only a few works, of which IMO his VC and 1st Symphony (I don't know his 2nd) are truly masterpieces.

[ahinton]

though it is worth bringing up that Elgar and Sibelius' silences were less silent than is often bruited about- few large works but lots of brief works (and the best of Elgar's partsongs are very good indeed, after all. The set he composed at the time the 2nd symphony was being written is well-known and should be still better-. Though that is a different topic, one I think has been touched on elsewhere...)
Eric

Sibelius's silence is pretty much as usually described; Elgar's on the other hand, lasted for just over a decade in which he wrote very little but then he started up again (P&C Marches 5 & 6) and then embarked upon a Third Symphony which he'd almost certainly have completed had he lived for another year or so and not been stricken with a fatal illness.

Sorabji also stopped composing, in 1968 and he vowed never to write any more. His sinelce was as all-encompassing as it turned out to be short-lived, since he began again in 1973 and wrote a consdierable quantity of music over the next 9 years or so. He then wrote almost nothing during his 90s, but this was because his sight and ability to hold and control a pen did not really enable him to do so. In this he was rather like le Flem, who wrote only part of a cycle of orchestral Préludes following his Fourth Symphony and nothing afterwards, because of his blindness.

Havergal Brian stopped (like Sorabji and le Flem) in his 90s but apparently because he reckoned to have run out of ideas (something I fear that he actually did quite a lot sooner than he stopped composing, but that's only my view - and I nevertheless still maintain that his first few symphonies are among the greatest ever composed by an Englishman).