Remembering The 'Fast And Furious' Music Of Christopher Rouse

Composer Christopher Rouse, who once called himself a writer of "fast and furious" music and who taught courses in the history of rock, died Saturday of complications of renal cancer at age 70.

Rouse once thought of himself as the "doom and gloom meister," after composing a string of pieces dedicated to people who died — but not all of his music was loud, depressing, or both. In the end, he has left a body of uncompromisingly expressive works, primarily for orchestra — one of which earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1993 — and the respect of his many students, colleagues and fans.

"I don't think it matters whether a piece is complex or simple, whether it's maximalist or minimalist or tonal or atonal or whatever," he told his publisher in a . "That's not nearly as significant as whether a piece communicates something meaningful to a listener. What really matters to me