Moross began playing piano at age five and was composing by the time he was eight. A brilliant student, he graduated from public school in 1924, and entered New York University’s School of Music in 1929, remaining there from 1932; during his senior year he also held a Juilliard conducting fellowship. Initially he supported himself by writing for the theater, acting as assistant conductor and pianist for George Gershwin. He was awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships (1947, 1948).
Although he is...