Easley Rutland Blackwood Jr. (April 21, 1933 – January 22, 2023) was an American professor of music, concert pianist, composer (sometimes using unusual tunings), and the author of books on music theory, including his research into the properties of microtonal tunings and traditional harmony.
For forty years, from 1958 to 1997, Blackwood taught at the University of Chicago, most of the time with the title of Professor.
In 1980–81 Blackwood shifted rather abruptly to a new style, releasing Twelve Microtonal Etudes for Electronic Music Media.
[2] His compositional style moved toward a late-19th-century tonality; he has likened its harmonic syntax to Verdi, Ravel, and Franck.
As a performer at the piano, Blackwood played diverse compositions and promoted the music of Charles Ives, Pierre Boulez, and the Second Viennese School.