Biography
Ivan Wyschnegradsk (1893-1979, Russian: Иванъ Александровичъ Вышнеградскій) was a Russian composer primarily known for his microtonal compositions, including the quarter tone scale, though he used scales of up to 71 divisions.
Greatly influenced by Alexander Scriabin as a young man, Vïshnegradsky had a mystical vision which made him feel compelled to write music in intervals of less than a half-step.
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In 1920, he emigrated to Paris. In 1922, he traveled to Berlin to meet with other quarter-tone composers such as Alois Hába, Willy Moellendorf, and Jörg Mager. Plans to collaborate on a quarter-tone piano with Hába were interrupted by visa problems, and he was forced to return to Paris.
During World War II, he entered a sanatorium, and was encouraged to continue composing by Olivier Messiaen upon his release in 1950.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.