NEW YORK (AP) – Lukas Foss, a composer whose musical curiosity led him to create pieces that reflected a variety of styles, has died in New York. He was 86.

The composer died after a heart attack Sunday at his Manhattan home, his wife Cornelia Foss said. He had also been suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Foss was born in Germany and trained there and in Paris and Philadelphia. He was known for composing in different musical styles, often combining past and present influences and techniques.

An accomplished pianist, he performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was also an experienced conductor, working with such orchestras as the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony and the Milwaukee Symphony.

Cornelia Foss said her husband had been working until about a year and a half ago, when his Parkinson’s made it too difficult. “It was terribly hard but he had such an extraordinary spirit he took it all with such grace,” she said.