A Wisconsin native, she was among the most prolific female composers of symphonies, 17 in all, finding particular prominence in Europe, where she lived.
Gloria Coates, an adventurous composer who wrote symphonies she was one of the few women to do so as well as other works, pieces that were seldom performed in her home country, the United States, but found audiences in Europe, where she lived much of her professional life, died Aug. 19 in Munich. She was 89.