Classical Jewish Piano Composers

 

Now is the time for Passover, remembering when God redeemed the Jewish people who were enslaved by the Egyptians. For hundreds of years, Jewish people have been known for their rich culture and their creative efforts, including in composing for the piano. Here is a sampling of classical European piano composers.

One of the earlier known Jewish composers is Giacomo Meyerbeer (né Jakob Liebmann Mayer Beer), who was born in 1971 near Berlin and died in 1864. Although known mainly for his grand opera style, he also wrote pieces for the piano, mainly early in his career.

Probably the most famous of the group is Felix Mendelssohn, who was born in 1809 in Hamburg and died at the age of 38. Both a composer and performer, Mendelssohn is known, in terms of his early Romantic piano composition, for his collection Songs Without Words.

Parisian composer Charles-Valentin Alken was born in 1813 and died in 1888. He was friends with Chopin and Liszt, and like them, he was as virtuoso pianist as well as a keyboard composer. He is known as the first composer to incorporate Jewish melodies in art music.

British composer Frederick Hymen Cowen was born in 1852 in Jamaica, moved to England at age four, and died in 1935. His father was Her Majesty’s Opera treasurer. Cowen wrote his first piano piece at age six, and gave his first public piano recital at age thirteen. He won a Mendelssohn scholarship to study at the Leipzig Conservatorium. He wrote over 300 songs as well as piano works for piano solos, chamber music, choral music, cantatas and oratorios.

Another renown composer is Gustav Mahler, an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, born in 1860 and died in 1911. Tol get is job as the director of the Vienna Court Opera, he had to convert to Catholicism; yet he still experienced significant anti-Semitism. Most of his works were written for large orchestras, but he did compose for the piano early in his career.

Arnold Schoenberg is also associated with Vienna, where he was born in 1874. One of the early modernists, he is known for his transformation of harmony and twelve-tone technique. Some of his best piano works were written during his final period and showcase both twelve-tone and tonal approaches.

Ernest Bloch, born in 1880 in Geneva and died in 1959 in Portland (Oregon), is celebrated as one of Switzerland’s greatest composers. Several of his compositions draw upon his Jewish heritage. He was also a noted music professor.

Another 19^th century German composer is Otto Klemperer, born in 1885 and died in 1973. At age five he started piano lessons with his mother. He was a student of Mahler, and started conducting for the opera when he was 22 years old. As a composer, Klemperer wrote almost a hundred songs for the piano and for orchestras.

Ukrainian composer Leo Ornstein was born in 1985 and died in 2002. His father was a Jewish cantor. Leo was a protégé piano performer, but stopped performing at age 40 to focus on his experimental composing, mainly for the piano.

Excellent Jewish piano composers continue to exist in modern society, many of whom are Americans, such as George and Ira Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Irvin Berlin, Jerry Goldstein, and Philip Glass.

These examples reveal that the world has greatly benefitted from Jewish piano composers.

Hand It to Handel

 

George Frideric Handel was born on February, 23, 1685, in Halle, Germany. One of the most prolific composers, several later composers have created variations of Handel’s works:

• ·       Beethoven’s 12 Variations in G major is based on Handels’ Judas Maccabaeus.
• ·       Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Opus 24 is based on Handels’ second harpsichord suite.
• ·       Philippe Gaubert’s Petite Marche for flute and piano is based on Handel’s Trio Sonata Opus 5, No. 2 fourth movement.
• ·       Luis Gianneo composed Variations on a Theme by Handel for piano.
• ·       Arnold Schoenberg’s Concerto for String Quarter and Orchestra in B-flat major is based on Handel’s Concerto Grosso Opus 6/7.
• ·       Percy Grainger composed Variations on Handel’s ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’. Later, he reworded the first part of that piece to create Handel in the Strand, including a piano version.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Handel has been greatly flattered.

Fall for these September Composers

 It is the start of the school year in many countries, and it is the month that several famous piano composers were born. Here are six examples, each with unique experiences.

Anton Bruckner was born on September 4, 1824, in Ansfelden, Austria. Most of his piano compositions were written for teaching purposes. Besides composing, Bruckner was a well-known organist and taught organ performance.

Antonin Dvorak was born on September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic. Known for his Romantic era nationalism in his music, he later became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in the U.S.

Arnold Schoenberg was born on September 13, 1874, in Vienna. He is known for transforming how musical harmony is treated. Not only did he compose music, but also he taught and wrote, and was a music theorist. Although a teacher, he himself was largely self-taught in terms of learning about music and composition.

Gustav Holst was born on September 21, 1874, in Cheltenham, UK. Like Dvorak, Holst was inspired by—and promoted—English folk songs. He started composing at age 12, but his father wanted him to become a professional pianist; with his poor eyesight and asthma, Holst found piano playing difficult so he stayed with composing.

Dmitri Shostakovich was born on September 25, 1906 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His mother started giving him piano lessons when he was nine years old. Four years later he composed a funeral march in memory of political murders. He started his professional career as a concert pianist and composer, but was more successful in the latter arena.

George Gershwin was born on September 26, 1898, in New York City. He began as a song plugger and recorded piano rolls, where he discovered jazz. However, he was also influenced by neo-classical composers, including the September composers Shostakovich, and Schoenberg.

Try to Remember the Piano Composers of September

 September is known as the typical month to start the school year. It’s also a popular month for piano composers to be born. Here is a sampling.

September 1, 1854: Engelbert Humperdinck. Known for his opera Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck first composed it as a set of songs, with piano accompaniment, for his nieces’ puppet show.

September 1, 1661: Georg Bohm. This German organist and composer wrote for the keyboard, and is known for his improvisational style of playing. Bohn and Bach were close friends.

September 4, 1824: Antonin Bruckner. Austrian composer Anton Bruckner starting playing the organ as a child, and gave organ lessons as an adult. He didn’t start composing seriously until almost in his 40s, and was not widely recognized until his 60s. Most of his piano works were written for teaching purposes.

September 8, 1841: Antonin Dvorak. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak also drew on his native Slavic folk dance forms in his piano duet piece Slavonic Dances. Moravian and other Eastern European traditional music forms also inspired him.

September 13, 1819: Clara Schumann. Besides being an accomplished composer, Clara Schumann was the professional pianist in the family. She was also a great business partner and confidante for Schuman, and edited his work after he died.  

September 13, 1874: Arnold Schoenberg. Born to a Jewish family in Austria, Schoenberg largely taught himself how to play the piano, even though his mother was a piano teacher. Later on he too became a music teacher even though he is more known for developing the twelve-tone method of composition.

September 16, 1887: Nadia Boulanger. While she did not think she was an accomplished composer, Boulanger was a gifted composer teacher. Gershwin wanted to study under her, but she refused as she didn’t want to stifle his more popular style. She also performed on the organ and piano.

September 25, 1906: Dmitri Shostakovich. Even as a child, Dmitra showed a gift for the piano and music in general. At age 13 he entered the Petrograd Music Conservatory, and he wrote his first symphony at age 19. Much of his work was theatrical, and he was known for his film music. Nevertheless, he also wrote for the piano, including waltzes.

September 26, 1898: George Gershwin. Like Schoenberg, Gershwin’s family was Jewish. Interestingly, Gershwin and Schoenberg were friends and tennis partners in the States. His first compositions were Broadway theater works, but he composed and performed popular, jazz and classical genres.

The Reality of Music Theory

“Piano reading skills is most important,” asserts Tomoko. But this reading goes beyond just following the notes, just as cooking transcends reading the recipe. Cooking follows certain protocols based on the science of food; so too does music follows the theory of music.  

Music reveals patterns of sound, and music theory codifies those patterns. Music theory covers not just the elements of composition, but also studies the writing of music. Over the ages, composers create new patterns, which shape music theory and makes it truly dynamic.

When Tomoko studied music, she had to take music theory along with instrumentation and composition. Her own students also complement piano lessons with music theory. Furthermore, Tomoko incorporates music theory into her lesson. “Students need to know the vocabulary of music and the inner workings of music in order to perform knowledgeably.” Tomoko says, “It’s like an English teacher explaining grammar.”

Tomoko also talks about composers and their music, including how they manifest music theory. How are composers identified by their musical forms? How does Bach’s compositions reflect mathematical knowledge? Why was Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique so revolutionary? How does music theory inform Bartok’s use of folk melodies?

Like the master chef, the master pianist knows and appreciates the theory behind of music, and applies that knowledge to enrich the performance – and the listener’s experience.