Bernhard Heiden (b. Frankfurt-am-Main, August 24, 1910; d.

Bloomington, IN Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Monro ...

, April 30, 2000) was a German and American composer and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

teacher, who studied under and was heavily influenced by

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

. Bernhard Heiden, the son of Ernst Levi and Martha (Heiden-Heimer) was originally named Bernhard Levi, but he later changed his name. Heiden was born in Frankfurt-am-Main in Germany and quickly became interested in music, composing his first pieces when he was six. When he began formal music lessons he learned music theory in addition to three instruments,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, clarinet, and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

. Heiden entered the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

in Berlin in 1929 at the age of nineteen and studied music composition under

, the leading German composer of his day. His last year at the Hochschule brought him the Mendelssohn Prize in Composition. In 1934 Heiden married Kola de Joncheere, a former student at the Hochschule that had been in his class, and in 1935 they emigrated to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

to leave

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Heiden taught at the Art Center Music School for eight years; during his teaching career he conducted the Detroit Chamber Orchestra in addition to giving piano, harpsichord, and general chamber music recitals. After having been naturalized as a

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

in 1941 he entered the army in 1943 to become an Assistant Bandmaster of the 445th Army Service Band, for whom he made over 100 arrangements. After the close of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Heiden entered

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and received his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

two years later. He then joined the staff of the

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

School of Music, where he served as chair of the composition department until 1974. He remained composing music up until his death at the age of 89 in 2000. Heiden's music is described by Nicolas Slonimsky, another composer, as " neoclassical in its formal structure, and strongly polyphonic in texture; it is distinguished also by its impeccable formal balance and effective instrumentation." Much of Heiden's music is for either wind or string chamber groups or solo instruments with piano, though he also wrote two symphonies, an opera ("The Darkened City"), a ballet ("Dreamers on a Slack Wire"), and vocal and incidental music for poetry and several of

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

plays. His notable students include

Donald Erb Donald Erb (January 17, 1927 – August 12, 2008) was an American composer best known for large orchestral works such as Concerto for Brass and Orchestra and ''Ritual Observances''. Early years Erb was born in Youngstown, Ohio, graduate ...

Frederick A. Fox Frederick A. Fox (January 17, 1931 – August 24, 2011) was an American composer and former music educator specializing in contemporary classical music. Early years Frederick Alfred Fox, Jr. was born January 17, 1931, in Detroit, Michigan. His e ...

, and Carol Ann Weaver.

Selected works

*Sonata for alto saxophone and piano (1937) - premiered by Larry Teal on 8 April 1937 *Sonata for viola and piano (1959)Hinson, Maurice; Roberts, Wesley (2006). . Indiana University Press. page 133. . *Quintet for French horn and string quartet (1952) - written for horn player John Barrows *Diversion for alto saxophone and band (1943) - Composer also reduced it for alto saxophone and piano (1984) *Fantasia Concertante for alto saxophone and band *Five Short Pieces for flute *Intrada for woodwind quintet and Alto Saxophone (1970) *Voyage for band (1991) *Serenade for bassoon, violin, viola, and cello *Clarinet trio (two B clarinets and one bass clarinet) *Quintet for clarinet and strings (1955) *Solo for alto saxophone and piano (1969) – written for Eugene Rousseau *Sonata for horn and piano (1939) *Variations on “Liliburlero” for cello *Sonatina for flute *Sonata for Piano, Four Hands (1946) *The Darkened City (with libretto by Robert G. Kelly)(1962) *Dreamers on a Slack Wire (ballet)(1953) *Sonata for Cello and Piano *Euphorion: Scene for Orchestra (1949) *Concerto for Piano, Violin, Violincello and Orchestra (1956) *Concertino for String Orchestra (1967) *Concerto for Violincello and Orchestra (1967) *Concerto for Horn and Orchestra (1969) *Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra (1976) *Partita for Orchestra (1970) *Solo for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1969) *Prelude, Theme and Variations for Alto Recorder (1994) *Preludes for Flute, Double Bass and Harp (1988)

References

External links

Bernhard Heiden at G. Schirmer

April 19, 1986 {{DEFAULTSORT:Heiden, Bernhard German male classical composers German classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers 20th-century classical composers Mendelssohn Prize winners 1910 births 2000 deaths Pupils of Paul Hindemith Musicians from Frankfurt Berlin University of the Arts alumni Cornell University alumni Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States 20th-century German composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians