Edward Joseph Collins (November 10, 1886 – December 1, 1951) was an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

in a neoromantic style.

Life and career

Collins was born in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

, into an Irish family – his father was from

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

and his mother from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. From age 14, he studied with

Rudolph Ganz Rudolph Ganz (24 February 1877 – 2 August 1972) was a Swiss-born American pianist, conductor, composer, and music educator. Career Early career as a pianist and conductor Born in Zurich, Ganz studied cello with Friedrich Hegar and piano w ...

in Chicago, and in 1906 went with Ganz to Berlin, where he studied performance and composition at the

Berlin Hochschule für Musik The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

under

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard v ...

and Engelbert Humperdinck. Upon graduation, he had a successful concert piano debut in Berlin. He returned to the United States in 1912 and toured with the

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

Ernestine Schumann-Heink Ernestine Schumann-Heink (15 June 186117 November 1936) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American operatic dramatic contralto of German Bohemian descent. She was noted for the flexibility and wide range of her voice. Early life She was born Ernest ...

. He was an assistant conductor with the Century Opera Company in New York City and with the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

in Germany. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Collins served in the U.S. Army (88th Division of the Intelligence Unit in France) as an interpreter and entertained the troops as pianist. From Private he rose up to the rank of Lieutenant during the war. After the war he returned to Chicago and joined 1919 the faculty of

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

as one of the principal piano teachers. Collins married a voice student, Frieda Mayer, whose father, Oscar, owned a meatpacking company and was well to do. Collins and his wife had four children namely Dorothy Louise, Marianna Louise, Louise Joan and Edward Joseph junior. Having married into a family of wealth, they lived in the Mayer residence on Sheridan Road in Chicago. He later joined the faculty of the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservato ...

. He died in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1951.

Music

Collins belonged to a group of conservative Chicago composers whose influence did not reach far beyond the city. His music includes twelve major orchestral works (incl. three piano concertos), a secular cantata, an opera, several chamber works, more than 20 songs and a dozen piano solo and duo scores. For a number of years he was preoccupied with his Irish heritage and wrote several long scores for large orchestra involving traditional Irish melodies.

Family

While at Chicago Music College, Collins met and married, on July 21, 1920, a voice student, Frieda Johanna Mayer (November 17, 1889

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

- December 7, 1965

Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the c ...

), daughter of meat-packing magnate

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois. History Early years German immigr ...

Compositions

Stage *''Who Can Tell'' (operetta) *''Daughter of the South'' (1939), opera Cantata *''Hymn to the Earth'' (1928) for solo voices, chorus and orchestra Orchestral works *''1914. Tragic Overture'' (1914; rev. 1926 and 1942) *''Piano Concerto No. 1'' in E-flat major (premiered 1925) *''Symphony in B minor "Nos habeit humus"'' (1925) *''Irish Rhapsody'' (1927) *''Set of Four'' (1927) *''Hibernia (Irish Rhapsody, Variations on an old Irish Song)'' (1929) *''Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra'' (Piano Concerto No. 2) (1931) *''Variations on an Irish Folksong'' (1931) *''Ballet Suite: The Mask of the Red Death'' (1932) *''Mardi Gras'' (1933) *''Valse elegante'' (1933) *''Lament and Jig'' (1941) *''Piano Concerto No. 3'' in B minor (1942) *''Cowboy's Breakdown'' (1944) Chamber music *Piano Trio (''Geronimo'') op. 1 *''Arabesque'' *Cello Suite *Prayer Other *More than a dozen piano solo and duo scores *15 songs for voice and piano

Recordings

*''Piano Compositions'', performed by Mayne Miller (piano, on the orchestral work),

Gunnar Johansen Gunnar Johansen (January 21, 1906, Copenhagen – May 25, 1991, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin) was a Danish-born pianist and composer. He was one of the chief proponents of the music of Ferruccio Busoni, whose mature keyboard works he recorded in their ...

(piano solo works), Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra,

Thor Johnson Thor Martin Johnson (June 10, 1913 – January 16, 1975) was an American conductor. He was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. He studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was president of the Alpha Rho chapter of Ph ...

(cond.). Contains: ''Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra in A minor''; ''Cowboy's Breakdown''; ''Tango (in Form of a Rondo)''; ''Valses caractéristiques'', Op. 18; on: rivate recording LP (1980), . *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 1'', performed by Earl Wild (piano), Gunnar Johansen (piano), Manhattan String Quartette. Contains: ''Variations on an Irish Tune''; ''All God's Chillun' Got Wings''; ''Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?''; ''Lil' David Play On Yo' Harp''; ''The Gospel Train''; ''Valses caractéristiques'', Op. 18; ''Cowboy's Breakdown''; ''Tango (in Form of a Rondo)''; ''Passacaglia''; Allegro piacevole, from First String Quartet in D Minor; on: Albany Troy 1156, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 2: Orchestral Music'', performed by Leslie Stifelman (piano), Concordia Orchestra,

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop ( �mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate ...

(cond.). Contains: ''Mardi Gras''; ''Concert Piece in A minor for Piano & Orchestra''; ''Tragic Overture''; ''Valse elegante''; on: Albany Troy 267, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 3: Orchestral Music'', performed by William Wolfram (piano),

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five National performing arts companies of Scotland, national performing arts compa ...

, Marin Alsop (cond.). Contains: Piano Concerto No. 3 in B minor; Symphony in B minor; on: Albany Troy 625, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 4: Orchestral Music'', performed by William Wolfram (piano), Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Marin Alsop (cond.). Contains: ''Hibernia (Irish Rhapsody)''; Piano Concerto No. 1; ''Lil' David Play On Yo' Harp''; ''Lament and Jig''; on: Albany Troy 630, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 5: Chamber Music and Songs'', performed by Frank Almond (violin), Parry Karp (cello), Jeffrey Sykes (piano), Patrice Michaels (soprano), Elizabeth Buccheri (piano). Contains: ''Arabesque''; Cello Suite; ''Prayer''; ''The Daffodils''; ''The Pines''; ''The Wooded Lake''; ''Death of the Leaves''; ''Butterflies''; ''Magdalene''; ''To a Little Child''; ''Prayer for C.H.S.''; ''The Faded Violet''; ''Music When Soft Voices Die''; ''The Fog''; ''The Bayadre''; ''A Piper''; ''Annabel Lee''; ''Song and Suds''; on: Albany Troy 641, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 6'', performed by Jeni Bern (soprano), Jane Irwin (mezzo),

Peter Auty Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(tenor), Henry Waddington (bass), Royal Scottish National Orchestra & Chorus, Marin Alsop (cond.). Contains: ''Hymn to the Earth''; ''Variations on an Irish Folksong''; ''Cowboy's Breakdown''; on: Albany Troy 650, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 7: Orchestral Music'', performed by Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Marin Alsop (cond.). Contains: ''Ballet-Suite: The Masque of the Red Death''; ''Irish Rhapsody''; ''Set of Four''; on: Albany Troy 657, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 8: Chamber Music and Songs'', performed by Patrice Michaels (soprano), Anna Polonsky (piano); Sussmann/Albers/Polonsky Trio, Jeffrey Sykes (piano). Contains: ''Nocturne''; ''Etude''; ''Again the Year Has Come to the Spring''; ''June Night''; Piano Trio (''Geronimo''), Op. 1; ''Four Waltzes'', Op. 15; ''Valses caractéristiques'', Op. 18; ''Frédéric François''; ''Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jerico''; ''The 5:48''; on: Albany Troy 1086, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 9'', performed by

(tenor), Andrea Baker (mezzo-soprano),

Lisa Milne Lisa Milne (born 22 April 1971 in Aberdeen) is a Scottish soprano described by the BBC as "one of RSAMD's best-known alumni", who was among the first artists to be invited to the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme in 1999-2001. Known for ...

(soprano), Keel Watson (bass-baritone), Roland Wood (baritone),

Peter Coleman-Wright Peter Coleman-Wright (born 13 October 1958) is an Australian baritone from Geelong. He began his career at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where he sang Guglielmo in ''Così fan tutte'', winning the Touring Prize. Subsequently, he sang Sid in '' Al ...

(baritone), Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus, Marin Alsop (cond.). Contains: ''Daughter of the South'' (opera), on: Albany Troy 1210, CD. *''Music of Edward Joseph Collins Vol. 10: Chamber Music and Songs'', performed by Arnaud Sussmann (violin), Patrice Michaels (soprano), Anna Polonsky (piano), William Browning (piano). Contains: Sonata, Op. 2/14; ''Arabesque''; ''Variations on a Negro Theme''; ''Variations on an Irish Theme''; ''Canons''; ''Six Technical Stunts in Canonic Form''; ''Love is a Thing Divine''; ''Clover Leaf Song''; ''Valses caractéristiques'', Op. 18; on: Albany Troy 1230, CD.

References

External links

Biography of Edward Joseph Collins by Erik ErikssonEdward Joseph Collins Papers
a
the Newberry Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Edward Joseph 1886 births 1951 deaths 20th-century classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers American people of Irish descent American pianists Musicians from Chicago Musicians from Joliet, Illinois Berlin University of the Arts alumni Writers from Joliet, Illinois American Conservatory of Music alumni 20th-century American composers American male pianists Classical musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists