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Eduard Steuermann (June 18, 1892 in Sambor,
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
– November 11, 1964 in New York City) was an Austrian (and later American) pianist and composer. Steuermann studied piano with Vilém Kurz at the Lemberg Conservatory and
Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
in Berlin, and studied composition with Engelbert Humperdinck and
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
. He played the piano part in the first performance of Schoenberg's ''
Pierrot Lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a m ...
'' and premiered his
Piano Concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpie ...
. He continued his association with Schoenberg as a pianist for the composer's
Society for Private Musical Performances The Society for Private Musical Performances (in German, the ) was an organization founded in Vienna in the Autumn of 1918 by Arnold Schoenberg with the intention of making carefully rehearsed and comprehensible performances of newly composed musi ...
in Vienna, and made an
arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orche ...
for piano trio of Schoenberg's ''
Verklärte Nacht ''Verklärte Nacht'' (''Transfigured Night''), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's p ...
''. He performed in the radio premiere of Schoenberg's "Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte" with the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
under
Artur Rodziński Artur Rodziński (2 January 1892 – 27 November 1958) was a Polish-American conductor of orchestral music and opera. He began his career after World War I in Poland, where he was discovered by Leopold Stokowski, who invited him to be his ass ...
on November 26, 1944. In 1952 he was awarded the Schoenberg Medal by the International Society for Contemporary Music. He taught at the
Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of th ...
at Darmstadt. Steuermann, whose parents were non-practising Jews, emigrated to the United States in 1938 to escape the
anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
policies of
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 ...
. He was famed for his
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
recitals of the 1950s and was a distinguished teacher, teaching at the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...
from 1952 to 1964. In America he was known as Edward Steuermann. Among the prominent performers who studied with Steuermann are
Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ' ...
,
Jakob Gimpel Jakob Gimpel (April 16, 1906March 12, 1989) was a Polish concert pianist and educator. Jakob Gimpel was born in Lwów (then in Polish Galicia, part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, and now Lviv, Ukraine). Gimpel's younger brother, Bronislav Gimpel ...
, Moura Lympany,
Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler ( he, מנחם פרסלר; born 16 December 1923) is a German-born Israeli-American pianist. Pressler is Jewish. Following Kristallnacht, he and his immediate family fled Nazi Germany in 1939,
,
Stephen Pruslin Stephen Lawrence Pruslin (16 April 1940 – 25 September 2022) was an American pianist and librettist who relocated to London in the 1970s to work with Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle. Early life and career Born in New York, Pruslin ...
, Avraham Sternklar,
Russell Sherman Russell Sherman (born March 25, 1930, New York, New York) is an American classical pianist, educator and author. Russell Sherman made his debut at The Town Hall in New York at age 15, later studying piano with Eduard Steuermann and composition wit ...
, and
Beatrice Witkin Beatrice Braverman Witkin (May 13, 1916 – February 7, 1990) was an American composer and pianist who was best known for her electronic music, especially the theme she composed for the TV show ''Wild, Wild World of Animals'' in 1973. Witkin studie ...
. He also taught philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, composer
Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...
and theorists Edward T. Cone and David Lewin. In 1964 he died of leukemia. In 1989, the
University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press, also known as UNP, was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the Unive ...
published a collection of Steuermann's writings entitled, ''The Not Quite Innocent Bystander: Writings of Edward Steuermann'' (). The book was co-edited by Clara Steuermann, David H. Porter and
Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...
. A major work by Steuermann, ''Variations for Orchestra'', is published (large score available) by Philharmusica Co., New York. The actress and screenwriter
Salka Viertel Salka Viertel (15 June 1889 – 20 October 1978) was an Austrian Jewish actress and Hollywood screenwriter. While under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1933 to 1937, Viertel co-wrote the scripts for many movies, particularly those starrin ...
was his sister. The footballer
Zygmunt Steuermann Zygmunt Steuermann (5 February 1899 – December 1941) was a Polish association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward and is one of the most renowned members of the Hasmonea Lwów Football Club. Life Born in ...
was his younger brother. Steuermann married Clara Silvers, a pianist and noted music librarian, in 1949.Edward and Clara Steuermann collection, 1922-1981
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...


Notes


Further reading

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External links


Photographs of Steuermann, his siblings, with Schönberg and others, and a concert program with Steuermann's and Schönberg's works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steuermann, Eduard 1892 births 1964 deaths People from Sambir Austrian classical pianists American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists Austrian classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers Jewish classical pianists Second Viennese School Lviv Conservatory alumni Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss Pupils of Arnold Schoenberg 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians