Murray Harold Blumenfeld (October 15, 1923 – November 1, 2014) was an American classical composer. He wrote over thirty musical compositions. He was also a conductor, a music critic, and an educator, having taught in the

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

music department for almost thirty years.

Biography

Blumenfeld was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, to Herman and Margaret "Peg" Blumenfeld. He was the eldest of three children. His family traveled widely, especially during the Depression, when his father sought work in retail. Near the end of his high school years, the family settled in St. Louis. Blumenfeld was educated at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

(1941–43), where he studied with

Bernard Rogers Bernard Rogers (4 February 1893 – 24 May 1968) was an American composer. His best known work is ''The Passion'', an oratorio written in 1942. Life and career Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Arthur Farwell, Ernest Bloc ...

, but his studies there were interrupted by

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 opposin ...

. He later earned the Bachelor of Music degree at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1948 and the Master of Music in 1949. His primary mentor at Yale was

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 ''Ne ...

. He studied at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

in 1948. During the summers of 1949-52 he attended

Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...

, where he trained as a conductor with Robert Shaw,

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

, and

Boris Goldovsky Boris Goldovsky (Борис Анисимович Голдовский; June 7, 1908 - February 15, 2001) was a Russian Empire-born conductor and broadcast commentator, active in the United States. He has been called an important "popularizer" of op ...

. Blumenfeld was director of Opera Theater in St. Louis from 1962 to 1966. He directed Washington University Opera Studio from 1960 to 1971.''Encyclopedia of American Opera''. Ken Wlaschin. Jefferson NC: McFarland, 2009. Print. One of his students at Washington University was African American composer John Elwood Price.''Woodwind Music of Black Composers'' (Music Reference Collection 24). Aaron Home. New York: Greenwood, 1990. Pp. 52-53. Print.

Works and bibliography

Musical compositions

Songs and song cycles

*''Eroscapes'' (text: Isabella Tate Gardner), for chamber ensemble (Mezzo-Soprano Solo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Violin, Viola, Cello), published by MMB Music Inc (MU.X081028) *''Songs of War'' (text:

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

), SATB chorus a cappella (1971) *''Songs of Innocence'' (text:

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

), double mixed chorus, with mezzo-soprano and tenor soli and orchestra (1972-1973) *''Elegy for the nightingale'', (text:

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...

), baritone, chorus, orchestra (1975) *''Rilke for Voice and Guitar'', recorded by Turnabout TV, 1978; and Vox Box CDX 5145, 1995 *''Voyages'' (text:

Hart Crane Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Provoked and inspired by T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that was difficult, highly stylized, and ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, '' The Brid ...

) (1978) *''Circle of The Eye: Eleven Poems by Tom McKeown for Medium Voice & Piano'', published by King's Crown Music Press, 1982 *''Diluvial from Illuminations, Symphonic Fragments after Rimbaud for Orchestra'' (1992), published by MMB Music, Inc., 1992 *''Mythologies'' (text:

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem ''Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcot ...

) (2001) *''Sterne und Stein'', three songs after

Rudolf Gelpke Rudolf Gelpke (1928–1972) was a Swiss Islamic scholar. He studied at the University of Basel, where he received his doctorate in Islamic Studies in 1957. Later Gelpke moved to Iran, where he taught at the University of Tehran and afterwards at ...

(2003) *''Songs of Cassis'' (2004) *''Oak, Feather, and Stone: To Friends Past and Present'', Medium Voice and Piano (2004)

Music for piano and other works

*''Transformations: expansion fugues for piano'' (1963), published by Seesaw Music, 1971 *''Expansions'', for woodwind quintet, published by MMB Music, Inc., 1970

Operas

*''Amphitryon 4'' (1963) *''Gentle Boy'' (1968), based on a story by

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

*''The Road to Salem'' (1969) *''Breakfast Waltzes: bagatelle opera in one act'' (1988) *''Fourscore: an opera of opposites'' (1989) *''Seasons in hell: The lives of Arthur Rimbaud : opera in two acts'', published by MMB Music, Inc., 1996 *''Borgia Infami: Opera in Two Acts'' (2002)

Writing and translations

Prose

*"Two Articles on Opera" (1952) *"A Controversial Look at a Controversial Genius," ''Los Angeles Times'', September 22, 1974. (On Arnold Schoenberg)

Translations

*Leoncavallo, Ruggero, ''I pagliacci: two acts'' (1955) *Praetorius, Michael, ''The Syntagma Musicum of Michael Praetorius: Volume Two: De Organographia, First and Second Parts'', Barenreiter Verlag, 1949, 1962; Da Capo, 1975.

Bibliography

*S. Jenkins, Jr.: "Waiting at the Gateway," Opera News, xxxii/26 (1968), 19 *J. Wierzbicki: "Blumenfeld’s Music," St. Louis Globe-Democrat (Feb 3–4, 1979)

Honors and awards

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

(1977) * National Endowment for the Arts (1979)

References

External links

Harold Blumenthal Papers, Washington University Special Collections

Sound recording: ''Carnet de Damne''

Sound recording: ''La Face Cendree''

Sound recording: ''Illuminations: Symphonic Fragments after Rimbaud: I. Meadows of Emerald and Iron''

Sound recording: ''Illuminations: Symphonic Fragments after Rimbaud: II. Diluvial''

July 16, 1988 {{DEFAULTSORT:Blumenfeld, Harold 1923 births 2014 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century classical pianists American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists American male conductors (music) Jewish American classical composers Jewish classical composers Jewish classical pianists Yale School of Music alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Musicians from Seattle 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians