Henri Lazarof (
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
: Хенри Лазаров) (April 12, 1932 – December 29, 2013) was a
Bulgarian-American 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 ...
.
Born in
Sofia, Bulgaria
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, his formal musical training began in Israel under
Paul Ben-Haim
Paul Ben-Haim (or Paul Ben-Chaim, Hebrew: פאול בן חיים) (5 July 1897 – 14 January 1984) was an Israeli composer. Born Paul Frankenburger in Munich, Germany, he studied composition with Friedrich Klose and he was assistant conductor t ...
. After a short stint in Rome, Lazarof settled in the United States, studying with
Harold Shapero
Harold Samuel Shapero (April 29, 1920 – May 17, 2013) was an American composer.
Early years
Shapero was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on April 29, 1920. He and his family later moved to nearby Newton. He learned to play the piano as a chi ...
and
Arthur Berger at
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
. After earning a master's degree in 1959, Lazarof began teaching composition at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
and was active in promoting the music of his contemporaries. In 1987 he was given the title Professor Emeritus at UCLA. He died of Alzheimer's Disease in Los Angeles on December 29, 2013.
Lazarof wrote seven symphonies, nine string quartets, concerti for clarinet, violin and cello, a string octet, and various chamber music. But perhaps he is best known for his ''Tableaux'' for piano and orchestra. His music has been recorded on the
Composers Recordings, Inc.,
Naxos Records
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...
, Delos and Laurel Records labels. In total, he produced 126 pieces of music during his career.
Obituary in Brandeis Magazine
Retrieved 18 January 2019.
In December 2007, Janice and Henri Lazarof gave the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...
130 mostly Modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
works estimated to be worth more than $100 million. The collection includes 20 works by Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
s and painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
s by Paul Klee
Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...
and Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
and a considerable number of sculptures by Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...
, Constantin Brâncuși
Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...
, Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...
, Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning (; ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter El ...
, Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona i ...
, Louise Nevelson
Louise Nevelson (September 23, 1899 – April 17, 1988) was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures.
Born in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Kyiv Oblast, ...
, Archipenko Arkhypenko ( uk, Архипенко), also transliterated as Arkhipenko, Archipenko, is a Ukrainian-language family name of patronymic derivation from the Slavic first name Arkhyp/Arkhip (). The Belarusian-language version is Arkhipienka.
The sur ...
and Arp.
His notable students include Edward Applebaum
Edward Applebaum (September 28, 1937 – January 7, 2020) was an American composer of contemporary classical music.
Born in Los Angeles, United States of America,Anon. (February 1, 2002)"Applebaum, Edward Applebaum" ccm :: composers-classical-musi ...
, Don Davis and Daniel Kessner.
References
* Back cover blurb for Octet for Strings, "La Laurenziana" published by Merion Music, Inc., Theodor Presser Co., Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
External links
Henri Lazarof's page at Theodore Presser Company
PDF
from UCLA
New York Times obituary
Retrieved 2 January 2014.
*
Henri Lazarof: A Life in Music
' Digital exhibit presented by Brandeis University'sbr>Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections department
Retrieved 7 July 2021.
Henri Lazarof papers, circa 1932-2016
held by th
at Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarof, Henri
1932 births
2013 deaths
American composers
American male composers
Brandeis University alumni
Bulgarian composers
Bulgarian emigrants to the United States
Musicians from Sofia
University of California, Los Angeles faculty