Jeanne Behrend (11 May 1911 – 20 March 1988) was an American pianist, music educator, musicologist and composer.

Life

Jeanne Behrend was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and graduated from the

Curtis Institute The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

in 1934, where she studied piano with

Josef Hofmann Josef Casimir Hofmann (originally Józef Kazimierz Hofmann; January 20, 1876February 16, 1957) was a Polish-American pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor. Biography Josef Hofmann was born in Podgórze (a district of Kraków), in Aus ...

and composition with

Rosario Scalero Natale Rosario Scalero (24 December 1870 in Moncalieri - 25 December 1954 in Montestrutto) was an Italian violinist, music teacher and composer. Life and career By the age of six, Scalero was under the tutelage of Pietro Bertazzi, a violinis ...

. She made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1922 and at Carnegie Hall in 1937, playing one of her own compositions. After completing her education, Behrend worked as a pianist and composer and taught music at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts 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 regarded as one of the most elit ...

, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

. Becoming aware of the lack of opportunity for American composers, she became a champion of American music and concentrated on her career as a performer. Behrend edited a selection of

Louis Moreau Gottschalk Louis Moreau Gottschalk (May 8, 1829 – December 18, 1869) was an American composer and pianist, best known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works. He spent most of his working career outside the United States. Life and car ...

piano scores and his autobiography, ''Notes of a Pianist.'' She also edited a collection of

Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...

songs and one of American

fuguing tune The fuguing tune (often fuging tune) is a variety of Anglo-American vernacular choral music. It first flourished in the mid-18th century and continues to be composed today. Description Fuguing tunes are sacred music, specifically, Protestant hym ...

s. She married twice. Her first husband, pianist Alexander Kelberine died in 1940, and her second husband, Americana book dealer George S. McManus died in 1967. Behrend received the Joseph Bearns prize from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1936 for composition. She was recommended for sponsorship by

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

and toured in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

from 1945-46. She founded and directed the Philadelphia Festival of Western Hemisphere Music in 1959 and 1960 and was awarded the

Order of the Southern Cross Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 1822) ...

from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Behrend died in Philadelphia and her papers are housed in the Free Library in the city.

Works

Selected works include: *''A Child's Day'', piano suite *''From Dawn to Dusk'' for orchestra, 1939 *''Lamentation'' for viola and pianoforte, 1944 *''Quiet Piece'' for piano, 1932 *''Festival Fanfare: Prelude to the National Anthem'', 1959 Behrend edited

's ''Notes of a Pianist'' (New York, 1964) and also selections of his music.

References

External links

*Stinson, Jennifer
"Jeanne Behrend"
Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
Jeanne Behrend - David Guion: Country Jig in D major from YouTube
1911 births 1988 deaths 20th-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers Musicians from Philadelphia Curtis Institute of Music alumni Juilliard School faculty Temple University faculty Jewish American classical composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American composers Classical musicians from Pennsylvania Women music educators 20th-century women composers American women academics 20th-century American Jews {{US-composer-20thC-stub