Julian Henry Lowenfeld (born June 7, 1963) is an American-Russian poet, playwright, trial lawyer, composer, and prize-winning translator, best known for his translations of
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
's poetry into English.
Life
Lowenfeld was born in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to Andreas Lowenfeld, a German-Jewish Professor of International Law (
NYU
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...
), and Elena Lowenfeld, a Cuban guitar player and art critic.
His great-grandfather Rafael Löwenfeld, a correspondent for the newspaper
Berliner Tagesblatt in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, was the first translator of
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
into German, and Tolstoy's play
The Power of Darkness
''The Power of Darkness'' (russian: Власть тьмы, Vlast′ t′my) is a five- act drama by Leo Tolstoy. Written in 1886, the play's production was forbidden in Russia until 1902, mainly through the influence of Konstantin Pobedonostsev. I ...
had its world premiere in the
Schiller Theater
The Schiller Theater is a theatre building in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the central Charlottenburg district at Bismarckstraße 110, near Ernst-Reuter-Platz.
Opened in 1907, the building served as a second venue for the Prussian State ...
, Berlin, which Löwenfeld founded. After the
Russian revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, the
Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...
family lived in the Löwenfeld home in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
Lowenfeld studied Russian literature at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, did postgraduate work at
St. Petersburg University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the ...
and then obtained his
J.D. degree at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. As a trial lawyer, Lowenfeld won several multimillion-dollar judgments on behalf of major Russian film studios Mosfilm, Lenfilm, and Soyuzmultfilm Studios and their licensees against copyright pirates in the USA.
Lowenfeld translates from 8 languages, including Russian, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Latin. He has translated verses of
Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
,
Blok Blok may refer to:
*Blok (surname)
*Blok (comics), the fictional superhero of the DC Comics universe
*Blok M, downtown shopping area in Jakarta, Indonesia
*Mega Bloks, plastic building blocks produced by Mega Bloks, Incorporated
*The Vlaams Blok (D ...
,
Mandelshtam Mandelstam or Mandelshtam (russian: Мандельштам) is a Jewish surname which may refer to:
* Leonid Mandelstam (1879–1944), Russian theoretical physicist
** Mandel'shtam (crater), lunar crater named for Leonid Mandelstam
* Nadezhda Mande ...
,
Tsvetaeva
Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (russian: Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈtaɪvə; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russia ...
,
Akhmatova,
Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
,
Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...
,
Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...
,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
,
Heine
Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include:
People with the surname
* Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor
* Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco
* Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...
,
Pessoa,
Lorca,
Machado
Machado is a surname of Portuguese origin meaning the word "axe" or "hatchet" dating back to approximately 2nd century Europe. It is commonly found in Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Latin America, and India (Southern Tamil Nadu and Southern Kerala) ...
,
Martí,
Neruda,
Leopardi
Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...
,
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...
,
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
,
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...
,
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
,
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...
, and
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
.
Lowenfeld's translations of
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
received overall positive reviews and considered to be 'the most brilliant and fullest translation' of Pushkin's works because Lowenfeld succeeded in preserving original and distinctive rhythms of most poems so one can easily recognise which poem this is without any knowledge of English:
Я вас любил: любовь еще, быть может, I loved you once, and still, perhaps, love’s yearning
В душе моей угасла не совсем; Within my soul has not quite burned away.
Но пусть она вас больше не тревожит; Yet may that nevermore you be concerning;
Я не хочу печалить вас ничем. I would not wish you sad in any way.
Original: Alexander Pushkin Translation: Julian Henry Lowenfeld
Pushkin's ''
Little Tragedies'', translated into verse by Lowenfeld, were staged at the
Baryshnikov Arts Center
The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is a foundation and arts complex opened by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 2005 at 450 West 37th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The top three floor ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 2009.
Performances
Lowenfeld has recited, in both Russian and English, at theatrical and musical productions around the world.
Awards
In 2007 Lowenfeld translated the video collection ''Animated Soviet Propaganda'' (4 DVDs), which won the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
' "Critics' Choice" Award.
Lowenfeld's dual language compilation titled ''My Talisman: The Poetry & Life of Alexander Pushkin'' earned him the prestigious Russian art and literature ‘
Petropol’ prize in 2010.
In 2012 his translation of the Russian bestseller
Everyday Saints and Other Stories
''Everyday Saints and Other Stories'' (russian: «Несвятые святые» и другие рассказы, translit=) is a book by the Russian author Archimandrite Tikhon (now the Metropolitan), published in 2011. It is a bestseller, and ...
won first prize at New York's Read Russia 2012 Festival. Over a million books were printed and over 3 million digital copies sold worldwide by 2012.
For his "outstanding literary translations and dedicated efforts to popularize Russian culture in the English language" Lowenfeld was awarded the Friendship and Cooperation Medal from the Russian Federal Agency
Rossotrudnichestvo
The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (russian: Федеральное агентство по делам Содружества Независ ...
in 2013.
Religious beliefs
In year 2012 Julian Henry Lowenfeld was baptized into Christian Orthodox faith in Moscow's Sretensky Monastery.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowenfeld, Julian Henry
1963 births
Living people
Lawyers from Washington, D.C.
American male poets
Russian male poets
21st-century American poets
American composers
21st-century American composers
American translators
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
Harvard University alumni
New York University School of Law alumni
American expatriates in Russia
Saint Petersburg State University alumni
American emigrants to Russia
Naturalised citizens of Russia
American people of German-Jewish descent
American people of Cuban descent
Russian people of German-Jewish descent
Russian people of Cuban descent
21st-century American male writers