Ludwig Lenel (May 20, 1914 – April 22, 2002) was an organist and

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 ...

Early life and education

Lenel was born May 20, 1914, in Strasburg, Germany during the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in present-day France, the son of the late Walter and Luise (Borckenhagen) Lenel. During his youth, Lenel met and was strongly influenced by Albert Schweitzer, who frequently stayed with the Lenel family while visiting Heidelberg. He then later studied organ with Schweitzer, and assisted him on tours of Germany and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1932 and 1936, respectively. In between those tours, Lenel's concert for two violins and string orchestra premiered at the

Collegium Musicum The Collegium Musicum was one of several types of musical societies that arose in German and German-Swiss cities and towns during the Reformation and thrived into the mid-18th century. Generally, while societies such as the (chorale) cultivated ...

in Heidelberg in 1933. In 1935, he was awarded his diploma from Hochschule fuer Musik in Cologne. In 1938, he was awarded a diploma from

Basel Music Academy The City of Basel Music Academy (german: Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel) is an institution for music education, located in Basel, Switzerland. It comprises a music school, college of music, and a center for early music research and performance. H ...

in Switzerland. After emigrating to the United States, Lenel worked as an organist while continuing his study of music composition at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

in Oberlin, Ohio, where he was awarded his masters of music degree in 1940.

Career

Lenel served on the faculties of Monticello College and Elmhurst College in Illinois, Westminster College in Pennsylvania, and The New School for Social Research in New York City. He then joined the faculty of Muhlenberg College in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

, where he taught for 27 years as a music professor. During his tenure at Muhlenberg College, he created the college's music department's curriculum, established its major in music, and served as conductor of the college choir. He initiated a concert series and took the group on tour, and later founded Muhlenberg College's Department of Opera. In 1979, Lenel retired from Muhlenberg College. In 1989, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the college. On November 9, 1998, Lenel returned to Heidelberg to attend the performance of his main oeuvre, ''Death and Atonement'' in memory of the Holocaust. The 20-minute-long concert, written between 1976 and 1992, is based on

Paul Celan Paul Celan (; ; 23 November 1920 – c. 20 April 1970) was a Romanian-born German-language poet and translator. He was born as Paul Antschel to a Jewish family in Cernăuți (German: Czernowitz), in the then Kingdom of Romania (now Chernivtsi, U ...

's poem ''Todesfuge'' and texts by

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of he ...

. Composer Wolfgang Fortner mentions Lenel and others as witnesses and examples of his teaching Jewish students before and during World War II in the attachment of his ''Story of Life''.

Death

Lenel died on April 22, 2002, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Funeral services were held May 24, 2002, in the Egner Memorial Chapel at Muhlenberg College in

. His obituary noted that he was the "former husband of Jane Lenel," and that he was survived by a son, two daughters, a brother and a sister, and three grandchildren."Ludwig Lenel" (obituary). ''Morning Call''.

Literature

* Anderson, E. Ruth. ''Contemporary American composers. A biographical dictionary'', Second edition, G. K. Hall, 1982. * Borroff, Edith; Clark, J. Bunker. ''American opera. A checklist'', Harmonie Park Press, 1992.

References

Sources

* Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung Heidelberg 4. und 9. November 1998. * Givannini/Moraw (Ed.). ''Erinnertes Leben – Autobiographische Texte zur jüdischen Geschichte Heidelbergs'', Heidelberg 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenel 1914 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century German musicians 20th-century organists 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century classical composers American classical composers American male classical composers American male organists Classical musicians from Pennsylvania Contemporary classical music performers German emigrants to the United States German organists Muhlenberg College faculty Musicians from Allentown, Pennsylvania