René Leibowitz (; 17 February 1913 – 29 August 1972) was a Polish, later naturalised French, composer, conductor, music theorist and teacher. He was historically significant in promoting the music of the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School (german: Zweite Wiener Schule, Neue Wiener Schule) was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna. ...

in Paris after the Second World War, and teaching a new generation of serialist composers. Leibowitz remained firmly committed to the musical aesthetic of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

, and was to some extent sidelined among the French avant-garde in the 1950s, when, under the influence of Leibowitz's former student,

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

and others, the music of Schoenberg's pupil

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stea ...

was adopted as the orthodox model by younger composers. Although his compositional ideas remained strictly serialist, as a conductor Leibowitz had broad sympathies, performing works by composers as diverse as

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

, Offenbach and

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, and his repertory extended to include pieces by Gershwin,

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

, Sullivan and

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

Life and career

Early years

The facts about Leibowitz's early years are problematical, complicated by his practice of reinventing his history,Radcliffe, David. ''

American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chang ...

'', vol. 68, issue 4, July/August 2005, p. 264 but it is known that he was born in Warsaw.Meine, Sabine
"Leibowitz, René"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001, retrieved 4 May 2018 According to his pupil and translator, Jan Maguire, who wrote two studies of him for ''

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

'' magazine in the late 1970s, Leibowitz was of Russian Jewish parentage; his father was an art historian.Maguire, Jan. "Rene Leibowitz (1913–1972)", ''

'', December 1979, pp. 6–10 During the First World War the family was obliged to move from Warsaw to Berlin, where, Maguire writes, Leibowitz began a career as a concert violinist at the age of ten. That career was interrupted when the family moved to Paris three years later. By Maguire's account Leibowitz taught himself "the fundamentals of harmony, counterpoint and score-reading" while in high school, and took his

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

when he was seventeen. At this point, his history becomes unclear. By his own account, credited by Maguire and others, he then went to Vienna to study with

. By other accounts he studied with

. Hopkins, G. W., and Paul Griffiths
"Boulez, Pierre"
''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'', Oxford University Press, 2001, retrieved 4 May. 2018 Neither is now believed to be correct: Sabine Meine wrote in the ''

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' in 2001, "Leibowitz's claims of having met Schoenberg and studied with Webern in the early 1930s remain unsubstantiated", and in 2012 Nicole Gagné wrote in the ''Historical Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Classical Music'', "despite his claims to the contrary, he never studied with Arnold Schoenberg or Anton Webern". Other claims about Leibowitz's teachers – that he studied composition with

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

and conducting with

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

– have been discounted by some writers in the present century, although as recently as 2010 in a study mainly focused on American composers Deborah Fillerup Weagel repeated the statement that Leibowitz was a pupil of Webern and Ravel. There is no mention of Leibowitz in the biographies of Ravel by Arbie Orenstein (1991) and Roger Nichols (2011) or of Monteux by John Canarina (2003).

Paris

In Paris, according to Maguire, Leibowitz earned his living as a jazz pianist and composed constantly. In his early twenties he married an artist from an illustrious French family and settled down in Paris, eventually taking French nationality. During the early 1930s he was introduced to Schoenberg's twelve-note technique by the German pianist and composer

Erich Itor Kahn Erich Itor Kahn (23 July 1905 - 5 March 1956) was a German composer of Jewish descent, who emigrated to the United States during the years of National Socialism. Biography He was born in Rimbach in the Odenwald, the son of Leopold Kahn, a mathema ...

. Maguire writes that Leibowitz easily fitted into "the ebullient intellectual and artistic climate of Paris in the pre-war years". His aesthetic interests were not confined to music, and he became friendly with leading figures from the world of modern art, notably

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...

and

Pablo 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 ...

, and with literary figures including

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

. For Leibowitz, according to Maguire, composing was his most regular activity, and the one he thought most important, although he was known more for his commentaries, his critical and analytical writings, his conducting, and his teaching, all of which he considered secondary.Maguire, Jan. "René Leibowitz", ''

Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...

'', vol. 21, no. 1/2 (Autumn 1982 – Summer 1983), pp. 241–256 When the Germans invaded France in the Second World War, Leibowitz was interned as an alien for a time. He did not succeed in emigrating, but, as the musicologist

Reinhard Kapp Reinhard Kapp (born 13 May 1947 in Hof, Bavaria) is a German musicologist whose work focuses on Robert Schumann. Publications * Reinhard Kapp (editor): ''Notizbuch 5/6.'' Musik, Berlin, Vienna 1982, S. 253ff. * ''Schumann in his time and sin ...

puts it, "managed to survive somehow, partly hidden by eorgesBataille in Paris, at other times with his family in the Unoccupied Zone". While in wartime Paris he clandestinely taught students from the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. Peyser, Joan. "Rene Leibowitz (1913–1972)", ''

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 ...

'', 10 September 1972, p. D26 In 1944, just before the liberation of Paris, there was a party at the Left Bank apartment of the Swiss artist

Balthus Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (February 29, 1908 – February 18, 2001), known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of pubescent girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his image ...

attended by artistic opponents of the Nazis, such as Picasso and others; Leibowitz provided the music.

Post-war

After the liberation Leibowitz resumed his interrupted career, teaching, conducting and writing, drawing on the extensive material he had produced during his enforced wartime seclusion. In 1947–48 and again in 1950 he visited Los Angeles to meet Schoenberg, whose

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

A Survivor from Warsaw ''A Survivor from Warsaw'', Op. 46, is a cantata by the Los Angeles-based Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, written in tribute to Holocaust victims. The main narration is unsung; "never should there be a pitch" to its solo vocal line, wrote t ...

'' he transcribed into full score. Many of the works of the

were first heard in France at the International Festival of Chamber Music established by Leibowitz in Paris in 1947. Leibowitz was highly influential in promoting the reputation of the School, both through teaching in Paris after the war and through his book ''Schoenberg et son école'', published in 1947 and translated by

Dika Newlin Dika Newlin (November 22, 1923 – July 22, 2006) was a composer, pianist, professor, musicologist, and punk rock singer. She received a Ph.D. from Columbia University at the age of 22. She was one of the last living students of Arnold Schoenberg ...

as ''Schoenberg and his School'' (US and UK editions 1949). The book was among the earliest theoretical treatises on Schoenberg's

twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition first devised by Austrian composer Josef Matthias Hauer, who published his "law o ...

method of composition; Leibowitz (like

Humphrey Searle Humphrey Searle (26 August 1915 – 12 May 1982) was an English composer and writer on music. His music combines aspects of late Romanticism and modernist serialism, particularly reminiscent of his primary influences, Franz Liszt, Arnold Schoen ...

) was among the first theorists to promulgate the term "serialism". The book attracted hostile criticism from composers on various points of the modernist continuum.

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

condemned its "dogmatic and fanatical" tone, and

Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his Serialism, serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia t ...

felt that its musical discussions were superficial, with misleading analogies between tonal and dodecaphonic music, but it was well received by the musical public. Leibowitz's advocacy of the Schoenberg school was taken further by two of his pupils,

and Jacques-Louis Monod, each taking different paths in promoting the music of Schoenberg, Webern and the development of serialism. Meine writes in ''Grove'' that during the 1950s Leibowitz's writings came under attack from some of the younger generation: Boulez and others accused him of "dogmatic orthodoxy and academicism". In the view of another pupil, Maguire, Boulez, having learned the twelve-tone technique from Leibowitz, "proceeded to apply it indiscriminately to every musical element, disregarding the most fundamental qualities, the essence of music". Leibowitz warned his former student, "But the public has not yet assimilated Schoenberg", and tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid a rancorous falling out. Although Leibowitz composed continually, he seldom pressed to have his works performed. When he died, leaving an oeuvre of nearly a hundred pieces, the magazine '' Esprit'' commented, "Modest, perhaps too modest, he never spoke of his works, unless obliged to do so, doing nothing to get them played. It is certainly no exaggeration to say that at least three quarters of his scores have never been heard." Since his death a representative sample of his works have been recorded. A 2013 CD set from the Divox label contains recordings of 22 of Leibowitz's works: 6 Mélodies, Op. 6; Flute Sonata, Op. 12b; ''Explanation of Metaphors'', Op. 15; Duo for Cello and Piano, Op. 23; 5 Pieces for clarinet and piano, Op. 29; Sérénade, Op. 38; 3 Poèmes, Op. 46; Violin Concerto, Op. 50; ''Marijuana variations non sérieuses'', Op. 54; Toccata, Op. 62; 3 Caprices, Op. 70; 2 Settings, Op. 71; 3 Poèmes, Op. 73; ''Motifs'', Op. 74; Petite suite, Op. 75; 2 poèmes, Op. 76a; ''Chanson dada'', Op. 76b; Suite, Op. 81; 4 Lieder, Op. 86; 3 Intermezzi, Op. 87; ''Laboratoire central'', Op. 88; and 3 Poèmes, Op. 92. Although Leibowitz was receptive to a wide range of musical styles, he could not bear the music of

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

, and published a pamphlet about him under the title of ''Sibelius: the Worst Composer in the World''; he also severely criticised Bartók for writing music that was too accessible: Leibowitz felt that by failing to adopt dodecaphony in his later works Bartók was pandering to popular taste rather than helping to move music away from tonality in accordance with Leibowitz's notions of historical inevitability and composers' duty. For Leibowitz, to write a popular work like Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra was a betrayal of modernism. ''Grove'' has articles on thirty-two composers who studied with Leibowitz in Paris or attended his sessions at

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

or elsewhere: as well as Boulez and Monod, they include

Vinko Globokar Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist. Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. Hi ...

;

Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as t ...

;

Diego Masson Diego Masson (born 21 June 1935) is a French conductor, composer, and percussionist. The son of artist André Masson and brother of the singer and actor Luís Masson, Diego Masson was born in Tossa de Mar, Spain. He studied piano and compositi ...

;

Serge Nigg Serge Nigg (6 June 1924 – 12 November 2008) was a French composer, born in Paris. Biography After initial studies with Ginette Martenot, Nigg entered the Paris Conservatory in 1941 and studied harmony with Olivier Messiaen and counterpoint ...

; and

Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. As a ...

. The writer

Joan Peyser Joan Peyser (June 12, 1930 – April 24, 2011) was an American musicologist and writer, particularly known for her writing on 20th-century music and for her biographies of George Gershwin, Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. Her biography of Be ...

summed up Leibowitz's career: Leibowitz's obituarist in '' Esprit'' dismissed this as simplistic: Leibowitz died suddenly in Paris on 29 August 1972, at the age of 59.

Recordings

In the early LP era, in the 1950s, Leibowitz conducted complete recordings of seven operas, which were generally well received, and have mostly been reissued on CD. They were

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...

's ''

Les Pêcheurs de perles ' (''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in ...

'';

's '' Alceste'' and ''

L'ivrogne corrigé ''L'ivrogne corrigé'' (''The Drunkard Reformed'') is an opera by the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck. It takes the form of an '' opéra comique'' in two acts. The French-language libretto is by Louis Anseaume and Lourdet de Sarterre. The ...

'';

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's '' Zaïde''; Offenbach's ''

La Belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy, Helen's elopement with Paris (myt ...

'' and ''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act "opéra bouffon" at the Théâ ...

''; and

's ''

L'Heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same nameStoullig E. '' ...

''. A set of Ravel's orchestral works was less well reviewed, but Leibowitz received qualified praise for his set of Schoenberg's ''

Gurre-Lieder ' is a large cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen (translated from Danish to German by ). The title means "songs of Gurre", ref ...

'' ("Leibowitz makes a serious attempt to produce a convincing performance; his slow tempi find justification in Schoenberg's markings, but his artists cannot persuade us that ''Gurre-Lieder'' is other than an historical curiosity"). In 1961 Leibowitz conducted the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

in a set of Beethoven's symphonies made by

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

for ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'';Stuart, Philip
''Decca Classical 1929–2009''
accessed 5 May 2018. it was among the first to attempt to follow Beethoven's

metronome A metronome, from ancient Greek μέτρον (''métron'', "measure") and νομός (nomós, "custom", "melody") is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a regular interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats pe ...

markings, following the pioneering set made in Vienna three years earlier, conducted by

Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor. Life Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...

. Reviewers observed that although Scherchen had achieved tempos more closely approaching the composer's markings, Leibowitz, at speeds not much slower, had secured better ensemble than the earlier set achieved. Initially the set was poorly received. ''

The Stereo Record Guide ''The Stereo Record Guide'' is a series of nine classical discographies published by the Long Playing Record Library in Blackpool from 1960 to 1974. When volume 1 was published in late 1960, the majority of classical records issued were monaural. ...

'' called the performances "slack", "perfunctory" and "insensitive"; on its reissue in the 1980s a '' Gramphone'' reviewer thought much of the set "light-weight" and "lacking in ''gravitas''", although he found the performance of the Seventh Symphony "magnificent". In 1995

Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...

, analysing a selection of Beethoven recordings, concluded that Leibowitz, like Scherchen, delivered performances that were musically and musicologically superior to more recent attempts by "authentic" conductors such as

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, and musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on historically info ...

. By the 21st century the performances had come to seem old-fashioned, in the view of a critic in ''

Fanfare A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...

'', who found them more akin to those by

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

than to those by specialist authenticists such as Roger Norrington and

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

.Bayley, Lynn René. "Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1–9. Egmont Overture. Leonore Overture No. 3", ''

''; September/October 2014), pp. 125–127 With the Decca team, Leibowitz recorded eleven more albums between 1959 and 1962. They included large-scale works such as ''The Rite of Spring'', symphonies by Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and concertos by Grieg, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, as well as short pieces by more than thirty composers ranging from

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

to Gershwin, from

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

to Sullivan,

and

Works

*Piano Sonata op.1 (1939) *10 Canons for wind trio op.2 (1939) *String Quartet no.1 op.3 (1940) *Symphony op.4 (1941) *Double concerto for violin, piano and 17 instruments op.5 (1942) *6 Songs for bass and piano op.6 (1942) *''Tourist Death'', concert aria for soprano and chamber orchestra (T: Archibald MacLeish) op.7 (1943) *4 Piano Pieces op.8 (1943) *3 Songs for soprano and piano (T:

) op.9 (1943) *Chamber Concerto for nine instruments op.10 (1944) *Wind Quintet op.11 (1944) *Sonata for violin and piano op.12a (1944) *Sonata for flute and piano op.12b (1944) *''Empedokles'' for mixed a cappella chorus (T:

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...

) op.13 (1944/45) *Variations for orchestra op.14 (1945) *''L'explication des métaphores/Explanation of Metaphors'' (T:

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau w ...

) op.15 (1947) *Chamber Symphony ("Kammersymphonie") for 12 instruments op.16 (1948) *''La Nuit close'', music drama in three acts (T:

Georges Limbour Georges Limbour (Courbevoie, 11 August 1900 — Chiclana de la Frontera, near Cadiz, 17 May 1970)Colin-Pichon, M., Georges Limbour: le songe autobiographique, Lachenal & Ritter, Paris, 1994, pp. 209–219 was a French writer, poet and art critic, ...

) op.17 (1947–50) *4 Songs for soprano and piano (T:

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901 in Paris – 30 September 1990 in Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with ...

) op.18 (1949) *3 Piano Pieces op.19 (1949) *Piano Trio op.20 (1950) *''L'Emprise du Donné'' op.21 (1950) *String Quartet no.2 op.22 (1950) *Duo for cello and piano op.23 (1951) *''Perpetuum Mobile: The City – A Dramatic Symphony for Narrator and Orchestra'' (T:

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

) op.24 (1951) *5 Songs for soprano and piano op.25 (1951) *String Quartet no.3 op.26 (1951) *Fantasy for piano op.27 (1952) *6 Short Piano Pieces op.28 (1952) *5 Pieces for clarinet and piano op.29 (1952) *''La Circulaire de minuit'', opera in three acts (T: Georges Limbour) op.30 (1953) *6 Orchestral Pieces op.31 (1954) *Concerto for piano and orchestra op.32 (1954) *''Träume vom Tod und vom Leben – Eine Symphonie für Soli, Sprecher, gemischten Chor und Orchester'' (T:

Hans Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter, and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born in Straßburg (now Stras ...

) op.33 (1954–55) *4 Songs for soprano and piano (T:

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

) op.34 (1954) *''Concertino'' for viola and chamber orchestra op.35 (1954) *''Rhapsodie Concertante'' for violin and piano op.36 (1955) *''La notte'' (T: Angelo Poliziano), ''Epigramma'' (T:

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

) and ''A se stesso'' (T:

Giacomo 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 ...

) for mixed chorus op.37 (1955) *''Serenade'' for baritone and eight instruments (T: Friedrich Hölderlin,

Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...

) op.38 (1955) *Symphonic Fantasy for orchestra op.39 (1956) *''The Renegade'' for mixed chorus and instruments (T: Lionel Abel) op.40 (1956) *''Capriccio'' for high soprano and nine instruments (T: Friedrich Hölderlin) op.41 (1956) *String Trio op.42 (1956) *''Sonata quasi una fantasia'' for piano op.43 (1957) *''Humoresque'' for six percussionists op.44 (1957) *String Quartet no.4 op.45 (1958) *''Trois Poèmes de Georges Limbour'' for soprano and six instruments (T: Georges Limbour) op.46 (1958) *''Concertino'' for piano duet op.47 (1958) *Overture for orchestra op.48 (1958) *''Damocles'', song cycle for soprano and piano (T: Michel Leiris) op.49 (1958) *Concerto for violin and orchestra op.50 'dedicated to

Ivry Gitlis Ivry Gitlis ( he, עברי גיטליס;‎ 25 August 1922 – 24 December 2020) was an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philh ...

' (1958) *3 Bagatelles for string orchestra op.51 (1958) *''Art for Art's Sake – A Fantasia for Jazz Orchestra'' op.52 (1959) *''Concertino'' for trombone and orchestra op.53 (1960) *''Marijuana – Variations non sérieuses op.54 (1960) *''Sinfonietta da Camera'' op.55 (1961) *Fantasy for violin solo op.56 (1961) *Introduction, Funeral March and Fanfare op.57 (1961) *Concerto for cello and orchestra op.58 (1962) *String Quartet no.5 op.59 (1963) *''Les Espagnols à Venise – Opera buffa'' in one act (T: Georges Limbour) op.60 (1964) *''Quatre bagatelles'' for trombone and piano op.61 (1963) *''Toccata pour piano'' op.62 (1964) *Symphonic Rhapsody for orchestra op.63 (1965) *''Trois Études miniatures'' for piano op.64 (1965) *String Quartet no.6 op.65 (1965) *''Suite'' for violin and piano op.66 (1965) *2 Songs for soprano and piano (T: Aimé Cesaire) op.67 (1965) *''A Prayer – A Symphonic Cantata'' for mezzo-soprano, male chorus and orchestra (T: James Joyce) op.68 (1965) *''Sonatina'' for flute, viola and harp op.69 (1966) *''Trois Caprices'' for vibraphone op.70 (1966) *''Two Settings after William Blake'' for mixed chorus (T:

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. ...

) op.71 (1966) *String Quartet no.7 op.72 (1966) *''Trois Poèmes de Georges Bataille'' for bass and piano (T:

Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...

) op.73 (1966) *''Motifs'' for speaker and instruments (T: Georges Limbour) op.74 (1967) *''Petite Suite'' for piano op.75 (1966) *''Deux Poèmes'' for soprano and piano (T: Michel Leiris) op.76a (1966) *''Chanson Dada'', three melodramas for treble and instruments (T:

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

) op.76b (1966) *''Sonnet'' for soprano and five instruments (T:

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

) op.77 (1967) *''Rondo capriccioso'' for piano op.78 (1967) *''Capriccio'' for flute and strings op.79 (1967) *4 Songs for bass and piano (T:

Carl Einstein Carl Einstein, born Karl Einstein, also known by pseudonym Savine Ree Urian (26 April 1885 – 5 July 1940), was an influential German Jewish writer, art historian, anarchist, and critic. Regarded as one of the first critics to appreciate the dev ...

) op.80 (1967) *''Suite'' for nine instruments op.81 (1967) *''Legend'' for soprano, piano and orchestra (T:

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 ...

) op.82 (1968) *String Quartet no.8 op.83 (1968) *Saxophone Quartet op.84 (1969) *''Labyrinthe'', music drama in one act (T: René Leibowitz after

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

) op.85 (1969) *4 Songs for bass and piano (T:

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 ...

) op.86 (1969) *''Tre Intermezzi per pianoforte'' op.87 (1970) *''Laboratoire Central – Short Cantata'' for speaker, female chorus and instruments (T:

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

) op.88 (1970) *''Scene and Aria'' for soprano and orchestra (T:

Georg Heym Georg Theodor Franz Artur Heym (30 October 1887 – 16 January 1912) was a German writer. He is particularly known for his poetry, representative of early Expressionism. Biography Heym was born in Hirschberg, Lower Silesia, in 1887 to He ...

) op.89 (1970) *Clarinet Sextet op.90 (1970) *''Todos Caeràn'', opera in 2 acts and 5 tableaux (T: René Leibowitz) op.91 (1971) *''Trois Poèmes de Pierre Reverdy'' for vocal quartet and piano (T:

Pierre Reverdy Pierre Reverdy (; 13 September 1889 – 17 June 1960) was a French poet whose works were inspired by and subsequently proceeded to influence the provocative art movements of the day, Surrealism, Dadaism and Cubism. The loneliness and spiritual a ...

) op.92 (1971) *String Quartet no.9 op.93 (1972)

Discography (incomplete)

As conductor

Mono recordings

: ''

''.

Mattiwilda Dobbs Mattiwilda Dobbs (July 11, 1925 – December 8, 2015) was an American coloratura soprano and was one of the first black singers to enjoy a major international career in opera. She was the first black singer to perform at La Scala in Italy, th ...

, Enzo Seri,

Jean Borthayre Jean Borthayre (25 May 1901, Musculdy – 25 April 1984, Montmorency) was a French operatic baritone, particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories. Career Mainly self-taught, Borthayre began his career singing as a soloist ...

; Paris Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra. Preiser (CD) *

: '' Alceste'' – Semser, Seri, Demigny, Mollien, Hoffmann, Lindenfelder, Chœur et Orch Phil de Paris,

Jean-Pierre Rampal Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal (7 January 1922 – 20 May 2000) was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century." Biography Ea ...

, Orchestre Philharmonique de Paris (1950) * Gluck: ''

'':

Jean-Christophe Benoît Jean-Christophe Benoît (18 March 1925 – 21 February 2019) was a French baritone, who enjoyed a long career in France and francophone countries on the stage, the concert platform and radio and television. He was born in Paris into a professiona ...

, Bernard Demigny, Claudine Collart, Freda Betti and Jean Hoffmann. (Nixa, 1951) *

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' ...

: ''A Portrait of Manon'' –

Anna Moffo Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric- coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agil ...

, Giuseppe di Stefano, Flaviano Labo, Robert Kerns – RCA Italiana Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Testament (CD) * Offenbach: ''

''. Paris Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra. Regis (CD) * Offenbach: ''

'' – Paris Opera Chorus and Orchestra. Regis (CD), also Preiser (CD) * Ravel: ''

'' – Janine Linda,

André Dran André Theophile Joseph Dran (15 June 1924, in Metz – 12 September 2014, in Pouancé) was a French tenor,Pasdeloup Orchestra The Pasdeloup Orchestra (also referred to as Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup) is the oldest symphony orchestra in France. History Founded in 1861 by Jules Pasdeloup with the name Concerts Populaires, it is the oldest orchestra still in existe ...

(Urania-USD-1014) * Roussel: '' Le Festin de l'Araignée'' suite (1912) & ''Le Marchand de sable qui passe'' – Paris Philharmonic Orch (Counterpoint-Esoteric LP 5511) * Schoenberg: ''

''. Ethel Semser,

Nell Tangeman Nell Tangeman (21 December 1914 – 15 February 1965) was an American mezzo-soprano. Life and career Tangeman was born in Columbus, Ohio. After earning a degree in violin performance from Ohio State University, she pursued vocal studies at ...

, John Riley, Richard Lewis, Ferry Gruber, Morris Gesell, Chœurs et Orchestre de la Nouvelle Association Symphonique de Paris. * Schoenberg: Piano Concerto Op. 42.

Claude Helffer Claude Helffer (18 June 1922 – 27 October 2004) was a French pianist. Early life Helffer was born in Paris, and began piano lessons at the age of five and from the age of ten until the outbreak of World War II he studied with Robert Casa ...

(piano), Orchestre Radio-Symphonique de Paris. Counterpoint (LP) * Schoenberg: ''

Pierrot lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a me ...

''. Ethel Semser, The Virtuoso Chamber Ensemble. Argo/Westminster (LP)

Stereo recordings

*May 1959 **International Symphony Orchestra ***Schumann Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Op. 97 "Rhenish" ***Liszt Mephisto Waltz No. 1 S110/2 *June 1959 **"London Festival Orchestra" (New Symphony Orchestra of London) ***Stravinsky ''The Rite of Spring'' ***Debussy ''Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune'' *June 1960 **Malcolm Frager (piano) **Paris Conservatoire Orchestra ***Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 16 *June 1960 **Paris Conservatoire Orchestra ***Offenbach ''Orphée aux enfers'': Overture ***Debussy ''Petite Suite'': En bateau ***Ravel ''Bolero'' ***Ravel ''La valse'' ***Gounod ''Faust'': Ballet Music ***Gounod ''Funeral March of a Marionette'' ***Saint-Saëns ''Danse Macabre'' Op. 40 ***Pierné ''Marche des petits soldats de plomb'' ***Borodin ''Prince Igor'': Overture & Polovtsian Dances ***Dukas ''L'apprenti sorcier'' ***Bizet ''Carmen'': Suite ***Auber ''Les diamants de la couronne'': Overture ***Offenbach ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'': Barcarolle ***Puccini ''Manon Lescaut'': Intermezzo ***Mozart ''Le nozze di Figaro'' K492: Overture *February 1961 **"London Festival Orchestra" ***Chopin Polonaise in A-flat Op. 53 ***Gade ''Jealousy'' ***Delibes ''La Source'': Intermezzo ***Waldteufel ''Les Patineurs'' – Waltz Op. 183 ***Dinicu ''Hora Staccato'' ***Dvořák ''Humoresque'' Op. 101/7 B187/7 ***Ippolitov-Ivanov ''Procession of the Sadar'' Op. 10 ***Bizet ''Carmen'': Habañera ***Bach-Gounod ''Ave Maria'' ***Franck ''Panis Angelicus'' ***Trad. ''Londonderry Air'' & ''Greensleeves'' ***J. Strauss II ''Die Fledermaus'': Overture ***Falla ''El Amor Brujo'': Ritual Fire Dance ***Gershwin ''Porgy and Bess'': Excerpts ***Boccherini String Quintet in E G275: Minuet ***Sullivan ''HMS Pinafore'': Overture ***Rimsky-Korsakov ''Tsar Saltan'': Flight of the Bumble Bee ***Beethoven ''Die Ruinen von Athen'', Op. 113: Turkish March *April, May and June 1961 **

Inge Borkh Inge Borkh (born Ingeborg Simon, 26 May 1921 – 26 August 2018) was a German operatic dramatic soprano. She was first based in Switzerland, where she received international attention when she appeared in the first performance in German of Meno ...

(soprano),

Ruth Siewert Ruth Siewert (also Rut, Sievert-Schnaudt, Sievert; 1915 – July 2002) was a German contralto and voice teacher. She performed roles by Richard Wagner at major opera houses in Europe and at the Bayreuth Festival, and was known as a singer of ora ...

(contralto),

Richard Lewis Richard, Rich, Richie, Rick, Ricky or Dick Lewis may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Field Lewis Jr. (1907–1957), American radio network owner * Dick "Rocko" Lewis (Richard Henry Lewis III, 1908–1966), American entertainer * Rich ...

(tenor), Ludwig Weber (bass), Royal Philharmonic Chorus; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ***Beethoven: Symphonies 1–9 *January and February 1962 **Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ***Mozart Symphony No. 41 in C, K551 "Jupiter" ***Wagner ''Tannhäuser'': Overture ***Bach-Leibowitz Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582 ***Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C, D944 "Great" ***Offenbach-Leibowitz ''La vie parisienne'' *February 1962 **Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ***Musorgsky-Ravel ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' ***Mendelssohn ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' Overture Op. 21 ***Mendelssohn Octet in E-flat Op. 20: Scherzo ***Mussorgsky-Leibowitz ''Night on the Bare Mountain'' ***Beethoven ''Leonore'' Overture No. 3, Op. 72a ***Wagner ''Die Meistersinger'': Prelude to act 1 *October 1962 **Hyman Bress (violin) **Earl Wild (piano) **Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ***Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor Op. 64 ***Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 16 ***Beethoven ''Egmont'' Op. 84: Overture *December 1962 **Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ***Weber ''Der Freischütz'' J277: Overture ***Schumann ''Manfred'' Op. 115: Overture *March 1963 **Leonard Pennario (piano) **London Symphony Orchestra ***Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat S124 ***Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A S125

Publications by Leibowitz

* 1947 ''Schoenberg et son école: l'étape contemporaine du langage musical''.

aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

J.B. Janin. (English edition, as ''Schoenberg and His School: The Contemporary Stage in the Language of Music''. Translated by Dika Newlin. New York: Philosophical Library, 1949). *1948. ''Qu'est-ce que la musique de douze sons? Le Concerto pour neuf instruments, op. 24, d'Anton Webern''. Liège: Éditions Dynamo. *1949. ''Introduction à la musique de douze sons. Les variations pour orchestre op. 31, d'Arnold Schoenberg''. Paris: L'Arche. *1950. ''L'artiste et sa conscience: esquisse d'une dialectique de la conscience artistique''. Préf. de

. Paris: L'Arche. *1950. ''Scènes de la vie musicale américaine''. Liège: Éditions Dynamo. *1950. ''Arnold Schoenberg ou Sisyphe dans la musique contemporaine''. Liège: Éditions Dynamo. *1951. ''L'évolution de la musique, de Bach à Schoenberg''. Paris: Éditions Corrêa. *1957. ''Histoire de l'opéra''. Paris: Buchet Chastel. *1969. ''Schoenberg''. Paris: Éditions du Seuil. *1971. ''Le compositeur et son double: essais sur l'interprétation musicale''. Paris: Gallimard. (Ed. augm., version définitive. Paris: Gallimard, 1986.) *1972. ''Les fantômes de l'opéra: essais sur le théâtre lyrique''. Paris: Gallimard.

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leibowitz, Rene 1913 births 1972 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century French conductors (music) 20th-century French musicologists French male conductors (music) French classical composers French male classical composers Jewish classical composers Polish emigrants to France Second Viennese School Twelve-tone and serial composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians