Vally Weigl (11 September 1894 – 25 December 1982) was an Austrian-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 ...

and

music therapist Music therapy, an allied health profession, "is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music th ...

Biography

Valerie Weigl (née Pick) was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She was the first daughter of a Jewish couple, lawyer Josef Pick (1849,

Náchod Náchod (; german: Nachod) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It is known both as a tourist destination and centre of industry. The town centre with the castle complex is well preserved ...

– 1926, Vienna) and his wife Charlotte "Lotte", née Rubinstein (1871,

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

– 1939, Vienna). Her younger sister was the Austrian economist, women's rights activist, journalist and politician

Käthe Leichter Marianne Katharina "Käthe" Leichter (Vienna, 20 August 1895 – February 1942) was an Austrian economist, women's rights activist, journalist and politician. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Austria and the Viennese Labour Cham ...

. Vally took piano lessons in childhood and studied musicology at

Vienna University The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public university, public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the Geogra ...

. She studied piano under

Richard Robert Richard Robert (25 March 1861 1 February 1924 in Kaltenleutgeben)
Retrieved 28 August 2013 ...

, composition under

Karl Weigl Karl Ignaz Weigl (6 February 1881 – 11 August 1949) was a Jewish Austrian composer and pianist, who later became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Weigl was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of a bank official who was al ...

and

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

under

Guido Adler Guido Adler (1 November 1855, Ivančice (Eibenschütz), Moravia – 15 February 1941, Vienna) was a Bohemian-Austrian musicologist and writer. Biography Early life and education Adler was born at Eibenschütz in Moravia in 1855. He moved ...

. Vally married Karl Weigl in 1921, and after the

National Socialists Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

took power in Austria in 1938, the couple emigrated with their son to the U.S. with assistance from the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

Society of Friends. In New York, Weigl worked as a music teacher and composer, and a grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

allowed her to compose and record ''Natures Moods'', ''New England Suite'', and four

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

s. After receiving a master's degree at

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 ...

, she also worked as a music therapist and became chief medical therapist at

New York Medical College New York Medical College (NYMC or New York Med) is a private medical school in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1860, it is a member of the Touro College and University System. NYMC offers advanced degrees through its three schools: the School o ...

. She also taught at Roosevelt Cerebral Palsy School. Vally directed research projects at Mount Sinai Hospital's psychiatric division and the

Hebrew Home for the Aged The Association of Jewish Aging Services (AJAS) was founded in 1960 as the North American Association of Jewish Homes and Housing for the Aging (NAJHHA). It was created and continues to function as the central coordinator for homes and residenti ...

, and in the 1950s published a number of articles in the field of musical therapy. She died in New York City in 1982. A biography of Vally Weigl entitled ''Give Them Music'' was published by Elena Fitzthum & Primavera Gruber (Edition Praesens, 2003, ).

Works

Vally Weigl composed a large number of works for orchestra and solo instruments. She enjoyed an extensive discography. Selected works include: *Toccatina pour piano *Nature Moods for Tenor, Clarinet and Violin *New England Suite for Clarinet, Violoncello and Piano *Songs of Remembrance (Poèmes de Emily Dickinson) *Dear Earth for baritone, horn, violin, cello, and piano, words by Frederika Blankner *Brief Encounters for clarinet, horn, bassoon, and oboe *Songs of Love and Leaving for mezzo-soprano, baritone, clarinet and piano, words by Carl Sandburg *Echoes from Poems *Lyrical Suite for voice, piano, flute and cello *Songs from "Do not Awake Me" *Songs from "No Boundary" for voice, piano, flute and cello *Songs Newly Seen in the Dusk *Songs of Remembrance *Requiem for Allison *In Springtime pour voix et piano *Songs from "No Boundary" pour voix, piano, flûte et violoncelle *Oiseau de la vie pour flûte *Lyrical Suite pour voix, piano, flûte et violoncelle *Old Time Burlesque pour alto et piano

References

External links

List of works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weigl, Vally 1894 births 1982 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American composers Austrian classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers Jewish classical composers Jewish American classical composers Music therapists Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss Austrian people of Czech-Jewish descent Austrian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Austrian people of Polish-Jewish descent Musicians from Vienna 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century women composers 20th-century American Jews