Howard Pollack (born March 17, 1952) is a prominent American pianist and musicologist, known for his biographies of American composers.

Biography

Pollack was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and studied piano with Jennie Glickman while attending James Madison High School. He continued his piano studies with John Kollen and Eugene Bossart at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he received his Bachelor of Music in 1973; and with Adele Marcus at the Aspen Music Festival in 1970. He received a Master of Arts degree (1977) and Ph.D. (1981) in musicology from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, where he wrote his thesis, " Walter Piston and His Music", under the supervision of William Austin. He also studied composition privately with Samuel Adler in Rochester. After serving on the faculties of the

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private research university in the town of Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional ...

, Cornell University, and

Empire State College Empire State College (SUNY Empire or ESC) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State College is a multi-site institution offering associate, ...

, Pollack joined the faculty of the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

in 1987, becoming John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music in 2005. Pollack's books include biographies of Walter Piston,

John Alden Carpenter John Alden Carpenter (February 28, 1876 – April 26, 1951) was an American composer. Carpenter's compositional style was considered to be mainly "mildly modernistic and impressionistic"; many of his works strive to encompass the spirit of America ...

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 ...

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, and Marc Blitzstein. In addition, he co-edited, with Claus Reschke, ''German Literature and Music: An Aesthetic Fusion (1890–1989)'' (1992). He also has published articles on Joseph Haydn,

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...

, Charles Griffes, Samuel Barber, and

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post ...

, among other topics. Pollack received the Deems Taylor Award from ASCAP (2000) and the

Irving Lowens Irving Lowens (19 August 1916 – 14 November 1983) was an American musicologist, critic, and librarian in the Washington, D.C. area. He served as the chief music critic at the ''Washington Star'' newspaper, the Assistant Head of the music divi ...

Award from the Society for American Music (2001) for ''Aaron Copland'' and an Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (2007) and another Deems Taylor Award (2008) for ''George Gershwin''. His other awards include grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, the Newberry Library, the American Musicological Society, and the Society for American Music. Howard Pollack is currently a professor at the

Moores School of Music The Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music is the music school of the University of Houston. The Moores School offers the Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in music performance ...

of the

Bibliography

*''Walter Piston'' (1982) *''Harvard Composers: Walter Piston and his Students, from Elliott Carter to Frederic Rzewski'' (1992) *''John Alden Carpenter: A Chicago Composer'' (1995) *''Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man'' (1999) *''George Gershwin: His Life and Work'' (University of California Press, 2006); *''Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World'' (Oxford University Press, 2012) *"The Ballad of John Latouche: An American Lyricist's Life and Work (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollack, Howard 1952 births American biographers Living people Texas classical music University of Houston faculty University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni