Miriam Gideon (October 23, 1906 – June 18, 1996) was an 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 ...

Life

Miriam Gideon was born in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 2010 ...

, on October 23, 1906. She studied organ with her uncle Henry Gideon and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

with Felix Fox. She also studied with

Martin Bernstein Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

Marion Bauer Marion Eugénie Bauer (15 August 1882 – 9 August 1955) was an American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic. She played an active role in shaping American musical identity in the early half of the twentieth century. As a composer, ...

Charles Haubiel Charles Trowbridge Haubiel (born Delta, Ohio, January 30, 1892 - died Los Angeles, August 26, 1978) was an American composer. He toured as a pianist and a lecturer. He composed three operas in addition to much orchestral and chamber music. His musi ...

, and Jacques Pillois. She studied

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

with

Lazare Saminsky Lazare Saminsky, born Lazar Semyonovich Saminsky (russian: Лазарь (Элиэзер) Семенович Саминский; Valehotsulove (now Dolynske), near Odessa, 27 October 1882 O.S. / 8 November N.S. – Port Chester, New York, 30 Jun ...

and at his suggestion also composition with

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

, after which she abandoned

tonality Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is call ...

and wrote in a freely

atonal Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a s ...

or extended post-tonal style.Hisama, Ellie M. (2001). ''Gendering Musical Modernism: The Music of Ruth Crawford, Marion Bauer, and Miriam Gideon'', pp. 6–7. Cambridge University Press. . Gideon moved to New York City, where she taught at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

, City University of New York (CUNY) from 1944 to 1954 and City College, CUNY from 1947 to 1955. She then taught at the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

at the invitation of

Hugo Weisgall Hugo David Weisgall (October 13, 1912 – March 11, 1997) was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions. He was born in Ivančice, Moravia (then part of Austria-Hungary, later in his childhood ...

in 1955, and at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

from 1967 to 1991. She was rehired by City College in 1971 as full professor and retired in 1976. In 1949 Gideon married Brooklyn College assistant professor

Frederic Ewen Frederic Ewen (1899 – October 18, 1988) was an English professor at Brooklyn College from 1930 to 1952. During the height of the McCarthy period Ewen was forced to resign his teaching position after refusing to cooperate with a Senate Internal S ...

. Both were political leftists. Ewen, who refused to testify before the

Rapp-Coudert Committee The Rapp-Coudert Committee was the colloquial name of the New York State Legislature's Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate the Educational System of the State of New York. Between 1940 and 1942, the Rapp-Coudert Committee sought to identify ...

in 1940, was summoned to testify before the Senate Internal Security Committee chaired by Democratic Senator Pat McCarran in 1952. He retired to avoid testifying. Miriam Gideon was investigated by the FBI, and in 1954 and 1955 she resigned from her music teaching posts at City College and Brooklyn College. Gideon composed a lot of vocal music, setting texts by

Francis Thompson Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer a ...

Christian Morgenstern Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (6 May 1871 – 31 March 1914) was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on 7 March 1910. He worked for a while as a journalist in Berlin ...

Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet (née Dudley; March 8, 1612 – September 16, 1672) was the most prominent of early English poets of North America and first writer in England's North American colonies to be published. She is the first Puritan figure in Am ...

Norman Rosten Norman Rosten (January 1, 1913 – March 7, 1995) was an American poet, playwright, and novelist. Life Rosten was born to a Polish Jewish family in New York City and grew up in Hurleyville, New York. He was graduated from Brooklyn College and ...

, Serafin,

Joaquín Quintero Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982) ...

and others. Selected compositions include ''Lyric Piece for Strings'' (1942), ''Mixco'' (1957), ''Adon Olom'', ''Fortunato'', ''Sabbath Morning Service'', ''Friday Evening Service'', and ''Of Shadows Numberless'' (1966). She was the second woman inducted into

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headq ...

in 1975, following Louise Talma who was inducted in 1974. She died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Gideon's 1958 opera ''Fortunato'', edited by Stephanie Jensen-Moulton, was published as part of the Recent Researches in American Music series by A-R Editions in 2013. Jensen-Moulton has published extensively on Gideon, including a number of essays available online, including "Setting an 'Unused Poem': Miriam Gideon’s 'Böhmischer Krystall' " for the American Composers Alliance.

The Miriam Gideon Prize

The

International Alliance for Women in Music The International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) is an international membership organization of women and men dedicated to fostering and encouraging the activities of women in music, particularly in the areas of musical activity, such as compos ...

(IAWM) offers the Miriam Gideon Prize annually for female undergraduate and graduate students who are members of IAWM. Applicants must be 50 years of age or over, and submit an original unpublished musical score for voice and piano or voice and small chamber ensemble.

Works

1 ADON OLOM (1957) - SATB, ob, tpt in C, strings: vl1, vl2, vla, vc, cb 2 ADON OLOM (1958) satb, piano/organ 3 AIR FOR VIOLIN & PIANO (1950) 4 AYELET HASHAKHAR (Morning Star) SONGS OF CHILDHOOD ON HEBREW TEXTS (1990) med voice, pf 5 BELLS (1966) for low or medium voice and piano 6 BÖHMISCHER KRYSTALL (1988) - Sop, fl,cl,vln,vcl,pf or Sop, pf 7 DIVERTIMENTO for Wind Quartet (1957) - fl, ob, cl, bsn 8 ECLOGUE (1990) - fl, pf 9 EPITAPHS FROM ROBERT BURNS (1952) for high, low voice versions with piano 10 FANTASY ON IRISH FOLK-MOTIVES (1975) for ob, bsn (or cello), vla, perc (1) (vib, glock, tam-tam (medium)) 11 FAREWELL TABLET TO AGATHOCLES (from 'Songs of Voyage') (1961) for Med voice, pf 12 FORTUNATO (A Chamber Opera in 3 Scenes) (1958) piano, vocal soloists 13 GERMAN SONGS (1937) for high or low voice, piano 14 HABITABLE EARTH, THE (Cantata) (1966) satb soli, mixed chor, ob, pf or org 15 HOMMAGE A MA JEUNESSE (To My Youth) Sonatina for Two Pianos (1935) 15 bis THE HOUND OF HEAVEN (1945) for voice and instrumental chamber ensemble 16 LITTLE IVORY FIGURES PULLED WITH STRING (1950) medium voice (some spoken, non-pitched, some sung) and guitar 17 LOCKUNG (1937) for high voice, piano 18 LYRIC PIECE (1941) for string orchestra 19 LYRIC PIECE (1955) for string quartet 20 MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH (1957) SATB 21 MIXCO (1957) voice and piano (high, med, and low versions available) 22 OF SHADOWS NUMBERLESS (Suite) (1966) for piano 23 POET TO POET (Song Cycle for High Voice and Piano) (1987) 24 QUARTET, for Strings (1946 25 RONDO APPASSIONATO (1990) for piano, perc, cell 26 SHE WEEPS OVER RAHOON (1940) for high voice and piano 27 SIX CUCKOOS IN QUEST OF A COMPOSER (1957) for piano 28 SLOW, SLOW FRESH FOUNT - TTBB 29 SLOW,SLOW FRESH FOUNT - SATB 30 SONATA FOR CELLO AND PIANO (1991) 31 SONATA FOR PIANO (1983) 32 SONATA FOR VIOLA & PIANO (1957) 33 SONGS OF VOYAGE (1964) for high voice or low voice, piano 34 SONNETS FROM FATAL INTERVIEW (1961) for mezzo soprano and piano 35 SONNETS FROM FATAL INTERVIEW (1961) for mezzo soprano, vln, vla, vcl 36 SONNETS FROM SHAKESPEARE (1986) for medium low voice, piano 37 SONNETS FROM SHAKESPEARE (1986) for high or low voice, trumpet (Bb), string quartet OR string orchestra 38 STEEDS OF DARKNESS (1990) for high voice, fl, ob, perc, vc, pf 39 SUITE FOR CLARINET AND PIANO (1972) - cl in A (or bassoon) and piano 40 SWEET WESTERN WIND (1956) - SATB 41 SYMPHONIA BREVIS (1953) 2-2-2-2,4-2-2-0, timp, strings 42 TANGO LANGOROSO for piano 43 THREE BIBLICAL MASKS (1958) - organ solo 44 THREE BIBLICAL MASKS (for Purim) (1979) for vln, pf 45 THREE CORNERED PIECES (1935) pf (for young musicians) 46 TO MUSIC (1990) for high, medium, or low voice, with piano 47 THE TOO-LATE BORN (1939) for high voice, piano 48 TRIO (1978) for clarinet in A, vcl, pf 49 VERGIFTET SIND MEINE LIEDER (1937) for high voice, piano 50 VOICES FROM ELYSIUM (1984) for high voice, fl, clar, vln, vcl, pf 51 WHERE WILD CARNATIONS BLOW (A Song to David) Soli, mixed choir, ch orch 1-1-0-0-, 0-2-0-0-,timp, strings 52 A WOMAN OF VALOR (EISHET CHAYIL) (1982) for medium voice, piano

Sources

External links

Miriam Gideon Papers, 1905-1992
Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Art of the States: Miriam Gideon
* Miriam Gideon at AllMusicGuide

Interviews

Miriam Gideon interview
June 18, 1986 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gideon, Miriam 1906 births 1996 deaths American women classical composers American classical composers City University of New York faculty Jewish American classical composers Jewish Theological Seminary of America faculty Manhattan School of Music faculty Modernist composers Pupils of Roger Sessions People from Greeley, Colorado Musicians from Colorado Brooklyn College faculty Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers Women music educators 20th-century women composers American women academics 20th-century American Jews