Jan Meyerowitz

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Jan Meyerowitz (born April 23, 1913 in Breslau as Hans-Hermann Meyerowitz ; †  December 15, 1998 in Colmar ) was a German-American composer , conductor , pianist and writer .

Life

Jan Meyerowitz grew up in Breslau as the son of a flax manufacturer. From 1927 he studied in Berlin with Walther Gmeindl and Alexander von Zemlinsky . In 1933 he had to leave Germany and continued his education in Rome with Ottorino Respighi , Alfredo Casella and the conductor Bernardino Molinari . In 1938 he moved to Belgium , in 1939 to southern France, where he had contact with the Resistance . His future wife, the singer Marguerite Fricker, helped him to survive the occupation in Marseille .

In 1946 Meyerowitz went to the USA and became assistant to Boris Goldovsky , the director of the Tanglewood opera program . In 1951 he became an American citizen. As a lecturer Meyerowitz taught at Brooklyn College (1956–1962) and at the City College of New York . After his retirement he returned to France.

Awards

  • 1956, 1958 Guggenheim Fellowship

Works

Compositions

Stage works

  • Simoon (1949). Opera in one act. Libretto : Peter John Stephens (based on August Strindberg ). Premiere August 2nd, 1949 Tanglewood / Massachusetts
  • The Barrier ( The Barrier or The Mulatto , Il Mulatto ; 1949). Opera in 2 acts. Libretto: Langston Hughes . Premiere January 18, 1950 New York (Columbia University)
  • Emily Dickinson (formerly Eastward in Eden ; 1951). Opera 4 acts. Libretto: Dorothy Gardner. Premiere November 16, 1951 in Detroit
    • 2nd act as a separate piece: The Meeting . Premiere September 16, 1955 Falmouth / Massachusetts
  • Bad Boys in School (1952). Opera farce in one act. Libretto: Jan Meyerowitz (after Johann Nestroy ). Premiere August 17, 1953 Tanglewood / Massachusetts
  • Esther (1957-60). Opera in one act. Libretto: Langston Hughes. Premiere August 4th, 1960 Tanglewood / Massachusetts
  • Godfather Death (1960/61). Chamber opera in 3 acts. Libretto: Peter John Stephens. Premiere June 1, 1961 in New York
  • The Winter Ballad or The Doppelganger (1966/67). Opera in 3 acts. Libretto: Jan Meyerowitz (based on Gerhart Hauptmann ). Premiere January 29, 1967 Hanover ( Opera House ; Conductor: Reinhard Petersen)

Vocal compositions

  • The Five Foolish Virgins . cantata
  • The Story of Ruth for coloratura soprano and piano
  • Missa Rachel Plorans (1954). Mass for choir a cappella
  • The Glory Around His Head (1955). Easter cantata for medium voice, 4-part mixed choir and piano. Libretto: Langston Hughes
  • How Godly Is the House of God for 4-part mixed choir and piano. Libretto: Langston Hughes
  • Emily Dickinson Cantata . Libretto: Dorothy Gardner (?)
  • New Plymouth Cantata for solos, 4-part mixed choir and piano. Libretto: Dorothy Gardner
  • Hérodiade . Text: Stéphane Mallarmé
  • Arvit Shir hadash l'shabbat ( A new song for the Sabbath ). Premiere 1962 New York (Park Avenue Synagogue; Cantor: David Putterman)
  • Hebrew Service (1962)
  • Five Sacred Songs (1963) for bass and orchestra (2.2.2.2 - 4.2.3.1 - harp - timpani, percussion - strings)
  • Further cantatas, song cycles and songs based on texts by Edward Estlin Cummings , Robert Herrick , John Keats , Arthur Rimbaud a . a.

Orchestral works

  • Midrash Esther (1954). Symphony. Premiere 1957 New York ( New York Philharmonic , conductor: Dimitri Mitropoulos )
  • Flemish Overture (1959) for orchestra (3.3.3.3 - 4.3.3.1 - harp - percussion - strings)
  • Oboe Concerto (1962; Orchestra: 2.0.2.2 - 4.2.2.0 - harp - timpani, percussion - strings)
  • Flute concert
  • Four Movements for Wind Symphony (1974)
  • Four Romantic Pieces for Concert Band (1978)

Chamber music

  • String Quartet (1936-55)
  • Sonatas for violin and for violoncello
  • Short Suite for Brass (3.3.2.1)

Fonts

  • Arnold Schoenberg . Berlin (Colloquium) 1967 (= heads of the 20th century, volume 47)
  • The real Jewish joke . Berlin (Colloquium) 1971. New edition: Berlin (arani) 1997. ISBN 3-7605-8669-4

literature

  • Hans-Jürgen Winterhoff, Helmut Loos (Hrsg.): Five Silesian composers of the 20th century . Ernst August Voelkel (1886–1960), Fritz Lubrich (1888–1971), Edmund von Borck (1906–1944), Jan Meyerowitz, Martin Christoph Redel (* 1947). Schröder, Bonn 1994 (= German Music in the East, Volume 4). ISBN 3-926196-20-3 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Meyerowitz, Jan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meyerowitz, Hans-Hermann (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American composer, conductor, pianist and writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Wroclaw
DATE OF DEATH December 15, 1998
Place of death Colmar