Marc Blitzstein

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Marc Blitzstein (born March 2, 1905 in Philadelphia , † January 22, 1964 in Fort-de-France , Martinique ) was an American composer who combined anti-capitalist social criticism with charm and comedy. He was most successful with musicals "for the Orson Welles troupe ". He also appeared with operas and an English version of Brecht / Weill's Threepenny Opera .

Life

As the son of a wealthy Jewish banker who was progressive in social matters but conservative in musical matters, the gifted Blitzstein had piano lessons from Alexander Siloti at an early age . He made his professional debut at the age of 21 with Liszt's first piano concerto performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra . He studied composition first at the Curtis Institute of Music with Rosario Scalero , then with Nadia Boulanger in Paris (1926/27) and temporarily with Arnold Schönberg in Berlin (1927). In 1933, now in New York City, Blitzstein married the critic and writer Eva Goldbeck , despite his homosexuality , to whom he owed many artistic suggestions. However, the marriage was problematic. From 1938 to 1949 Blitzstein belonged to the Communist Party. He was also active as a music teacher and as an author for left-wing papers such as New Masses . Goldbeck (born 1901 in Berlin) died of anorexia and breast cancer in 1936, which took Blitzstein with him. He threw himself into work on his musical The Cradle Will Rock , which shows, like a cartoon, scenes from “Steeltown” and the local struggle of the little people against their exploitation. The establishment tried to stop the performance, but the piece was staged more than a hundred times in the first production at various Broadway theaters and made its creator (1937) well known.

Theater boss Halli Flanagan, Orson Welles and Brooks Atkinson from the New York Times describe Blitzstein as a full-bodied, energetic composer who masters all stylistic devices and swears all participants to the earthly Garden of Eden, which is within easy reach. In 1939 Blitzstein met Leonard Bernstein , which resulted in a close friendship and cooperation. Blitzstein served in the army during the Second World War ; temporarily as musical director of US radio in London. In the seven years from 1954 onwards, his Threepenny Opera after Brecht / Weill brought it to around 2,700 performances in the USA alone. In 1958 Blitzstein was summoned before the infamous McCarthy Committee . He admitted his previous membership in the Communist Party, but refused to reveal names or otherwise cooperate. On this occasion he also stated that he had meanwhile had considerable difficulties ( Hungary 1956 !) With communist politics. A year later, Blitzstein brought out the musical Juno, based on Sean O'Casey . For Eric A. Gordon Blitzstein was the first theater composer to bring the authentic American of all social classes, from immigrant workers to bosses, to the stage. In 1959 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters .

In January 1964, Blitzstein, a friend of a “rough” sexuality, while on vacation on the Caribbean island of Martinique, while on a tour of relevant harbor bars in a drunk state, encountered three local younger seamen who forcibly stripped him, robbed him, and so on brutally beat up that he died in hospital the next day.

Blitzstein also wrote chamber and orchestral music; a full list can be found on the official website. In the following only the most important musical theater pieces. They are sometimes referred to as musicals, sometimes as operas.

Works (selection)

  • Triple-Sec , 1928
  • The Harpies , 1931.
  • The Condemned , 1932.
  • The Cradle Will Rock , 1936.
  • No for an answer , 1940.
  • Regina , 1949.
  • The Threepenny Opera (based on Brecht / Weill), 1954.
  • Reuben Reuben , 1955.
  • Juno , 1959.
  • Idiots First , 1964 (after Bernard Malamud , unfinished).

literature

  • Eric A. Gordon: Mark the Music. The Life and Work of Marc Blitzstein. St. Martin's Press, New York NY 1989, ISBN 0-312-02607-2 .
  • Peter Gradenwitz : Marc Blitzstein . In: Arnold Schönberg and his master students. Berlin 1925–1933 . Zsolnay, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-552-04899-5 , p. 100-112 .
  • Richard Kostelanetz (Ed.): Aaron Copland. A reader. Selected Writings 1923-1972. Routledge, New York NY et al. 2004, ISBN 0-415-93940-2 , pp. 205-209.
  • Leonard J. Lehrman : Marc Blitzstein. A Bio-Bibliography (= Bio-bibliographies in Music. 99). Praeger, Westport CT et al. 2005, ISBN 0-313-30027-5 .
  • Howard Pollack: Marc Blitzstein. His Life, His Work, His World. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-979159-0 .
  • John Warrack, Ewan West: The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 1992, ISBN 0-19-869164-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brockhaus Riemann Musiklexikon , 3rd edition 1995
  2. ^ Peter Gradenwitz : Marc Blitzstein . In: Arnold Schönberg and his master students. Berlin 1925–1933 . Zsolnay, Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-552-04899-5 , p. 102 .
  3. ^ Howard Pollack, 2012, p. 207
  4. ^ Howard Pollack, 2012, p. 64
  5. ^ Howard Pollack, 2012, p. 223
  6. ^ Howard Pollack, 2012, p. 180
  7. ↑ a b Spartacus , accessed February 18, 2011
  8. ^ Howard Pollack, 2012, p. 366
  9. ^ Howard Pollack, 2012, pp. 417-20
  10. ↑ Members: Marc Blitzstein. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed February 17, 2019 .
  11. ^ Howard Pollack, 2012, p. 468
  12. ↑ after Lillian Hellman's drama The Little Foxes .
personal data
SURNAME Blitzstein, Marc
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American composer
DATE OF BIRTH March 2, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia
DATE OF DEATH January 22, 1964
Place of death Fort-de-France