Ruth Schonthal

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Ruth Schönthal (born June 27, 1924 in Hamburg ; † July 11, 2006 in Scarsdale near New York City ) was a German-American composer , pianist and professor at New York University and the Westchester Conservatory of Music.

Life

Ruth Schönthal (since 1946 also: Schonthal) was born to Jewish parents who came from Vienna . Her father was the owner of a soldering and welding company in Berlin and cultivated diverse cultural interests. Schönthal began to compose at the age of five and was considered a child prodigy in Berlin in the 1930s . From 1930 to 1935 she studied piano , music theory and composition at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin . In 1935 she was expelled from the conservatory by the National Socialists along with all other Jewish fellow students.

emigration

In 1938 she emigrated with her family to Stockholm , where she enrolled at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music . There she published a composition for the first time in 1940, her sonatina for piano. In 1941 the political situation in Sweden became too uncertain. The family fled to Mexico via Moscow and Vladivostok . From 1941 she studied composition with Manuel María Ponce in Mexico City and enjoyed great success as a composer and pianist. She met Paul Hindemith while he was on a tour of Mexico. He was so impressed with her talent that he won her a scholarship to study at Yale University. From 1946 to 1948 she studied with Paul Hindemith at Yale University in New Haven / USA . After graduating from Yale in 1948, she initially earned her living composing advertising jingles and pop songs.

Composer, pianist and professor of composition

With increasing success as a composer she postponed her career as a concert pianist, but performed regularly as an interpreter of her own works. Ruth Schönthal became a lecturer at the Westchester Conservatory of Music. Until recently she was active as a professor of composition at New York University. She lived in New Rochelle for many years , most recently in Scarsdale near New York.

In 1980, 42 years after her emigration, the composer returned to Germany for the first time, gave a concert and took part in a panel discussion in Berlin. As a result, she went on numerous concert and lecture tours through Germany. A permanent return was no longer an option for her. Since 1997 the Kasseler Furore Verlag has been publishing Schönthal's compositions.

In 1999 the Berlin Academy of the Arts set up the Ruth Schönthal Archive with letters, photos and documents, which was opened in the presence of the composer. In accordance with her last will, her artistic estate was also handed over to the Berlin archive. Schonthal's catalog raisonné includes more than 100 pieces of music, including three operas, numerous orchestral works, ballet music and songs, including the Whitman cycle By The Roadside and the string quartet In Memoriam Holocaust . At the Jewish Museum in Vienna, Schönthal is listed on a plaque among other Jewish musicians who emigrated during the Nazi era. Next to her name is a button that can be pressed to hear her first sonatina.

The New York Times described her style of music as an eclectic mix of European music tradition, Mexican folk music, aleatoric and minimal music .

Ruth Schönthal left behind her husband, the painter Paul Seckel, with whom she had been married since 1950, and the three sons Alfred, Bernhard and Ben Seckel.

Awards

Works (selection)

Operas
  • The Courtship of Camilla (1979/80), libretto after AA Milne
  • Jocasta (1996/97), libretto by Helene Cicoux
  • Princess Maleen (1988/89)
Orchestral works
  • Concerto No.2 for piano and orchestra (1977)
  • Evening Music, Nocturnal Fantasy with Oceanwaves
  • Music for Horn and Chamber Orchestra (1978)
  • The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez (1982, rev. 1983)
  • Soundtrack for a Dark Street (1994)
  • 3 celebrations "Happy Birthday Variations" for childrens concerts
  • The Young Dead Soldiers for choir and orchestra (1987)
Piano works and chamber music
  • Sonatina in A for piano (1940), ISMN M-50012-843-4
  • Sonata quasi un 'Improvisazione for piano (1964), ISMN M-50012-159-6
  • Reverberations for prepared piano (1967–74), ISMN M-50012-156-5
  • Sonata Breve for piano (1973), ISMN M-50012-842-7
  • Three elegies for piano (1982), ISMN M-50012-160-2
  • Sonata in 2 Movements for Violoncello and Piano (1989), ISMN M-50012-176-3
  • 65 Celebrations (1993/94), ISMN M-50012-163-3
  • The Wall Before and After for chamber ensemble (1994), for the reunification of Berlin
  • Bells of Sarajevo for clarinet and prepared piano (1997)
  • Wildung song cycle for mezzo-soprano and piano (2 vols. 1992/97)

Discography

  • Reverberations: Adina Mornell Plays Ruth Schonthal by Ruth Schonthal and Adina Mornell (2002)
  • Character Sketches: Solo Piano Works by 7 American Women by Gwyneth Walker, Judith Lang Zaimont , Tania Leon, Victoria Bond, and Jane Brockman (1995)
  • Sunbursts: Solo Piano Works by 7 American Women by Emma Lou Diemer, Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee, Vivian Adelberg Rudow, Ruth Schonthal, and Sheila Silver (1998)
  • Jewish String Quartets by Steven Doane, Abraham Wolf Binder, Darius Milhaud, Ruth Schonthal, and Sholom Secunda (2006)
  • Margaret Mills Plays Piano by Lowell Liebermann, Ruth Schonthal, and Margaret Mills (1994)
  • Vive la Différence: String Quartets by 5 Women from 3 Continents by Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, Priaulx Rainier, Sarah Aderholdt, Ruth Schonthal, and Lucie Vellere (1997)
  • Margaret Astrup Sings Ruth Schonthal by Schonthal and Astrup (2007)
  • Songs by Women by Elizabeth R. Austin, Elisenda Fabregas, Ruth Schonthal, Joyce Suskind, and Marcia Eckert (2003)
  • Toccata / Austrian Piano Music: Josef Mayr (piano) plays works by Ruth Schonthal (Toccata and Arietta), Krenek, Takács, Hauer etc., Extraplatte 588-2 (2003)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schonthal, Ruth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schonthal, Ruth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, pianist and lecturer in composition
DATE OF BIRTH June 27, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH July 11, 2006
Place of death Scarsdale