Carl Weinrich
Encyclopedia
Carl Weinrich was an American organist
, choral conductor, and teacher. He was particularly known for his recitals and recordings of Bach
's organ music and as a leader in the revival of Baroque
organ music in the United States during the 1930s.
and began studying the organ when he was six years old. In addition to private study with Mark Andrews, Marcel Dupré
, and Lynnwood Farnam, he received degrees from New York University
in 1927 and the Curtis Institute in 1930. In 1930, he also succeeded Lynnwood Farnam as the organist at the Church of the Holy Communion
in New York City. He was the organist, choir-master, and Director of Music at Princeton
's University Chapel from 1943 to 1973. He also taught at Wellesley College, Vassar
, Columbia University
and Harvard, and published a monograph on Albert Schweitzer
's contribution to organ-building.
Although primarily known for his performances of Baroque music, he also performed many 20th century organ works, including the premieres of Samuel Barber
's Prelude and Fugue in B Minor, Louis Vierne
's Organ Symphony No. 6 in B minor, and Arnold Schoenberg
's Variations on a Recitative (Op. 40). Carl Weinrich died in Princeton, New Jersey
at the age of 86 after suffering from Parkinson's Disease
for several years.. Amongst his students were the composer, Betsy Jolas
; the composer and organist, George Lynn
; and the musicologist and critic, Joseph Kerman
.
label to record a multi-volume series of LP
s comprising all of Johann Sebastian Bach
's organ compositions. His other recordings included:
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
, choral conductor, and teacher. He was particularly known for his recitals and recordings of Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
's organ music and as a leader in the revival of Baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
organ music in the United States during the 1930s.
Biography
Weinrich was born in Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
and began studying the organ when he was six years old. In addition to private study with Mark Andrews, Marcel Dupré
Marcel Dupré
Marcel Dupré , was a French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Marcel Dupré was born in Rouen . Born into a musical family, he was a child prodigy. His father Albert Dupré was organist in Rouen and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when...
, and Lynnwood Farnam, he received degrees from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1927 and the Curtis Institute in 1930. In 1930, he also succeeded Lynnwood Farnam as the organist at the Church of the Holy Communion
Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings
The Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings are historic Episcopal church buildings at 656-662 Avenue of the Americas at West 20th Street in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City....
in New York City. He was the organist, choir-master, and Director of Music at Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
's University Chapel from 1943 to 1973. He also taught at Wellesley College, Vassar
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Harvard, and published a monograph on Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
's contribution to organ-building.
Although primarily known for his performances of Baroque music, he also performed many 20th century organ works, including the premieres of Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
's Prelude and Fugue in B Minor, Louis Vierne
Louis Vierne
Louis Victor Jules Vierne was a French organist and composer.-Life:Louis Vierne was born in Poitiers, Vienne, nearly blind due to congenital cataracts, but at an early age was discovered to have an unusual gift for music. Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French...
's Organ Symphony No. 6 in B minor, and Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
's Variations on a Recitative (Op. 40). Carl Weinrich died in Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
at the age of 86 after suffering from Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
for several years.. Amongst his students were the composer, Betsy Jolas
Betsy Jolas
Betsy Jolas is a French composer.Betsy Jolas was born in Paris. Resident in the United States from 1940 until 1946, she studied composition with Paul Boepple and piano with Helen Schnabel. On her return to France she continued her studies with Simone Plé-Caussade, Darius Milhaud and Olivier...
; the composer and organist, George Lynn
George Lynn
George Lynn was an American composer, conductor, pianist, organist, singer, and music educator. A longtime member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, his compositional output encompasses more than 200 orchestral and choral pieces; many of which have been performed by...
; and the musicologist and critic, Joseph Kerman
Joseph Kerman
Joseph Wilfred Kerman is an American critic and musicologist. One of the leading musicologists of his generation, his 1985 book Contemplating Music: Challenges to Musicology was described by Philip Brett in The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as "a defining moment in the field." He is...
.
Recordings
In 1951, Weinrich was signed by the MGM RecordsMGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
label to record a multi-volume series of LP
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
s comprising all of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's organ compositions. His other recordings included:
- Fantasia In Echo Style (Jan Pieters Sweelinck), Musicraft, 1938
- Onward, Christian Soldiers and Other Beloved Hymns, RCA Victor, circa 1950
- Israel in Egypt (George Frideric Handel), Princeton University, 1956
- Romantic Organ Music, RCA Victor Red Seal, 1964
- Funeral Anthem on the Death of Queen Caroline (George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
), Princeton University, 1964 - Christmas Music of the Baroque (Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann PachelbelJohann PachelbelJohann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...
, Fridolin SicherFridolin SicherFridolin Sicher was a Swiss composer and organist of the Renaissance era. He was born in Bischofszell and began his study of the organ at the age of 13 with Martin Vogelmaier, the organist of Konstanz Cathedral. He then studied theology and in 1510 became a prebend and organist at St Agnes Church...
, Arnolt SchlickArnolt SchlickArnolt Schlick was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the Renaissance. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists. He was most probably born in Heidelberg and by 1482 established himself as court organist for the Electoral Palatinate...
, Louis Claude Daquin, Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
), RCA Victor, 1965 - Organ Music of the Bach Family (Carl Philipp Emanuel BachCarl Philipp Emanuel Bachright|250pxCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and second son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach...
, Johann Bernhard BachJohann Bernhard BachJohann Bernhard Bach was a German composer, and second cousin of J. S. Bach. He was born in Erfurt, and his early musical education was by his father, Johann Aegidus Bach. He took up his position as organist in Erfurt in 1695, and then took a similar position in Magdeburg...
, Johann Michael BachJohann Michael BachJohann Michael Bach was a German composer of the Baroque period. He was the brother of Johann Christoph Bach, as well as father-in-law of Johann Sebastian Bach...
, Johann Christoph BachJohann Christoph BachJohann Christoph Bach was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period. He was born at Arnstadt, the son of Heinrich Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach's great uncle, hence he was Johann Sebastian's first cousin once removed. He was also the uncle of Maria Barbara Bach, J.S...
, Wilhelm Friedemann BachWilhelm Friedemann BachWilhelm Friedemann Bach , the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach, was a German composer and performer...
, Johann Sebastian Bach), RCA Victor, 1965 - The Sonatas for Organ and Orchestra (Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
), RCA, 1967 - Mass in E minor (Anton BrucknerAnton BrucknerAnton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
), Musical Heritage Society, 1974 - Concertos (George Frideric Handel, Felix MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Sergei RachmaninoffSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
, Joseph Haydn), Time–Life RecordsTime-LifeTime–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
, 1980
Sources
- BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, "Weinrich Cuts Bach Series", July 14, 1951 - Briscoe, James R., Contemporary Anthology of Music by Women, Indiana University Press, 1997. ISBN 0253211026
- Kerman, Joseph, The Art of Fugue: Bach Fugues for Keyboard, 1715-1750, University of California Press, 2008. ISBN 0520253892
- Lawrence, Michael E. "Paul Jacobs to Perform Unpublished Work of Samuel Barber in Philadelphia ", New Liturgical Movement: Sacred Liturgy and Liturgical Arts, July 30, 2008
- New York Times, "Carl Weinrich, 86, Bach Organist, Dies", May 15, 1991
- Randel, Don Michael, "Weinrich, Carl", The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, Harvard University Press, 1996, p. 975. ISBN 0674372999
- Sandved, Kjell Bloch, "Weinrich, Carl", The World of Music, Volume 4, Abradale Press, 1963, p. 1473
- Sessions, Roger, "Schoenberg in the United States", Tempo, No. 9 (December 1944), pp. 2-7
- Smith, Rollin, Louis Vierne: Organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Pendragon Press, 1999. ISBN 1576470040
- University of Colorado at BoulderUniversity of Colorado at BoulderThe University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, "Biography of George Lynn (1915-1989)", Guide to the George Lynn Collection, pp. 5-6 - Weinrich, Carl, Albert Schweitzer's Contribution to Organ-building, Sci-art, 1945