Charles Griffes
Encyclopedia
Charles Tomlinson Griffes (Elmira, New York
, September 17, 1884 – New York City
, April 8, 1920) was an American composer
for piano, chamber ensembles and for voice.
and organ in his home town, he went to Berlin
for four years to study composition with Engelbert Humperdinck and piano with Ernst Jedliczka
at the Stern conservatory
. On returning to the U.S. in 1907 he began teaching at the Hackley School
for boys in Tarrytown, New York
, a post which he held until his early death 13 years later.
Griffes is the most famous American representative of musical Impressionism
. He was fascinated by the exotic, mysterious sound of the French Impressionists, and was compositionally much influenced by them while he was in Europe. He also studied the work of contemporary Russia
n composers (for example Scriabin
), whose influence is also apparent in his work, for example in his use of synthetic scale
s.
His most famous works are the White Peacock, for piano (1915, orchestrated in 1919); his Piano Sonata (1917–18, revised 1919); a tone poem, The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan, after the fragment by Coleridge
(1912, revised in 1916), and Poem for Flute and Orchestra (1918). He also wrote numerous programmatic pieces for piano, chamber ensembles, and for voice. The amount and quality of his music is impressive considering his short life and his full-time teaching job, and much of his music is still performed. His unpublished Sho-jo (1917), a one-act pantomimic drama based on Japanese themes, is one of the earliest works by an American composer to show direct inspiration from the music of Japan.
at the age of 35 and is buried in Bloomfield Cemetery
in Bloomfield
, Essex County, New Jersey
. His papers passed to his younger sister Marguerite who chose to destroy many that explicitly related to his gay life. Donna Anderson (see below) is his current literary executor.
Griffes kept meticulous diaries, some in German
, which chronicled his musical accomplishments from 1907 to 1919, and also dealt honestly with his homosexual lifestyle including his regular patronage of the Lafayette Place Baths
and the Produce Exchange Baths
.
During his time as a student in Berlin he was devoted to his "special friend" Emil Joèl (aka "Konrad Wölcke"). In later life he had a long term relationship with John Meyer (biographer Edward Maisel used the pseudonym Dan C. Martin), a married New York policeman.
His surname is properly pronounced GRIFF-iss, though it is sometimes mispronounced in the French manner as "Greef."
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
, September 17, 1884 – New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, April 8, 1920) was an American composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
for piano, chamber ensembles and for voice.
Musical career
After early studies on pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and organ in his home town, he went to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
for four years to study composition with Engelbert Humperdinck and piano with Ernst Jedliczka
Ernst Jedliczka
Ernst Jedliczka was a Russian-German pianist, piano pedagogue, and music critic. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition stated that Jedliczka "did much to spread Russian music in Germany, placing Russian composers in a prominent place within his concerts and devoting them to a series of...
at the Stern conservatory
Stern conservatory
The Stern Conservatory was a private music school in Berlin with many notable tutors and alumni.-History:It was originally founded in 1850 as the Berliner Musikschule by Julius Stern, Theodor Kullak and Adolf Bernhard Marx. Kullak withdrew from the conservatory in 1855 in order to create a new...
. On returning to the U.S. in 1907 he began teaching at the Hackley School
Hackley School
Hackley School is a private college preparatory school located in Tarrytown, New York and is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Founded in 1899 by wealthy philanthropist Mrs. Caleb Brewster Hackley, Hackley was intended to be a Unitarian alternative to the mostly Episcopal boarding...
for boys in Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
, a post which he held until his early death 13 years later.
Griffes is the most famous American representative of musical Impressionism
Impressionist music
Impressionism in music was a tendency in European classical music, mainly in France, which appeared in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. Similarly to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on a suggestion and an atmosphere...
. He was fascinated by the exotic, mysterious sound of the French Impressionists, and was compositionally much influenced by them while he was in Europe. He also studied the work of contemporary Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n composers (for example Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
), whose influence is also apparent in his work, for example in his use of synthetic scale
Musical scale
In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
s.
His most famous works are the White Peacock, for piano (1915, orchestrated in 1919); his Piano Sonata (1917–18, revised 1919); a tone poem, The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan, after the fragment by Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
(1912, revised in 1916), and Poem for Flute and Orchestra (1918). He also wrote numerous programmatic pieces for piano, chamber ensembles, and for voice. The amount and quality of his music is impressive considering his short life and his full-time teaching job, and much of his music is still performed. His unpublished Sho-jo (1917), a one-act pantomimic drama based on Japanese themes, is one of the earliest works by an American composer to show direct inspiration from the music of Japan.
Personal life
He died of influenzaInfluenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
at the age of 35 and is buried in Bloomfield Cemetery
Bloomfield Cemetery, Bloomfield
Bloomfield Cemetery is located at 383 Belleville Avenue, Bloomfield in Essex County, New Jersey. The telephone number is 748-0131.-Notable burials:...
in Bloomfield
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...
, Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
. His papers passed to his younger sister Marguerite who chose to destroy many that explicitly related to his gay life. Donna Anderson (see below) is his current literary executor.
Griffes kept meticulous diaries, some in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, which chronicled his musical accomplishments from 1907 to 1919, and also dealt honestly with his homosexual lifestyle including his regular patronage of the Lafayette Place Baths
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
and the Produce Exchange Baths
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
.
During his time as a student in Berlin he was devoted to his "special friend" Emil Joèl (aka "Konrad Wölcke"). In later life he had a long term relationship with John Meyer (biographer Edward Maisel used the pseudonym Dan C. Martin), a married New York policeman.
His surname is properly pronounced GRIFF-iss, though it is sometimes mispronounced in the French manner as "Greef."
External links
- Charles Tomlinson Griffes scores (the composer's manuscripts) in the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
- Thomas Hampson: I Hear America Singing - Composer profile
- Charles Griffes. American Musicological Society Newsletter Essay by Howard Pollack