Elie Siegmeister
Encyclopedia
Elie Siegmeister was an American composer, educator and author.
His varied musical output showed his concern with the development of an authentic American musical vocabulary. Jazz, blues and folk melodies and rhythms are frequent themes in his many song cycles, his nine opera
s, his eight symphonies
, and his many choral, chamber, and solo works. His 37 orchestral works have been performed by leading orchestras throughout the world under such conductors as Arturo Toscanini
, Leopold Stokowski
, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Lorin Maazel
, and Sergiu Comissiona
. He also composed for Hollywood (notably, the film score of They Came to Cordura
, starring Gary Cooper
and Rita Hayworth
, 1959) and Broadway ("Sing Out, Sweet Land," 1944, book by Walter Kerr
).
His Western Suite was premiered by Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra
during a broadcast concert on November 25, 1945, in NBC Studio 8-H. Maurice Abravanel
and the Utah Symphony Orchestra
later made a stereo recording of the music, which incorporates familiar cowboy tunes and garnered him many black friends. Biographer Mortimer Frank said it is a remarkable performance led by a conductor whose roots went not to the Old West but the Parma conservatory.
Siegmeister wrote a number of important books on music, among them "Treasury of American Song" (Knopf, 1940–43, text coauthored with Olin Downs, music arranged by Siegmeister), second edition revised and enlarged (Consolidated Music Publishers); "The Music Lover's Handbook" (William Morrow, 1943; Book-of-the-Month Club selection), revised and expanded as "The New Music Lover's Handbook" (1973); and the two-volume "Harmony and Melody" (Wadsworth, 1985), which was widely adopted by college and conservatory curricula. In 1960, Siegmeister also recorded and released an instructional album of music, Invitation to Music, on Folkways Records
, on which he discusses the fundamentals of music.
From 1977 until his death, he served on the Board of Directors of ASCAP and chaired its Symphony and Concert Committee. Among his signal achievements, he was composer-in-residence at Hofstra University 1966-76, having organized and conducted the Hofstra Symphony Orchestra; established 1971 and chaired the Council of Creative Artists, Libraries, and Museums; and initiated 1978 the Kennedy Center's National Black Music competition. In 1939, he organized the American Ballad Singers, pioneers in the folk music renaissance whom he conducted for eight years in performances throughout the United States. He was the winner of numerous awards and commissions, among them those of the Guggenheim, Ford, and Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundations, the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the USIA.
Siegmeister earned a B.A. cum laude at the age of 18 from Columbia University
, where he had studied music theory with Seth Bingham. He studied conducting with Albert Stoessel at the Juilliard School and counterpoint with Wallingford Riegger. He was among the numerous American composers, including Aaron Copland
and Virgil Thomson
, who were students of the influential teacher Nadia Boulanger
in Paris. The best known of his own students was Stephen Albert
(1941–92), winner of a 1985 Pulitzer Prize
for music. Other students included clarinetist Naomi Drucker and composers Michael Jeffrey Shapiro
, Daniel Dorff
, Leonard Lehrman
, Herbert Deutsch
, Joseph Pehrson
, and Grammy-winner Jack Gallagher
.
His varied musical output showed his concern with the development of an authentic American musical vocabulary. Jazz, blues and folk melodies and rhythms are frequent themes in his many song cycles, his nine opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, his eight symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, and his many choral, chamber, and solo works. His 37 orchestral works have been performed by leading orchestras throughout the world under such conductors as Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, and Sergiu Comissiona
Sergiu Comissiona
Sergiu Comissiona was a Romanian conductor and violinist.-Early life:...
. He also composed for Hollywood (notably, the film score of They Came to Cordura
They Came To Cordura
They Came To Cordura is a 1959 Western film co-written and directed by Robert Rossen, starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, and featuring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Richard Conte, Michael Callan, and Dick York. It was based on a 1958 novel by Glendon Swarthout.-Plot:Tom Thorn is a U.S...
, starring Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
and Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
, 1959) and Broadway ("Sing Out, Sweet Land," 1944, book by Walter Kerr
Walter Kerr
For the RN admiral see Lord Walter KerrWalter Francis Kerr was an American writer and Broadway theater critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals.-Biography:...
).
His Western Suite was premiered by Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
during a broadcast concert on November 25, 1945, in NBC Studio 8-H. Maurice Abravanel
Maurice Abravanel
Maurice Abravanel was aSwiss-American Jewish conductor of classical music. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years.-Life:...
and the Utah Symphony Orchestra
Utah Symphony Orchestra
-History:The first attempt to create a symphony group in the Utah area occurred in 1892, before Utah was a state. The Salt Lake Symphony was created and presented just one concert before disbanding. In 1902 the Salt Lake Symphony Orchestra was formed, and it remained in existence until 1911...
later made a stereo recording of the music, which incorporates familiar cowboy tunes and garnered him many black friends. Biographer Mortimer Frank said it is a remarkable performance led by a conductor whose roots went not to the Old West but the Parma conservatory.
Siegmeister wrote a number of important books on music, among them "Treasury of American Song" (Knopf, 1940–43, text coauthored with Olin Downs, music arranged by Siegmeister), second edition revised and enlarged (Consolidated Music Publishers); "The Music Lover's Handbook" (William Morrow, 1943; Book-of-the-Month Club selection), revised and expanded as "The New Music Lover's Handbook" (1973); and the two-volume "Harmony and Melody" (Wadsworth, 1985), which was widely adopted by college and conservatory curricula. In 1960, Siegmeister also recorded and released an instructional album of music, Invitation to Music, on Folkways Records
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
, on which he discusses the fundamentals of music.
From 1977 until his death, he served on the Board of Directors of ASCAP and chaired its Symphony and Concert Committee. Among his signal achievements, he was composer-in-residence at Hofstra University 1966-76, having organized and conducted the Hofstra Symphony Orchestra; established 1971 and chaired the Council of Creative Artists, Libraries, and Museums; and initiated 1978 the Kennedy Center's National Black Music competition. In 1939, he organized the American Ballad Singers, pioneers in the folk music renaissance whom he conducted for eight years in performances throughout the United States. He was the winner of numerous awards and commissions, among them those of the Guggenheim, Ford, and Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundations, the Library of Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the USIA.
Siegmeister earned a B.A. cum laude at the age of 18 from 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...
, where he had studied music theory with Seth Bingham. He studied conducting with Albert Stoessel at the Juilliard School and counterpoint with Wallingford Riegger. He was among the numerous American composers, including Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
, who were students of the influential teacher Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris. The best known of his own students was Stephen Albert
Stephen Albert
Stephen Albert was an American composer.-Biography:Born in New York City, Albert began his musical training on the piano, French horn, and trumpet as a youngster. He first studied composition at the age of 15 with Elie Siegmeister, and enrolled two years later at the Eastman School of Music, where...
(1941–92), winner of a 1985 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for music. Other students included clarinetist Naomi Drucker and composers Michael Jeffrey Shapiro
Michael Jeffrey Shapiro
Michael Jeffrey Shapiro is a noted American composer and conductor.The son of a klezmer band clarinetist, Michael Shapiro was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent most of his high school years in Baldwin, a Long Island suburb. The winner of several piano competitions during his youth, he earned...
, Daniel Dorff
Daniel Dorff
Daniel Dorff is an American composer, and is regarded as one of the most influential of his generation...
, Leonard Lehrman
Leonard Lehrman
Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman was born in Kansas, on August 20, 1949, but grew up in Roslyn, NY, becoming the youngest private composition student of Elie Siegmeister . Since Aug...
, Herbert Deutsch
Herbert Deutsch
Herbert A. Deutsch is an American composer, inventor, and educator. Currently professor emeritus of electronic music and composition at Hofstra University, he is best known for co-inventing the Moog Synthesizer with Bob Moog in 1964....
, Joseph Pehrson
Joseph Pehrson
- Life :Pehrson comes from Detroit, Michigan. He studied at the University of Michigan and Eastman School of Music. . His teachers include Leslie Bassett, Joseph Schwantner, Otto Luening and Elie Siegmeister. From 1992 to 1993 he was composer-in-residence at the University of Akron. Since 1983 he...
, and Grammy-winner Jack Gallagher
Jack Gallagher (composer)
Jack Gallagher is an American composer and college professor. His recording, Jack Gallagher: Orchestral Music, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta, was released internationally on the Naxos Records label in 2010.-Life and career:Gallagher was born in Brooklyn,...
.