Joel Honig
Encyclopedia
Joel Honig was an American music critic, copy editor, writer, and pianist
. He is best remembered for his extensive contributions to Opera News
magazine.
Born in Chicago
, Illinois
, Honig studied piano at the Manhattan School of Music
before entering Columbia University
where he was part of a social group of young men that included composer John Corigliano
and theatre director Michael Kahn
. During his junior year he studied French literature at the Sorbonne
in Paris. He was a close friend of playwright William M. Hoffman
whom he met at a bar in Greenwich Village
in the 1950s. Hoffman said of the event, "I was dead drunk, reciting a Jean Genet
poem in French at the top of my lungs, and Joel came up to me and finished the poem. And we became fast friends."
In the late 1950s Honig served as the personal secretary of composer Gian Carlo Menotti
, notably working with him when he founded the Festival dei Due Mondi
in 1958. Around that same time he began working as a freelance writer and music critic. He notably was a regular contributor to Opera News
magazine for 40 years. In the 1960s, he served as the rehearsal accompanist and concert pianist for the Harkness Ballet
and also worked in the studios of many of the era’s leading ballet instructors. He even attempted, unsuccessfully, to teach Rebekah Harkness to play the piano. He later worked for 19 years as a copy editor for Charles Scribner's Sons
. He barely contained a fantastic intellect within a searing wit. There were few subjects, and few people, he had no opinion about. A longtime friend of Raymond Guy Wilson, Juliard graduate also of Harkness House, and the Director of the National Academy of Dance and Music. He led a life of loyalty to old friends, contempt of stupidity, and grudging hope in the improvement of Mankind. Quote: "Expectations are very limited."
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. He is best remembered for his extensive contributions to Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
magazine.
Born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Honig studied piano at the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
before entering 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 was part of a social group of young men that included composer John Corigliano
John Corigliano
John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
and theatre director Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn (theatre director)
Michael Kahn is the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., USA. He held the position of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School from 1992 to 2006....
. During his junior year he studied French literature at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris. He was a close friend of playwright William M. Hoffman
William M. Hoffman
William Moses Hoffman is an American playwright, editor and educator.- Biography :Born in New York City, New York, United States, Hoffman's earliest works either were mounted in small, experimental off-off-Broadway theaters in New York City or remain unproduced.It was not until 1985 that he...
whom he met at a bar in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in the 1950s. Hoffman said of the event, "I was dead drunk, reciting a Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
poem in French at the top of my lungs, and Joel came up to me and finished the poem. And we became fast friends."
In the late 1950s Honig served as the personal secretary of composer Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
, notably working with him when he founded the Festival dei Due Mondi
Festival dei Due Mondi
The Festival dei Due Mondi ' is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958...
in 1958. Around that same time he began working as a freelance writer and music critic. He notably was a regular contributor to Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
magazine for 40 years. In the 1960s, he served as the rehearsal accompanist and concert pianist for the Harkness Ballet
Harkness Ballet
The Harkness Ballet was a major New York ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings and was a dance lover...
and also worked in the studios of many of the era’s leading ballet instructors. He even attempted, unsuccessfully, to teach Rebekah Harkness to play the piano. He later worked for 19 years as a copy editor for Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
. He barely contained a fantastic intellect within a searing wit. There were few subjects, and few people, he had no opinion about. A longtime friend of Raymond Guy Wilson, Juliard graduate also of Harkness House, and the Director of the National Academy of Dance and Music. He led a life of loyalty to old friends, contempt of stupidity, and grudging hope in the improvement of Mankind. Quote: "Expectations are very limited."