Leon Schidlowsky
Encyclopedia
Leon Schidlowsky is a well known Chilean-Israeli composer and painter. He has written music for orchestra
, chamber ensemble, choir
, and instruments including the piano
, violin
, cello
, flute
, mandolin
, guitar
, harp
, organ
, as well as about sixty-five pieces of music with graphic notation
. His compositions have been performed in numerous countries, such as Germany
, Argentina
, Chile
, USA, France
, Holland, England
, Israel
, Italy
, Venezuela
, with different orchestras under conductors such as Aldo Ceccatto, Errico Fresis, Clytus Gottwald, Robin Griton, Juan Pablo Izquierdo, Erhard Karkoschka
, Herbert Kegel
, Lukas Foss
, Zubin Mehta
, Hermann Scherchen
, Ingo Schulz and Klaus Vetter. The scores of his graphic music have been shown in various exhibitions linked to concerts, such as in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
, Kunsthaus Hamburg, the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, and the Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken.
de Chile in Santiago from 1940–47 and studied the piano with Roberto Duncker at the Conservatorio Nacional de Chile in Santiago from 1942-48. He later studied composition with Adolfo Allende and Fré Focke, as well as philosophy
and psychology
at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago from 1948-51. He completed his studies in Germany at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie (later Hochschule für Musik Detmold
) in Detmold
, where he met his future wife Susanne, whom he married in 1953. They had five children (David, Elias, Judith, and twins Yuval and Noam).
and served as its director from 1958-61. This ensemble wanted to spread avant-garde and contemporary music in Chile. In 1956 Schidlowsky produced "Nacimiento", considered the first electroacoustic
work composed in Latin America
. Between 1956 and 1959 he was member of the British Council
and between 1956 and 1961 a musical adviser of the pantomime ensemble Grupo Noiswander. He served as director of the music library at the Instituto de Extención Musical, of the Universidad de Chile (Chilean University) in 1961-62, and as secretary-general of the Asociación Nacional de Compositores from 1961-63. He also served as director-general of the Instituto de Extención Musical, Universidad de Chile, from 1962-66. In this period the Institute achieved distinction, with the performance of music that had never been played in Chile before, and with the performance of at least one work by a Chilean composer every year. Besides that, a number of orchestral conductors, soloists, and foreign orchestras visited Chile and made a substantial contribution to the musical culture of the country. In 1964 he was, together with Luigi Dallapiccola
and Alberto Ginastera
, a member of the jury in a composers' competition in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
. The same year he took part in the music symposium "Latin America and the music of our time" (América Latina y la música de nuestros tiempos) in Lima
, Peru
. In 1965, Schidlowsky was appointed Professor of Composition at the Conservatorio Nacional, Universidad de Chile (Chilean University). In 1966 he participated in the Inter-American Festival in Washington, D.C.
, USA, as well as the Festival Interamericano de Música in Caracas
, Venezuela
. In 1967 he took part in the Festival of Music from Spain
and Latin America
, in Madrid
, Spain
. He participated in the "Festival of the Three Worlds" in Mérida
, Venezuela
in 1968, with lectures and discussions with the composers Krzyztof Penderecki and Luigi Nono
. The city of Mérida
nominated him a "Distinguished Guest of the City". In the same year he received a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
in order to write an opera
, which he completed in Germany
.
. In 1979 he was granted a Sabbatical Year, which he spent in Hamburg. He has given many conferences in Berlin, Hamburg
and Stuttgart
(Germany
), Vienna
(Austria
), Lund
(Sweden
), and Saragossa (Spain
). Schidlowsky received several fellowships from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and stayed in Berlin
for various periods, where he composed and painted. During one of these sojourns, in 1999, his wife Susanne died; she was buried in Tel Aviv
. Leon Schidlowsky received various prizes for his music, such as at the regular Festivals of Chilean Music (Festivales de Música Chilena), with works of his being awarded the Chilean Prize CRAV. In 1996 he received the First Prize for his work Absalom
in the 60th anniversary competition of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
. In 2000 he was awarded the ACUM Prize for his entire oeuvre by the Israel Composers Association. In the following year, during a visit to Chile, the Chilean Chamber Orchestra declared him an Honorary Member, the Universidad de Chile appointed him an Honorary Professor in its Arts Faculty, and the Chilean Ministry of Education conferred on him the "Orden al Mérito Docente y Cultural Gabriela Mistral
" with the rank of "Caballero". He received the Engel Prize for his original work and his research into Jewish music
, awarded by the city of Tel Aviv in June 2007. Leon Schidlowsky has given courses in composition in several countries; and he has helped to form and influence a whole generation of composers in Israel, like Avraham Amzallag, Chaya Arbel
, John Bostock
, Mary Even-Or, Rachel Galinne
, Betty Olivero
, Jan Radzynski, Ruben Seroussi, Ron Weidberg, Moshe Zorman
.
. Later he began to use serial techniques, and to experiment with various tonal concepts (atonal
, aleatoric, graphic notation
), but always on the understanding that music has a deeper significance which transcends absolute art, which can open up a path for a human being to find a way to himself (Schidlowsky: "Art itself has not only one meaning. It includes and encompasses all senses, questions and all answers. I think that art is a way to us."). Leon Schidlowsky has written dramatic and vivid works. Examples:
Examples from his graphic notation music:
Among his numerous works, three operas stand out:
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, chamber ensemble, choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, and instruments including the piano
Piano
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...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, as well as about sixty-five pieces of music with graphic notation
Graphic notation
Graphic notation is the representation of music through the use of visual symbols outside the realm of traditional music notation. Graphic notation evolved in the 1950s, and it is often used in combination with traditional music notation...
. His compositions have been performed in numerous countries, such as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, USA, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Holland, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, with different orchestras under conductors such as Aldo Ceccatto, Errico Fresis, Clytus Gottwald, Robin Griton, Juan Pablo Izquierdo, Erhard Karkoschka
Erhard Karkoschka
Erhard Karkoschka , is a German composer, scholar and conductor. Karkoschka was born in the German linguistic enclave of Moravská Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, and subsequent to World War II became a violinist for the Bayreuth Symphony Orchestra, whereupon he studied composition, musicology and...
, Herbert Kegel
Herbert Kegel
Herbert Kegel was a German conductor.Kegel was born in Dresden. He studied conducting with Karl Böhm and composition with Boris Blacher at the Dresden Conservatory from 1935 to 1940...
, Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss
Lukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
, Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens...
, Ingo Schulz and Klaus Vetter. The scores of his graphic music have been shown in various exhibitions linked to concerts, such as in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
The Staatsgalerie Stuttgart is an art gallery and art museum in Stuttgart, Germany, opened in 1843. In 1984 the opening of the Neue Staatsgalerie designed by James Stirling transformed the once provincial gallery into one of Europe's leading museums.-Alte Staatsgalerie:Originally, the classicist...
, Kunsthaus Hamburg, the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, and the Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken.
Biography
Schidlowsky pursued his secondary studies at the Instituto NacionalInstituto Nacional
Instituto Nacional , founded on August 10, 1813 by the Chilean patriot José Miguel Carrera , officially Liceo Ex A-0 - Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, is Chile's oldest and most prestigious school...
de Chile in Santiago from 1940–47 and studied the piano with Roberto Duncker at the Conservatorio Nacional de Chile in Santiago from 1942-48. He later studied composition with Adolfo Allende and Fré Focke, as well as philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago from 1948-51. He completed his studies in Germany at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademie (later Hochschule für Musik Detmold
Hochschule für Musik Detmold
The University of Music Detmold is one of Germany's leading university-level schools of music, situated in Detmold, Germany.- Academics :...
) in Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
, where he met his future wife Susanne, whom he married in 1953. They had five children (David, Elias, Judith, and twins Yuval and Noam).
Chile (1954-1968)
After his return to Chile in 1954 Leon Schidlowsky became a member of the avant-garde ensemble Grupo Tonus in SantiagoSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
and served as its director from 1958-61. This ensemble wanted to spread avant-garde and contemporary music in Chile. In 1956 Schidlowsky produced "Nacimiento", considered the first electroacoustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
work composed in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Between 1956 and 1959 he was member of the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
and between 1956 and 1961 a musical adviser of the pantomime ensemble Grupo Noiswander. He served as director of the music library at the Instituto de Extención Musical, of the Universidad de Chile (Chilean University) in 1961-62, and as secretary-general of the Asociación Nacional de Compositores from 1961-63. He also served as director-general of the Instituto de Extención Musical, Universidad de Chile, from 1962-66. In this period the Institute achieved distinction, with the performance of music that had never been played in Chile before, and with the performance of at least one work by a Chilean composer every year. Besides that, a number of orchestral conductors, soloists, and foreign orchestras visited Chile and made a substantial contribution to the musical culture of the country. In 1964 he was, together with Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola
Luigi Dallapiccola was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions.-Biography:Dallapiccola was born at Pisino d'Istria , to Italian parents....
and Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Ginastera
Alberto Evaristo Ginastera was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered one of the most important Latin American classical composers.- Biography :...
, a member of the jury in a composers' competition in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The same year he took part in the music symposium "Latin America and the music of our time" (América Latina y la música de nuestros tiempos) in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. In 1965, Schidlowsky was appointed Professor of Composition at the Conservatorio Nacional, Universidad de Chile (Chilean University). In 1966 he participated in the Inter-American Festival in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA, as well as the Festival Interamericano de Música in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. In 1967 he took part in the Festival of Music from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He participated in the "Festival of the Three Worlds" in Mérida
Mérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
in 1968, with lectures and discussions with the composers Krzyztof Penderecki and Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono
Luigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
. The city of Mérida
Merida
Places of the world named Mérida or Merida include:*Mérida, Spain, capital city of the Spanish Community of Extremadura*Mérida, Yucatán, capital city of the Mexican state of Yucatán*Merida, Leyte, a municipality in Leyte province in the Philippines...
nominated him a "Distinguished Guest of the City". In the same year he received a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
in order to write an 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...
, which he completed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Israel
In 1969, he was appointed Professor for Composition and Music Theory at the Samuel Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv UniversityTel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
. In 1979 he was granted a Sabbatical Year, which he spent in Hamburg. He has given many conferences in Berlin, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
), Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
), Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
(Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
), and Saragossa (Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). Schidlowsky received several fellowships from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), and stayed in 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 various periods, where he composed and painted. During one of these sojourns, in 1999, his wife Susanne died; she was buried in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. Leon Schidlowsky received various prizes for his music, such as at the regular Festivals of Chilean Music (Festivales de Música Chilena), with works of his being awarded the Chilean Prize CRAV. In 1996 he received the First Prize for his work Absalom
Absalom
According to the Bible, Absalom or Avshalom was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom...
in the 60th anniversary competition of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading symphony orchestra in Israel. It was originally known as the Palestine Orchestra, and in Hebrew as התזמורת הסימפונית הארץ ישראלית The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit...
. In 2000 he was awarded the ACUM Prize for his entire oeuvre by the Israel Composers Association. In the following year, during a visit to Chile, the Chilean Chamber Orchestra declared him an Honorary Member, the Universidad de Chile appointed him an Honorary Professor in its Arts Faculty, and the Chilean Ministry of Education conferred on him the "Orden al Mérito Docente y Cultural Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral was the pseudonym of Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945...
" with the rank of "Caballero". He received the Engel Prize for his original work and his research into Jewish music
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
, awarded by the city of Tel Aviv in June 2007. Leon Schidlowsky has given courses in composition in several countries; and he has helped to form and influence a whole generation of composers in Israel, like Avraham Amzallag, Chaya Arbel
Chaya Arbel
Chaya Arbel was an Israeli composer. She is one of Israel's best known female classical composers and the recipient of the ACUM Prize.-Biography:...
, John Bostock
John Bostock
John Joseph Bostock is an English footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur.-Crystal Palace:...
, Mary Even-Or, Rachel Galinne
Rachel Galinne
Rachel Galinne is an Israeli composer born in Stockholm, Sweden. She graduated from Uppsala University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 and then studied composition with Leon Schidlowsky at the Rubin Academy at Tel-Aviv University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1984...
, Betty Olivero
Betty Olivero
-Biography:Olivero was born in Tel Aviv, Israel to parents Dora Kapon and Eli Olivero. She graduated with a Bachelor in Music from the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University in 1978, where she studied with Ilona Vincze-Kraus for piano and Yizhak Sadai and Leon Schidlowsky for composition...
, Jan Radzynski, Ruben Seroussi, Ron Weidberg, Moshe Zorman
Moshe Zorman
Moshe Zorman is an Israeli composer. His works include three operas—among them “The Inn of Spirits” after Natan Alterman’s play of the same name—as well as works for symphony orchestra, chamber groups and choirs. His works and arrangements have been performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,...
.
Works
Many of his works make reference to his Jewish-Israeli identity and to the history of the Jewish people, as well as to his interest in history and the political and social situation in Chile and Latin America. There is also in his works a musical response to his personal life and experience, such as the death of his wife Susanne (1999) and his son Elias (2004), or the destiny of many personal and professional friends, or personalities of his time. As an admirer of Arnold Schönberg´s music, Schidlowsky began his career as a composer in the tradition of the Second Viennese SchoolSecond Viennese School
The Second Viennese School is the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils and close associates in early 20th century Vienna, where he lived and taught, sporadically, between 1903 and 1925...
. Later he began to use serial techniques, and to experiment with various tonal concepts (atonal
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
, aleatoric, graphic notation
Graphic notation
Graphic notation is the representation of music through the use of visual symbols outside the realm of traditional music notation. Graphic notation evolved in the 1950s, and it is often used in combination with traditional music notation...
), but always on the understanding that music has a deeper significance which transcends absolute art, which can open up a path for a human being to find a way to himself (Schidlowsky: "Art itself has not only one meaning. It includes and encompasses all senses, questions and all answers. I think that art is a way to us."). Leon Schidlowsky has written dramatic and vivid works. Examples:
- Caupolicán, [(text by Pablo NerudaPablo NerudaPablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
), speaker, mixed chorus, 2 pianos, 6 percussion] - Tríptico, [orchestra]
- KristallnachtKristallnachtKristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
, [(text: fragment from a traditional Jewish prayer), tenor, male chorus, orchestra] - Invocation, [(text by the composer), soprano, speaker, orchestra]
- Llaqui, [(text by Javier HeraudJavier HeraudJavier Heraud Pérez was a Peruvian poet and member of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional .In January 1963, a group led by the 21-year-old poet Javier Heraud and Alain Elias crossed through Bolivia, where they picked up weapons, and entered southern Peru...
), speaker, orchestra] - New York, [orchestra]
- Epitafio para Hermann ScherchenHermann ScherchenHermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens...
, [orchestra] - Amereida, [1: Llaqui [(text by Javier HeraudJavier HeraudJavier Heraud Pérez was a Peruvian poet and member of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional .In January 1963, a group led by the 21-year-old poet Javier Heraud and Alain Elias crossed through Bolivia, where they picked up weapons, and entered southern Peru...
), speaker, orchestra; 2: Memento (text by Javier HeraudJavier HeraudJavier Heraud Pérez was a Peruvian poet and member of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional .In January 1963, a group led by the 21-year-old poet Javier Heraud and Alain Elias crossed through Bolivia, where they picked up weapons, and entered southern Peru...
), soprano, orchestra; 3: Ecce Homo (text after fragments of Che GuevaraChe GuevaraErnesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
), sopran, orchestra, 1969] - In Eius Memoriam, [orchestra]
- Amerindia, [1: Preludio, orchestra; 2: Los heraldos negros (text by César VallejoCésar VallejoCésar Abraham Vallejo Mendoza was a Peruvian poet. Although he published only three books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators of the 20th century in any language. Thomas Merton called him "the greatest universal poet since Dante"...
), speaker, orchestra; 3: Sacsahuamán, orchestra; 4: Era el crepúsculo de la iguana (text by Pablo NerudaPablo NerudaPablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
), speaker, orchestra; 5: Yo vengo a hablar (text by Pablo NerudaPablo NerudaPablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
), speaker, orchestra] - Missa in Nomine BachBạchBạch 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...
, [(text from the Mass), mixed chorus, ensemble (8 players)] - Nacht, [(text by the composer), mixed chorus]
- Lux in Tenebris, [orchestra]
- In memoriam Luigi NonoLuigi NonoLuigi Nono was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music and remains one of the most prominent composers of the 20th century.- Early years :Born in Venice, he was a member of a wealthy artistic family, and his grandfather was a notable painter...
, [viola, cello, double bass] - Arabesque, [Traversflute]
- Silvestre RevueltasSilvestre RevueltasSilvestre Revueltas Sánchez was a Mexican composer of classical music, a violinist and a conductor.-Life:...
, [(text by Pablo NerudaPablo NerudaPablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
), speaker, chamber ensemble] - Prelude to a Drama, [orchestra]
- AbsalomAbsalomAccording to the Bible, Absalom or Avshalom was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom...
, [orchestra] - Three Dialogues, [2 violins]
- Serenata, [mandolin solo]
- In memoriam Jorge Peña, [(text by the composer), speaker, orchestra]
- And death shall have no dominion, [orchestra]
- Job, [orchestra]
- L´inferno, [orchestra]
- Partita, [for Cello]
- In memoriam György LigetiGyörgy LigetiGyörgy Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
, [orchestra] - Nocturno, [(Text: Pablo NerudaPablo NerudaPablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
), Narrator and Orchestra] - Soledad, [(Text: Quechua in SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
), for voice, oboe, horn, cello]
Examples from his graphic notation music:
- Kolot, [harp]
- Trigon, [violin (viola), cello, piano]
- Actions for Piano, [piano]
- Vera la morte, [(text by Cesare PaveseCesare PaveseCesare Pavese was an Italian poet, novelist, literary critic and translator; he is widely considered among the major authors of the 20th century in his home country.- Early life and education :...
), voice, percussion] - Hommage to Picasso [(text by Gertrude SteinGertrude SteinGertrude Stein was an American writer, poet and art collector who spent most of her life in France.-Early life:...
), voice] - Tetralog, [1. Music for Piano and Winds; 2: Music for Piano and Strings; 3: Music for Piano and Percussion; 4: Music for Piano and Voice]
- Dadayamasong [(text by Franz MehringFranz MehringFranz Erdmann Mehring , was a German publicist, politician and historian.-Early years:Franz Mehring was born 27 February 1846 in Schlawe, Pomerania, the son of a bourgeois family.-Political career:...
), soprano, saxophone, piano, percussion] - Missa Sine Nomine (In Memoriam Víctor JaraVíctor JaraVíctor Lidio Jara Martínez was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, political activist and member of the Communist Party of Chile...
), [1: Bereschít bará elohím et haschamáim weét haáretz (text from the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
), 2 mixed choruses, percussion; 2: Kyrie eleison, large mixed chorus; 3: Lied (text by George GroszGeorge GroszGeorg Ehrenfried Groß was a German artist known especially for his savagely caricatural drawings of Berlin life in the 1920s...
), speaker, organ; 4: Gloria, large mixed chorus, 4 gongs (1 player); 5: Chile (text by the composer), 20 mixed voices; 6: Credo, speaker, large mixed chorus, organ, 4 bass drums (1 player); 7: Benedictus, 36 mixed voices, 4 suspended cymbals (1 player); 8: Ich komme (text by Vladimir MayakovskyVladimir MayakovskyVladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.- Early life :...
), 36 mixed voices; 9: Dona nobis pacem, large mixed chorus; 10: Babel (text from the Bible), 6 sopranos, 6 altos, 4 tenors, 4 basses; 11: Epilog (text from the Bible), speaker, small mixed chorus, large mixed chorus, organ, 4 percussion] - Palindrom, [female chorus]
- Am Grab Kafkas, [(text by Franz KafkaFranz KafkaFranz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
), female voice (+ crotales)] - Greise sind die Sterne geworden, [(texts by Heinrich HeineHeinrich HeineChristian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, Georg TraklGeorg TraklGeorg Trakl was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists.- Life and work :Trakl was born and lived the first 18 years of his life in Salzburg, Austria...
, Else Lasker-SchülerElse Lasker-SchülerElse Lasker-Schüler was a Jewish German poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressionist movement. Lasker-Schüler fled Nazi Germany and lived out the rest of her life in Jerusalem.-Biography:Schüler was born in...
, Mascha KalékoMascha KalékoMascha Kaléko, born Golda Malka Aufen on June 7, 1907 in Chrzanów, Austria ; died January 21, 1975 in Zürich) was a Jewish German language poet.- Biography :Her family moved from Galicia to Germany after World War I....
, Erich FriedErich FriedErich Fried , an Austrian poet who settled in England, was known for his political-minded poetry. He was also a broadcaster, translator and essayist....
, NovalisNovalisNovalis was the pseudonym of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg , an author and philosopher of early German Romanticism.-Biography:...
, the Bible), soprano, alto, baritone, speaker, mixed chorus, piano, organ, harpsichord, celesta, 3 percussion] - Deutschland ein Wintermärchen, [for Choir, Speaker, Soloist, Piano, and percussion ensemble]
Among his numerous works, three operas stand out:
- Die Menschen, [4 act opera, libretto by the composer, after Walter HasencleverWalter HasencleverWalter Hasenclever was a German Expressionist poet and playwright.-Biography:...
] - Der Dybbuk, [3 act opera, libretto by the composer, after S. AnskyS. AnskyShloyme Zanvl Rappoport , known by his pseudonym S. Ansky , was a Russian Jewish author, playwright, and researcher of Jewish folklore....
] - Before Breakfast, [1 act opera, libretto by the composer, after Eugene O'NeillEugene O'NeillEugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
]
Discography
- "Leon Schidlowsky zum 75. Geburtstag. Werke von 1952 bis 2005. Live-Aufnahmen aus Emmaus-Kirche, Berlin-Kreuzberg, 23/24.9.200 und 16/17.9.2006". musikart Ingo Schulz, CD 4260031182342
- "Leon Schidlowsky: Greise sind die Sterne geworden. Eine moderne Passion. Mitschnitt der Uraufführung vom 25.3.2000". Musikart Ingo Schulz, CD 4012831190634
- "Leon Schidlowsky: Misa sine nomine. Konzertmitschnitt vom 12. Septerber 1998". CD 4012831190436