Gradenwitz, Peter (Werner Emanuel)

Gradenwitz, Peter (Werner Emanuel), German-born Israeli musicologist and composer; b. Berlin, Jan. 24, 1910. He took courses in musicology, literature, and philosophy at the univs. of Berlin and Freiburg im Breisgau (1928-33). He also studied at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik and was a pupil in composition of Eisler and Rufer in Berlin, Weismann in Freiburg im Breisgau, and Milhaud in Paris (1934). Gradenwitz completed his training in musicology at the German Univ. in Prague (Ph.D., 1936, with the diss. Johann Stamitz: Das Leben; publ. in Brno, 1936; 2nd ed., greatly aug., as Johann Stamitz: Leben, Umwelt, Werke, 2 vols., Wilhelmshaven, 1984). In 1936 he settled in Palestine, and was active as a writer, lecturer, and concert organizer. He was founder, ed., and director of Israeli Music Publications, Ltd. (1949-82); also taught at the Univ. of Tel Aviv (1968-77). He lectured in Europe and the U.S. In 1980 he was made an honorary prof, at the Univ. of Freiburg im Breisgau, where he subsequently led annual seminars. He contributed numerous articles to various journals and other publications. Gradenwitz also composed, numbering among his works a Sym.; Serenade for Violin and Orch.; String Quartet; Trio for Flute, Viola, and Cello; Palestinian (later Biblical) Landscapes for Oboe and Piano; and songs.

Writings

Toldot hamusika (Jerusalem, 1939; 8th ed., 1969); The Music of Israel (N.Y., 1949; 2nd ed., rev. and enl., 1996); Olam hasimofonia (Tel Aviv, 1945; 9th ed., 1974); Olaf hapsantran (Tel Aviv, 1952); Die Musikgeschichte Israels (Kassel, 1961); Wege zur Musik der Gegenwart (Stuttgart, 1963; 2nd ed., rev., 1974); Wege zur Musik der Zeit (Wilhelmshaven, 1974); Musik zwischen Orient und Okzident: Eine Geschichte der Wechselbeziehungen (Wilhelmshaven, 1977); Das Heilige Land in Augenzeugenberichten (Munich, 1984); Leonard Bernstein: Eine Biographic (Zurich, 1984; 2nd ed., 1990; Eng. tr., Oxford, 1986); Kleine Kulturgeschichte der Klaviermusik (Munich, 1986); Literatur und Musik im Geselligen Kreis (Stuttgart, 1991); Arnold Schonberg und seine Meisterschuler: Berlin 1925-1933 (Vienna, 1998).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire