Lang, Benjamin (Johnson)
Lang, Benjamin (Johnson)
Lang, Benjamin (Johnson), American pianist, organist, conductor, teacher, and composer, father ofMargaret Ruthven Lang; b. Salem, Mass., Dec. 28, 1837; d. Boston, April 3, 1909. He studied with his father and with Alfred Jaell. In 1855 he went to Berlin for advanced studies and, for a time, took piano lessons with Liszt. Returning to America, he was engaged as a church organist. He was also organist of the Handel and Haydn Soc. in Boston (1859–95), and then was its conductor (1895–97). He directed the Apollo Club and the Cecilia Soc. from their foundation (1868 and 1874, respectively), and also gave numerous concerts of orch., choral, and chamber music on his own account. As a pianist, teacher, conductor, and organizer, Lang was in the first rank of Boston musicians for a third of a century, and brought out a long list of important works by European and American composers. Among his pupils were Arthur Foote and Ethelbert Nevin. He wrote an oratorio, David, a great many sacred works, songs, and piano pieces.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire