Meyerowitz, Jan (actually, Hans-Hermann)
Meyerowitz, Jan (actually, Hans-Hermann)
Meyerowitz, Jan(actually, Hans-Hermann) , German-born American composer and teacher; b. Breslau, April 23, 1913. In 1927 he went to Berlin, where he studied with Gmeindl and Zemlinsky at the Hochschule für Musik. Compelled to leave Germany in 1933, he went to Rome, where he took lessons in advanced composition with Respighi and Casella, and in conducting with Molinari. In 1938 he moved to Belgium and later to southern France, where he remained until 1946; he then emigrated to the U.S., becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1951. He married the French singer Marguerite Fricker in 1946. He held a Guggenheim fellowship twice (1956, 1958). He taught at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood (summers, 1948–51) and at Brooklyn (1954–61) and City (1962–80) Colls, of the City Univ. of N.Y. He publ, a monograph on Schoenberg (Berlin, 1967) and Der echte judische Witz (Berlin, 1971). His music is imbued with expansive emotionalism akin to that of Mahler; in his works for the theater, there is a marked influence of the tradition of 19th-century grand opera. His technical idiom is modern, enlivened by a liberal infusion of euphonious dissonance, and he often applies the rigorous and vigorous devices of linear counterpoint.
Works
dramatic:Opera: Simoon (1948; Tangle-wood, Aug. 2, 1950); The Barrier, after Längsten Hughes (1949; N.Y., Jan. 18, 1950); Eastward in Eden, later renamed Emily Dickinson (Detroit, Nov. 16, 1951); Bad Boys in School (Tanglewood, Aug. 17, 1953); Esther, after Längsten Hughes (Urbana, 111., May 17, 1957); Port Town, after Längsten Hughes (Tanglewood, Aug. 4, 1960); Godfather Death (N.Y., June 2, 1961); Die Doppelgängerin, after Gerhart Hauptmann, later renamed Winterballade (1966; Hannover, Jan. 29, 1967). orch.: 3 Comments on War for Band (1957); 3 syms.:Silesian Symphony (1957), Esther Midrash (N.Y., Jan. 31, 1957), and Sinfonia brevissima (1968); Flemish Overture (1959); Oboe Concerto (1962); Flute Concerto (1962); 6 Pieces (Pittsburgh, May 27, 1967); 7 Pieces (1974); 4 Romantic Pieces for Band (1978). chamber: Cello Sonata (1946); Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano (1946); Woodwind Quintet (1954); String Quartet (1955); Violin Sonata (1960); Flute Sonata (1961). Piano: Homage to Hieronymus Bosch for 2 Pianos (1945); Sonata (1958). VOCAL: The Glory Around His Head for Bass, Chorus, and Orch. (N.Y, April 14, 1955); the 5 Foolish Virgins for Chorus and Orch. (1956); Stabat Mater for Chorus and Orch. (1957); Hebrew Service for Tenor, Mezzosoprano, Chorus, and Organ (1962); I rabbini for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1962); Missa Rachel plorans for Soprano, Tenor, Chorus, and Organ ad libitum (1962); 6 Songs for Soprano and Orch., after August von Platen (1976; Cologne, Feb. 12, 1977); other choral works and songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire