Weisgall Hugo (David)

Weisgall, Hugo (David), distinguished Moravian-born American composer and pedagogue; b. Eibenschütz, Oct. 13, 1912. He emigrated with his family to the U.S. and became a naturalized American citizen in 1926. He studied at the Peabody Cons, of Music in Baltimore (1927-32), and subsequently had composition lessons with Sessions at various times between 1932 and 1941. He also was a pupil of Reiner (conducting diploma, 1938) and Scalerò (composition diploma, 1939) at the Curtis Inst. of Music in Philadelphia, and pursued academic studies at Johns Hopkins Univ. (Ph.D., 1940, with a diss. on primitivism in 17^th -century German poetry). After military service in World War II, he was active as a conductor, singer, teacher, and composer. He was founder-conductor of the Chamber Soc. of Baltimore (1948) and the Hilltop Opera Co. (1952), and was director of the Baltimore Inst. of Musical Arts (1949-51). He taught at Johns Hopkins Univ. (1951-57); also was made chairman of the faculty of the Cantors⁷ Inst. at the Jewish Theological Center in N.Y. in 1952. He taught at the Juilliard School of Music (1957-70) and at Queens Coll. of the City Univ. of N.Y. (from 1961). He served as president of the American Music Center (1963-73). In 1966 he was composer-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome. He held 3 Guggenheim fellowships and received many prizes and commissions; in 1975 he was elected to membership in the National Inst. of Arts and Letters, and in 1990 became president of the American Academy and Inst. of Arts and Letters, which, in 1994, awarded him its Gold Medal for Music. Weisgall’s music constitutes the paragon of enlightened but inoffensive modernism; he is a master of all musical idioms, and bungler of none. His intentions in each of his works never fail in the execution; for this reason his music enjoys numerous performances, which are usually accepted with pleasure by the audiences, if not by the majority of important music critics.

Works

dramatic: Opera:Night (1932); Lillith (1934); The Tenor (1948-50; Baltimore, Feb. 1,1952); The Stronger (Lutherville, Md., Aug. 9, 1952); 6 Characters in Search of an Author (1953-56; N.Y., April 26, 1959); Purgatory (1958; Washington, D.C., Feb. 17, 1961); The Gardens of Adonis (1959; rev. 1977-81; Omaha, Sept. 12, 1992); Athaliah (1960-63; N.Y., Feb. 17, 1964); 9 Rivers from Jordan (1964-68; N.Y., Oct. 9, 1968); Jennie, or The Hundred Nights (1975-76; N.Y., April 22, 1976); Esther (N.Y., Oct. 6,1993). Ballet: Quest (Baltimore, May 17, 1938; suite, N.Y., March 21, 1942); Art Appreciation (Baltimore, 1938); One Thing Is Certain (Baltimore, Feb. 25, 1939); Outpost (1947). ORCH.: Overture in F (London, July 29, 1943); Appearances and Entrances (1960); Proclamation (1960); Prospect (1983); Tekiator (1985). CHAMBER: Graven Images, chamber pieces for Various Instruments (1964 et seq.); Arioso and Burlesca for Cello and Piano (1984); Tangents for Flute and Marimba (1985). KEYBOARD: Piano:2 sonatas (1931, 1982); Variations (1939). Organ: Chorale Prelude (1938). VOCAL: Hymn for Chorus and Orch. (1941); Soldier Songs for Baritone and Orch. (1944-6; N.Y., April 26, 1954; rev. 1965; Baltimore, March 30, 1966); A Garden Eastward, cantata for High Voice and Orch. (1952; Baltimore, Jan. 31, 1953); solo songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire