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Biography of the late American composer Leon Kirchner (1919-2009), exploring his work and important personal associations.
In this first biography of American composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher Leon Kirchner (1919-2009), Robert Riggs paints a vivid picture of an extraordinary, multifaceted musician. Refugees from Hitler's Third Reich (Schoenberg, Bloch, and Stravinsky) dominated Kirchner's early development, and he in turn became a transformative mentor for later generations at the University of Southern California, Mills College, and Harvard University. Kirchner's performance persona is brought to life by highlighting his appearances with top orchestras and at major festivals, especially his long tenure at the Marlboro Music Festival, where he worked with Rudolf Serkin and Pablo Casals. Currentchampions of his music (Yo-Yo Ma, Leon Fleisher, and James Levine) are also key protagonists. Kirchner's entire oeuvre is discussed within the chronological narrative, and six representative works are examined in detail.
Inaddition to Riggs's extensive interviews with the composer, the biography is documented with Kirchner's colorful correspondence from a roster of luminaries: Saul Bellow, Leonard Bernstein, Edward Cone, Aaron Copland, Darius Milhaud, Isaac Stern, Roger Sessions, and many others. Excerpts from Kirchner's own elegantly written essays and speeches complete the portrait and reveal his highly personal, romantic view of music as powerful art capable of endowing humanity with an "aesthetic sensibility and protective wisdom, without which we cannot survive."
Robert Riggs is Professor of Music at the University of Mississippi.
In this first biography of American composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher Leon Kirchner (1919-2009), Robert Riggs paints a vivid picture of an extraordinary, multifaceted musician. Refugees from Hitler's Third Reich (Schoenberg, Bloch, and Stravinsky) dominated Kirchner's early development, and he in turn became a transformative mentor for later generations at the University of Southern California, Mills College, and Harvard University. Kirchner's performance persona is brought to life by highlighting his appearances with top orchestras and at major festivals, especially his long tenure at the Marlboro Music Festival, where he worked with Rudolf Serkin and Pablo Casals. Currentchampions of his music (Yo-Yo Ma, Leon Fleisher, and James Levine) are also key protagonists. Kirchner's entire oeuvre is discussed within the chronological narrative, and six representative works are examined in detail.
Inaddition to Riggs's extensive interviews with the composer, the biography is documented with Kirchner's colorful correspondence from a roster of luminaries: Saul Bellow, Leonard Bernstein, Edward Cone, Aaron Copland, Darius Milhaud, Isaac Stern, Roger Sessions, and many others. Excerpts from Kirchner's own elegantly written essays and speeches complete the portrait and reveal his highly personal, romantic view of music as powerful art capable of endowing humanity with an "aesthetic sensibility and protective wisdom, without which we cannot survive."
Robert Riggs is Professor of Music at the University of Mississippi.
Price: $130.00
Pages: 347
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: University of Rochester Press
Publication Date:
01 November 2010
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781580463430
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
MUSIC / History & Criticism, History of music, MUSIC / Individual Composer & Musician, MUSIC / Instruction & Study / Conducting, Music reviews and criticism, Composers and songwriters, Musicians, singers, bands and groups
[Kirchner] taught a generation of musicians, including performers such as Yo-Yo Ma. . . . Riggs does an excellent job of describing the expressive content and technical aspects of the compositions. . . . The many extracts from primary sources, especially letters between Schoenberg, Sessions, Copland, and Kirchner, along with Kirchner's own eloquent statements and speeches, bring a fascinating period of history vividly to life.
List of Illustrations
Preface
1. A Kirchner Portrait
2. Childhood and Student Years
3. Guggenheim Fellow in New York City
4. University of Southern California
5. Mills College
6. Harvard Years I - Teaching, Performing, and Writing
7. Harvard Years II - Composing
8. "Retirement"
Epilogue
Appendixes
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Preface
1. A Kirchner Portrait
2. Childhood and Student Years
3. Guggenheim Fellow in New York City
4. University of Southern California
5. Mills College
6. Harvard Years I - Teaching, Performing, and Writing
7. Harvard Years II - Composing
8. "Retirement"
Epilogue
Appendixes
Notes
Bibliography
Index