Jump to content

Ernst Toch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by HyBn51702 (talk | contribs) at 21:17, 5 October 2012 (→‎External links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ernst Toch

Ernst Toch (German pronunciation: [ˈtɔx]; 7 December 1887 — 1 October 1964) was a composer of classical music and film scores.

Biography

Toch, born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, into the family of a humble Jewish leather dealer [1] when the city was at its 19th-century cultural zenith, sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music. He studied philosophy at the university of Vienna, medicine at Heidelberg and music at the Hoch Conservatory (1909–1913) in Frankfurt.[2] His main instrument was the piano, and he was a pianist of real stature, performing to acclaim throughout much of western Europe. Much of his writing was intended for the piano.

File:Ernst Toch 1.jpg
Ernst Toch, sculpture in Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim

Toch continued to grow as an artist and composer throughout his adult life, and in America came to influence whole new generations of composers. His first compositions date from c. 1900 and were pastiches in the style of Mozart (quartets, 1905 album verses for piano). His first quartet was performed in Leipzig in 1908, and his sixth (Opus 12, 1905) in the year 1909. In 1909, his chamber symphony in F major (written 1906) won the Frankfurt/Main Mozart prize. From this time onwards Toch dedicated himself to being a full-time composer. He won the Mendelssohn prize for composition in 1910. In 1913, he was appointed lecturer of both piano and composition at the College of Music in Mannheim. After winning a further five major prizes for his works, Toch served 4 years in the army on the Italian Front during World War I. In 1916, he married Lilly Zwack, the daughter of a banker.

After World War I had ended, he returned to Mannheim to compose, developing a new style of polyphony. He received his Ph.D. degree from Heidelberg University in 1921. He then taught on the faculty of the Mannheim Conservatory where one of his pupils was Hugo Chaim Adler.

Following Adolf Hitler's seizure of power in 1933, he went into exile, first to Paris and then London, where he wrote film scores. In 1935, he accepted an invitation to go to New York (New School for Social Research). He could, however, only secure his living in California by composing film music for Hollywood. Unlike his colleague Erich Wolfgang Korngold, however, Toch never got much traction in the industry and was rarely top-billed. His score for the chase scene in Shirley Temple's 1937 Heidi perhaps remains his best-known piece of film music.

He died in Santa Monica, California, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. He is the grandfather of authors Lawrence Weschler and Toni Weschler.

Work

His works often exhibit a humorous aspect (Bunte Suite (1929)). In 1930 he invented "Gesprochene Musik," the idiom of the "spoken chorus". His most performed work is the Geographical Fugue or Fuge aus der Geographie, which he himself regarded as an unimportant diversion. He wrote music for films, symphonies, chamber music, chamber operas. He also wrote books dealing with musical theory: Melodielehre (1923) and The Shaping Forces in Music (1948).

Toch was considered one of the great avant-garde composers in the pre-Nazi era. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1956 for his Third Symphony (premiered by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on December 2, 1955). His notable students include Richard Wernick.

Works

Symphonies

  • Symphony No. 1, Op. 72 (1950) (pub. 1951)
  • Symphony No. 2, Op. 73 (1951) (pub. 1953)
  • Symphony No. 3, Op. 75 (1955) (pub. 1957)
  • Symphony No. 4, for orchestra and speaker, Op. 80 (1957) (pub. 1960)
  • Symphony No. 5 ‘Jephtha, Rhapsodic Poem’, Op. 89 (1963) (pub. 1965)
  • Symphony No. 6, Op. 93 (1963) (pub. 1966)
  • Symphony No. 7, Op. 95 (1964) (pub. 1968)

Concertos

  • Concerto for Violoncello and Chamber Orchestra, Op. 35 (1924) (pub. 1925)
  • Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, (Piano Concerto No. 1), Op. 38 (1926) (pub. 1926)
  • Symphony for Piano and Orchestra, (Piano Concerto No. 2), Op. 61 (1933) (pub. 1933)

Other Orchestral Works

Chamber Works

  • String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 12 (1904–1905) (Unpublished)
  • Chamber Symphony in F Major, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, 2 violins, cello & bass (1906) (Unpublished)
  • String Quartet in G Major, Op. 15 (1908) (Unpublished)
  • Vom sterbenden Rokoko (From the Dying Rococo), for violin & piano, Op. 16 (1909) (pub. 1910)
  • Duos for Two Violins, Op. 17 (1909) (pub. c. 1910)
  • Romanze, for violin & piano (c. 1910) (pub. 1911)
  • Serenade for Three Violins, Op. 20 (1911) (pub. 1912)
  • Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 21 (1912) (Unpublished)
  • Serenade (Spitzweg) for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 25 (1916) (pub. 1921)
  • String Quartet in D-flat Major, Op. 18 (1910) (pub. 1911)
  • String Quartet in C Major, Op. 26 (1919) (pub. 1920)
  • String Quartet on the Name ‘Bass’, Op. 28 (1920) (pub. c. 1923)
  • Tanz-Suite (Dance Suite), for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, bass & percussion, Op. 30 (1923) (pub. 1924) (optional add. strings)
  • String Quartet, Op. 34 (1924) (pub. 1924)
  • Two Divertimentos for String Duet, Op. 37 (No. 1: violin & cello / No. 2: violin & viola) (1925) (pub. 1926)
  • Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 44 (1928) (pub. 1928)
  • Sonata for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 50 (1929) (pub. 1929)
  • String Trio, for violin, viola & cello, Op. 63 (1936) (pub. 1955)
  • Quintet for Piano, Two Violins, Viola and Cello, Op. 64 (1938) (pub. 1947)
  • String Quartet, Op. 70 (1946) (pub. 1949)
  • Dedication, for string quartet or string orchestra (1948) (pub. 1957)
  • Adagio Elegiaco, for clarinet & piano (1950) (pub. 1987)
  • String Quartet, Op. 74 (1953–1954) (pub. 1961)
  • Sonatinetta, for flute, clarinet & bassoon, Op. 84 (1959) (pub. 1961)
  • Three Impromptus for Unaccompanied String Instruments, Op.90a (violin), 90b (viola), 90c (cello) (1963) (pub. 1965)
  • Quartet for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon and Viola, Op. 98 (1964) (pub. 1967)

Works for Wind Ensembles

  • Spiel für Blasorchester (Divertimento for Wind Orchestra), Op. 39 (1926) (pub. 1926; Donaueschingen première)
  • Miniatur Ouvertüre for 2 flutes, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, 2 trumpets, trombone & percussion (1932) (pub. 1932)
  • Five Pieces for Wind Instruments and Percussion, Op. 83 (1959) (pub. 1961)
    for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 horns & percussion
  • Sinfonietta for Wind Instruments and Percussion, Op. 97 (1964) (pub. 1967)
    for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets & percussion

Piano Works

  • Melodische Skizzen (Melodic Sketches), Op. 9 (1903) (pub. c. 1903-1905)
  • Three Preludes, Op. 10 (c. 1903) (pub. unknown)
  • Scherzo in B Minor, original piano version, Op. 11 (1904) (pub. c. 1905)
  • Stammbuchverse (Album Verses), Op. 13 (1905) (pub. 1905)
  • Begegnung (Meeting) (1908) (Unpublished)
  • Reminiszenzen (Reminiscences), Op. 14 (1909) (pub. 1909)
  • Canon (Aus Dem ‘Tagebuch’) (1914) (pub. 1915)
  • Burlesken (Burlesques), Op. 31 (1923) (pub. 1924)
  • Three Piano Pieces, Op. 32 (1924) (pub. 1925)
  • Capriccetti, Op. 36 (1925) (pub. 1925)
  • Tanz-und-Spielstücke (Pieces for Dancing and Playing), Op. 40 (c. 1926) (pub. 1927)
  • Sonata for Piano, Op. 47 (1928) (pub. 1928)
  • Kleinstadtbilder (Echoes From a Small Town), 14 Moderately Easy Piano Pieces, Op. 49 (1929) (pub. 1929)
  • 5 × 10 Etudes, Op. 55-59 (1931) (pub. 1931)
  • Profiles[disambiguation needed], Op. 68 (1946) (pub. 1948)
  • Ideas, Op. 69 (1946) (pub. 1947)
  • Diversions, Op. 78a (1956) (pub. 1958)
  • Sonatinetta, Op. 78b (1956) (pub. 1958)
  • (Untitled canon) (1959) (Unpublished)
  • Three Little Dances, Op. 85 (1961) (pub. 1962)
  • Reflections, Op. 86 (1962) (pub. 1962)
  • Sonata for Piano Four-Hands, Op. 87 (1962) (pub. 1963)

Other Solo Instrumental Works

  • Three Original Pieces for the Electric Welte-Mignon Piano (1926) (Unpublished)
  • Studie, for mechanical organ (1927) (Unpublished)
  • Two Etudes for Violoncello Solo (1930) (pub. 1931)

Opera

Choral works

  • An mein Vaterland (To My Fatherland), Op.23 (1913) (Unpublished)
    for large orchestra, organ, solo soprano, mixed chorus & boys’ chorus
  • Gesprochene Musik (Speaking Music), (1930). Only No. 1 of 3 published:
  • Geographical Fugue, for speaking chorus (1930) (pub. 1950) No. 1 of 3 from Gesprochene Musik
  • Der Tierkreis (The Zodiac), for women’s chorus (1930) (Nos. 1 & 2 pub. 1930; No. 3 unpublished)
  • Das Wasser (The Water), Cantata after a text by A. Döblin, Op. 53 (1930) (pub. 1930)
    for tenor, baritone, narrator, chorus, flute, trumpet, percussion & strings
  • Cantata of the Bitter Herbs, Op. 65 (1938) (pub.?)
    for solo soprano, alto, tenor & baritone, narrator, chorus & orchestra
  • The Inner Circle, six a cappella choruses for mixed chorus, Op.67 (1945, revised 1953) (pub. 1953)
    Cui bono (Thomas Carlyle) / The Lamb (William Blake) / Extinguish my eyes (Rainer Maria Rilke) / O World, thou chosest not (George Santayana) / Have you not heard his silent step (Rabindranath Tagore) / 6. Goodbye, proud world (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
  • Phantoms, Op.81 (1957) (pub.?)
    for male and female speakers, women’s speaking chorus, flute, clarinet, vibraphone, xylophone, timpani & percussion
  • Song of Myself, for mixed chorus (1961) (pub. 1961)
  • Valse (Waltz), for speaking chorus & optional percussion (1961) (pub. 1962)

Other Vocal Works

Incidental Music

  • Der Kinder Neujahrstraum (The Children’s New Year’s Dream) (stage play), Op. 19, for solo soprano, alto, tenor & baritone, chorus & orchestra (1910)
  • Anabasis (radio play), for flute, clarinet, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, percussion & chorus (1931)
  • Im fernen Osten (In the Far East) (radio play), for flute, 2 trumpets in C, mandolin, guitar, 2 violins, viola, cello, percussion, chorus & male solo voice (1931)
  • Die Heilige von U.S.A. (The Saint of the U.S.A.) (stage play), for wind ensemble, percussion, piano, harmonium, alto solo & chorus (1931)
  • König Ödipus (Oedipus rex) (radio play), for 2 clarinets, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, percussion & strings (1931)
  • Medea (radio play), for wind ensemble, percussion & speaking chorus (1931)
  • Die Räuber (The Robbers) (radio play), for 2 trumepts in C, bass trumpet or trombone & percussion (1931)
  • Die Rollen des Schauspielers Seami (The Roles of the Actor Seami) (radio play), for flute, clarinet, violin, banjo, guitar & percussion (1931)
  • Turandot (radio play), for flute, clarinet, trumpet in C, cello, piano & percussion (1931)
  • Uli Wittewüpp (stage play), for clarinet, trumpet, percussion, piano & strings (1931)
  • Napoleon, oder die 100 Tage (Napoleon, or the 100 Days) (radio play) (1931 or 1932)
  • Das Kirschblütenfest (The Cherry Blossom Festival) (stage play), for timpani, percussion, harmonium & strings (1927)
  • The Gates of Carven Jade or The Garden of Jade (radio play), for flute, clarinet, banjo, guitar, violin & soprano solo (c. 1934)
  • William Tell (stage play), for flute, 2 clarinets, bassoon, trumpet, horn, 2 trombones, percussion & chorus (1939)

All incidental music listed is unpublished except Das Kirschblütenfest (pub. 1927).

Film Music

Books

References

  • Front Page of the Toch Archive Contains a Searchable List of Works
  • Article on Toch's symphonies
  • Jezic, Diane Peacock (1989). "Toch Worklist Compiled by Alyson McLamore". The Musical Migration and Ernst Toch. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press. pp. 165–171. ISBN 0-8138-0322-5.
  • Jung, Hermann (editor) (2007). Spurensicherung: Der Komponist Ernst Toch (1887–1964) — Mannheimer Emigrantenschicksale. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-631-57400-3. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  • Korngold Sr. & Jr. – Cliché, Critic and Composer, Jens F. Laurson, Classical WETA(Dead link)
  • Chasing Heidi: Ernst Toch – The Composer and His Chamber Music, Jens F. Laurson, Classical WETA

Endnotes

  1. ^ Introduction to the Dover edition, The Shaping Forces in Music, Ernst Toch, Dover Publications, 1977.
  2. ^ Peter Cahn: Das Hoch'sche Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main (1878-1978), Frankfurt am Main: Kramer, 1979
  3. ^ Theater in Bielefeld 1975-1998, Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld, Redaktion Heidi Wiese, Heiner Bruns, Alexander Gruber, Fritz Stockmeier 1998, ISBN 3-933040-03-5
  4. ^ Toch, Ernst: "The Shaping Forces in Music", pg. 240-257, Dover Publications, Inc., 1977, Library of Congress: 76-9950, Checklist of Compositions by Lawrence Weschler

Template:PulitzerPrize MusicComposers 1951–1975

Template:Persondata