All posts by JMWC

Zuckerman, Mark

Choral Composer and arranger. Has written numerous works and also arranged Yiddish choral works, often incorporating some English to help audiences appreciate the texts better. Zuckerman appears to be a highly professional and successful modern choral arranger. You can hear many selections of his music online though his nicely laid out catalog of works. Another nice highlight of the website is the program liner notes online. Take a look at the “Year in Yiddish Song” to get a flavor of the information available. According to his online bio, his “choral music has achieved an international reputation with choruses and at festivals in The Netherlands and Canada as well as in the United States. It’s been performed and recorded by the Gregg Smith Singers, The Goldene Keyt Singers, the New Yiddish Chorale, The Workman’s Circle Chorus, and Di Goldene Keyt/The Yiddish Chorale….…
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Zemlinsky, Alexander

Viennese born-American. Pianist. Composer. Teacher. Zemlinksy was born in Vienna, 14 October 1871 and died in Larchmont, New York, 15 March 1942. A unique timeline of the life of Zemlinsky is compiled by Janet Wasserman. A more thorough life and work are available online produced by Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. Zemlinsky was greatly encouraged as a composer by Brahms, was friends with Schoenberg, admired Mahler, and was a teacher to Erich Korngold. Though in the thick of new music in Vienna, Zemlinsky wrote in a more traditional style, never going to a twelve-tone row, as Schoenberg did. Despite a complex ethnic background with only one (originally) Jewish grandparent, (his grandmother was Muslim, his other grandparents Catholics, but his father was a convert to Judaism), Zemlinsky had to flee the Nazi’s in 1938.…
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Wolpe, Stefan

Berlin-born American composer. Born, Charlottenburg Berlin, 25 August, 1902; died, New York City, 4 April 1972. A full biography of the composer is available on the Stefan Wolpe Society Website, which also includes bibliography, lists of recordings, scores and works, and a discography of recordings on CD and finding aid to papers held in PAUL SACHER STIFTUNG. Located at: Auf Burg, Münsterplatz 4,CH-4051. Basel, Switzerland. tel 41 61 261 66 44 fax 41 61 261 91 83. For more information about Wolpe, use On the Music of Stefan Wolpe edited by Austin Clarkson, published by Pendragon Press, 2004.Photo from the Akademie der Kunste, Berlin
http://www.wolpe.org/

Wiesenberg, Menachem

Israeli composer. Born 05.08.1950. Pianist. Arranger. Musical Director. BA in Piano Performance at Rubin Academy, Tel Aviv; Winner,  Helena Rubinstein Prize at Julliard. Graduated with Masters from Julliard Schoool of Music (1979); Post graduate studies in Piano and Theory, Mannes College. Currently Head of the Jazz and Interdisciplinary Music Department and Senior Lecturer at the Academy of Music in Jerusalem. Musical advisor for Young Musicins Group at the Jerusalem Music Center. Since 1982, senior lecturer at Tel Aviv Music Teachers College. Known for arrangements of Yiddish and Hebrew folk songs. Examples of this are his 1999 CD with popular singer Chava Alberstein, “Chava Sings More Yiddish Songs” where he was Musical Director, Arranger and Pianist; and the 1983 record “At Home”, with Chava Alberstein. In 2004, was named a visiting composer to the Jewish Music Institute in London.…
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Moiseyevich Weprik, Alexander

Russian Jewish composer (name also spelled Veprik). Born in Balta, near Odessa, June 1899. Died, Moscow, 13 October 1958. Born in the Ukraine, but grew up in Poland. Studied piano at Warsaw Conservatory until age 10. Studied composition in Leipzig with Janacek and Reger between 1909-1914. Studied piano with Dubasov in St. Petersburg Conservatory. Studied composition with Zhitomirsky from 1917-1920. Became a teacher 1923. Very active in the founding of the Society for Jewish Folk Music. In mid 1920s, composed several Jewish works, including Songs and Dances of the Ghetto, Hebrew Songs for Orchestra, and Kaddish. In March 1933, “Dances and Songs of the Ghetto” was performed in Carnegie Hall, New York conducted by Toscanini. During the Stalin regime, Weprik was sent to a Gulag.…
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Weisgall Papers, Hugo

Hugo Weisgall, conductor, opera and liturgical choral music composer, was born at Eibenschütz, Moravia on October 13, 1912. The son of a cantor, he grew up in Baltimore, and studied at the Peabody Conservatory, Curtis Institute, and received a PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1940. He studied composition with Roger Sessions. Weisgall founded the Chamber Music Society of Baltimore in 1948, and the Hilltop Opera in 1952. He directed the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts, a conservatory for African-Americans. In 1952 he became faculty chair at JTS, the Jewish Theological Seminary in NY. He also taught at Julliard (starting 1957) and Queens College (starting 1961). He served as President of the American Music Center, and elected president of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1990).…
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Weiner, Lazar

Lazar Weiner, the first conductor of the Freiheit Gezangsverein, and a prolific composer of Yiddish art song, cantatas and choral music, came to America in 1914. He became the music director of the Central Synagogue in New York, conductor of the Workman’s Circle Chorus and music director of the weekly radio program The Message of Israel. Manja Ressler has written a brief article on Weiner for a Netherlands online journal (which may becurrently one of the only pieces of biographical information on this composer on the Internet.) For more informaton on Weiner, read the English translation of Israel Rabinovitch’s work: Of Jewish Music Ancient and Modern, Montreal: The Book Center, 1952.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ljg/last.html#5

Weinberg, Mieczyslaw

Also known as Moisei Vainberg, but “Weinberg” is correct spelling. Born 8 December 1919 in Warsaw. d. Moscow on 26 February, 1996. Prolific composer of classical music. Studied in Warsaw Academy of Music, under the direction of Szymanowski. Fled the Nazis in 1939 after his entire family had been murdered. Fled to Minsk, and from there found work at the opera house in Tashkent, in Uzbekistan. He sent his First Symphony to Shostakovich, who helped him come to Moscow, and later saved him under Stalin. Weinberg made a living by composing in Russia for most of his life. Olympia Records has released 16 CDs of Vainbergs music. Chandos label is releasing symphonic works and Claves is releasing chamber symphonies. Other individual pieces appear on labels such as Naxos.…
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Weill, Kurt

A time line of the life of Kurt Weill. In German.
http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/WeillKurt/


The Kurt Weill Foundation website includes several biographies about Weill, including a brief biography and a more extended one, a time line of his life, a discography, a catalogue of works, and a bibliography of articles by and about Weill and his music. There is also a list of popular biographies as well as dissertations on the music of Weill. The website also includes information about Lotte Lenya and her career and life, publications and new cds of Weill’s music and a newsletter about foundation activities.
http://www.kwf.org/Welcome.html

Wajner, Leon

This brief life of Leon Wajner comes from an album collection of his songs, Cantos de lucha y resurgimiento (Songs of Struggle and Resurrection). Summarized and translated from the Spanish by Lori Cahan-Simon.

Leon Wajner
Born in Lodz in 1898. Died, (Argentina?) 1979. Composer, conductor, performer, and educator. Wajner came from a family of cantors. He studied viola, conducting, at the State Conservatory in Warsaw. Between the years 1915 and 1939, he was a prize winning violist and toured Europe, taught singing and music in various schools, and directed various choirs and orchestras. He was musical director of the Polish Military Theater in Lublin, as well as acting as Minister of Religion and Culture.

He was called to service in the Polish army and was imprisoned by the Russians on September 17, 1939 and held in Rovno, Volinia.…
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Veksler, Misha

Composer and pianist. Born, 1907. Died, Ponar, 1943. Conducted the Jewish theatre orchestra in the Vilna ghetto. Wrote, Yisrolik, a song about a child peddler in the ghettos.

Taube, Carlo

Composer. Virtuoso pianist. Born in Galicia, 1897. Died, Auschwitz in October, 1944. Arrived at Terezín in December, 1941. Led concerts of semiclassical music, “very much in the style of the “spa” orchestras popular in prewar Europe”. Gave ambitious piano concerts. Composed in Terezin, but only one song survived, Ein Jüdisches Kind, composed November 4,1942, and set to a text by his wife, Erika. Works included on a CD: “Composers of the Holocaust.”
http://www.leonarda.com/le342.html

Tal, Joseph

Israeli composer. Born Joseph Gruenthal 18 April 1910 in Penne (or Pinne) that was eastern Germany near Poznan, Poland. Known as Israel’s foremost pioneer of electronic music. He studied piano and composition at the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik from 1928-1930 with Hindemith, and twelve-tone technique with Heinz Tiessen. He worked as a pianist, but retrained as a photographer to get access to a visa to leave for Israel in 1934. He worked in Haifa and then joined Kibbutz Kesher, then moved to Jerusalem to teach piano and composition at the conservatory. From 1948 -1952, he was director of the Israel Academy of Music and 1965-1971 head of musicology at Hebrew University. Tal’s works include six symphonies, operas, piano concertos, a viola concerto, harpsichord concerto with tape, woodwind quintet, 3 string quartets and an oboe sonata.…
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Stutschewsky, Joachim

Born, Romny, Ukraine, 7 February 1891, Died Tel Aviv, 14 November 1982. Born into a family of klezmer musicians, Joachim started on violin but moved to playing cello. Studied at Leipzig Conservatory, graduating in 1912. Moved to Zurich during WWI, and organized concerts of Jewish music. From 1921-1938 lived in Vienna and participated in Vienna String Quartet. Emigrated to Israel, becoming involved in organizing concerts in Tel Aviv, teaching and performing cello. Wrote many pedagogical works on cello. He died in Tel Aviv in 1982. Stutchewsky was a great collector of Jewish music. Many of those items as well as his papers are held in the Felijia Blumenthal Center Archives in Tel Aviv. Some of his compositions includeIsraeli Melodies, Hasidic Suite for Cello and Piano, and Tsfat, a symphonic poem.…
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Shulman, Alan

American. Composer and Cellist. Alan Shulman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, June 4, 1915 and died in Hudson, New York, July 10, 2002. He studied at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and became a cellist, playing in many orchestras, including the National Orchestral Association under Leon Barzin, and the N.B.C. Symphony under Arturo Toscanini. Shulman’s first successful composition was Theme and Variations for Viola and Orchestra which received its premiere over NBC in 1941 with Emanuel Vardi (Bridge 9119) as soloist. A biography is available online at his website, along with many interesting photos of Shulman with other musicians, a list of works, and a discography. Many of his early recordings have now been rereleased. Besides his many classical compositions, Shulman wrote works on Jewish themes.…
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Shapero, Harold

American-born composer. Professor of music, Brandeis University. Born, Lynn, Massachusetts, 29 April 1920. Shapero grew up in Newton, MA playing piano and joined Hal Kenny Orchestra, a swing band in high school. He studied with Nicolas Slonimsky and Ernst Krenek, attended Harvard studying composition with Piston and Hindemith, and graduated in 1941. Shapero attended Tanglewood where he premieredNine-Minute Overture and which won the Prix de Rome in 1941. In 1946, Shapero won the Joseph H. Bearns Prize for the Symphony for String Orchestra. In 1947, Leonard Bernstein premiered his Symphony for Classical Orchestra with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Shapero joined the faculty of Brandeis University in 1951 and helped to found the music department with Irving Fine. Shapero has also won two Guggenheim Fellowships (in 1947 and in 1948), two Fulbright Fellowship (in 1948 and in 1960), and a Naumburg Fellowship.…
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Mordhuhovich, Alexandr

Russian composer and performer. Born March 28, 1946 in Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Senior lecturer of the Magnitogorsk State Conservatory (MaGK). Graduated 1964 from Magnitogorsk Musical College in bayan and the piano. 1971 graduated from the Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) Conservatory. Post-graduate study, 1995 from Nizhny Novgorod Conservatory. Since 1970, worked as educator of the Russian folk instruments section of the Magnitogorsk Musical College. Winner of diploma at the All-Russian Contest in Moscow at 2000, and winner of diploma at the international Contest of bayan-accordion-players “The Far East Cup” in Vladivostok, 2000. Founded the concert ensemble of Russian folk instruments «Rodnye Napevy» («The Native Tunes»)(1980). Also founded a chamber instrumental ensemble «Retro» (1991), the instrumental trio «Accordion-Retro» (1997), the instrumental duet «Expromt» (2000). As a composer, he has released more than 20 author’s collections since the 1980s.…
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Giacomo Meyerbeer

A biography of Meyerbeer, (born Yaakov Liebmann Beer), this website was created by his self-designated “fan club”, a group devoted to the continued recognition and performance of Meyerbeer’s works. This site is also a source for information on Halevy and Auber. What’s really great about this site for students are the links to full text articles by “contributors” of the fan club. These contributors range from professors to journalists to students. Also included is a thorough discography as well as the attachment of an historical discography.

Gustav Mahler

A website from the Austrian tourism bureau on the composer, Gustav Mahler, with neatly laid out biographical essays and links to information about Mahler sites to visit in Austria. Included is a bibliography for further reading.
http://austria-tourism.at/personen/mahler/index.html


Gustav Mahler: Song Symphonist
A book length biography on the web, full text, by Gabriel Engel. This remarkable web achievement is the first English language biography that took advantage of personal letters of Mahler. The title of the website comes from the book published by the Bruckner Society in 1932 which is presented full text on the website. The entire website on Mahler is maintained by Jason Greshes at:
http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/mahler/.

Kupferman, Meyer

American. Born July 3, 1926 in New York City to eastern European Jewish parents. A prolific composer, he has an impressive output of work in all forms: 7 operas, 12 symphonies, 9 ballets, 7 string quartets, 10 concertos and hundreds of chamber works. His father Elias was a baker, and his mother Fanny had worked in the mills and factories of Kansas. The family settled in Brooklyn, forced on a constant move by the Depression. His father added singer and entertainer and his mother became a seamtress in NY. At 5 he started violin but gave it up. At ten he started clarinet in school. He became fascinated with composition and learned piano, allowing him to work as a young jazz musician in clubs and bars in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn.…
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Krein, Alexander

Born, Nishny-Novgorod, 1883. Died, Moscow, April 22, 1951. Composer. Distinctive member of The Society for Jewish Folk Music in Moscow at the beginning of the twentieth century. Attended Moscow Conservatory starting around 1897, graduating 1908. Active in the modern music division of the Commission for Folklore, and also in the mid-1920s, wrote music for the Russian Jewish theaters, the Moscow Jewish State Theater and the The White Russian Jewish State Theater. His most important work, the symphonic cantata “Kaddish” for mixed chorus, tenor and orchestra (1921-22), thought lost for many years, was recently recovered in Russia. His music captures the “Hebraic” flavor, including Hebrew Caprice, The Night at the Old Market Place, Gazelles and Songs and Hebrew Sketches.
http://www.musica-judaica.com/akrejn_e.htm

Koussevitzky, Cantors

Cantor Elihu Feldman has put together a 2-part series on the 4 Koussevitzky brothers, important cantors of the twentieth century: Cantors Moshe, David, Jacob and Simcha Koussevitzky. These are excellent brief biographies, giving some background on each of the brothers. Two URL’s from the Cantor’s pages at B’nai Shalom in West Orange, New Jersey.
http://www.uscj.org/njersey/w-orange/cantor/Cantor2003feb.htm http://www.uscj.org/njersey/w-orange/cantor/Cantor2003mar.htm

Korngold, Erich

Erich Korngold, one of America’s greatest Hollywood film composers, and forerunner of people such as John Williams, died in 1957, but is finally gaining more of his well deserved recognition. A website devoted to Korngold and his music has been produced by an ardent fan group. It includes biographical information, a listing of his general musical works, film scores, discography, major books about the composer, archival photos of the composer, and a link to an online webcast of “die tote stadt” (which requires a subscription). There are also analyses of film scores, such as Sea Hawk andSea Wolf.
http://www.korngold-society.org

Kaplan, Abraham

Israeli-born American choral conductor and composer. Kaplan graduated from the Israeli Conservatory (1954); Juilliard School of Music(1955); post graduate diploma from Juilliard (1957). Founded the Camerata Singers in 1961 and in that same year became head of Juilliard’s choral department. During his tenure at Juilliard, Kaplan held a teaching position at the School of Sacred Music of Union Theological Seminary, and directed the choral program for the New York State Summer School for the Arts (1976-83). Kaplan also served as music director of the Collegiate Chorale in New York (1961-73), music director of the Symphonic Choral Society of New York (1968-77), and associate director for choral activities at the Seattle Symphony (1995-2000). Kaplan’s recorded compositions include Glorious: A collection of Psalms and biblical songs, TheK’dusha Symphony, Arvit L’Shabbat, and Psalms of Abraham.…
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Jaffe, Stephen

American. B. 1955 in Washington, D.C. Studied composition at the University of Pennsylvania with George Crumb, George Rochberg, and Richard Wernick. Also at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva, Switzerland. Since 1999, he is Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Professor of Music at Duke University, where he taught since 1981. Jaffe co-directs Duke’s contemporary music concert series Encounters: with the Music of Our Time, and works with a inventive and gifted group of young composers. Jaffe won a Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Prize, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Tanglewood, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Brandeis University awarded him its Creative Arts Citation (1989), Kennedy Center Friedheim Award for First Quartet(1991.…
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Frederick Jacobi

American composer. Born San Francisco May 4, 1891. Died October 24, 1952. Parents were German Jews. His grandfather came to the US in 1850. Born in California, the family went to NY, but took trips to California by train to visit relatives. For religious studies, Jacobi attended the Ethical Culture School (founded by Felix Adler in 1876), from 1901 to 1905, and again in 1906. Jacobi studied piano with Paul Gallico and Rafael Joseffy, and harmony and counter-point with Rubin Goldmark (who later also taught Aaron Copland and was head of Julliard composition faculty). His father died in 1911 and his mother in 1915. Jacobi inherited most of the money from his parent’s wine and real estate holdings, and so was able to live fairly comfortably during his life.…
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Isaacson, Michael

American composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist. Born in Brooklyn, New York, April 22, 1946. “Founding Music Director of The Israel Pops Orchestra, and the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music, Michael Isaacson enjoys a distinguished career as a composer, conductor, producer, and educator with over 500 Jewish and secular musical compositions published, including instrumental, vocal, sacred and secular arrangements, editions and educational works, the two volume, five hundred page Michael Isaacson Songbook, and over 40 produced CDs and album recordings. He is presently working on a book entitled: Jewish Music as Midrash. He received his early education at Yeshiva Rambam, and James Madison & Sheepshead Bay High Schools. After earning a BS in Music Education from Hunter College, a Master of Arts in Music Composition under Robert Starer from Brooklyn College, keyboard studies at the Juilliard School with John Mehegan, ethnomusicology with Israel Adler at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he went on to study with Samuel Adler and Warren Benson at the Eastman School of Music ultimately earning his Ph.D.…
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Huberman, Bronislaw

A very thorough and complete site about the great Polish-Jewish violinist and musician, this site includes biographical materials that include scans of primary documents, letters and articles. Some amazing photos, stories and anecdotes. It includes many articles and texts about Huberman as well as excerpts from interviews. Materials about his work in Israel in the 1930’s. There’s a discography and a bibliography. Part of the biographical materials come from Huberman’s secretary. There is also an amazing section that includes excerpts of live radio broadcasts of Huberman! Wow. All Thanks to Patrick Harris.
www.huberman.info

Gruenberg, Louis

Pianist, opera and film composer. Born Brest-Litovsk, Russia, between 22 July-3 Aug 1884; died Beverly Hills, CA, 10 June 1964. Studied with Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin. Led the composition department at the Chicago Musical College from 1933 to 1936. Notable operas were Jack and the Beanstalk, Op. 35 (1930) and The Emperor Jones, Op. 36 (1931), which was performed at the Met. Film scores nominated for Academy Awards included The Fight For Life (1940), So Ends Our Night (1941) and Commandos Strike At Dawn (1942). Papers held at NYPL and are available to the public.
http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/music/musgruen/@Generic__BookView

Moreau Gottschalk, Louis

Born: 1829 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Died: December 18, 1869. Descended from Sephardic Jews on his father’s side, Gottschalk is one of the intriguing figures on 19th century New Orleans lore. A biography about him with photos, discography and links to Gottschalk sites. The Library of Congress also has a sheet music collection online. Users should use the search box and type “Gottschalk” to view a list of scanned music.American Sheet Music
http://www.louismoreaugottschalk.com/Biography/biography.html

Goldman, Edwin F.

American. Born Louisville, KY, January 1, 1878. Died, NY, February 21, 1956. Composer. Bandmaster. Prolific composer of 150 pieces of band music, including 100 marches. Frequently held series of outdoor band concerts in the parks of NYC, including nightly during the summers between 1927-1947. Commissioned other composers to write for bands. Radio broadcasts and tours of his band concerts enjoyed wide popularity. Founder, First President, and Honorary Life President of the American Bandmasters Association. Goldman’s life is a story of true talent rising to the top. In 1887, his father died. Edwin was sent to an orphanage along with his four siblings while his mother tried to make a living as a piano teacher. He began early studies on cornet with the eminent cornet soloist Jules Levy.…
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Gluck, Bob

Avant guarde composer and performer. American. Composes “musique concrete and live synthesizer performance systems (Buchla Electronic Music Box, Moog, Putney, and Arp Synthesizers).” Graduated from Yeshiva University (1984);Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (1989);Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2001). Directs the Electronic Music Studio and teaches Electronic Music and Judaic Studies at the University at Albany. Associate Director at the Electronic Music Foundation. Performances feature home-built interactive electronic instruments, including the multi-sensor ‘eBoard’. Wrote essay on Jewish music that appeared in The Reconstuctionist: A Journal of Contemporary Thought and Practice.

http://www.electricsongs.com

Irving Glick, Srul

One of Canada’s distinguished classical composers, Srul Irving Glick is also a prolific composer of Jewish music with special devotion to music of the synagogue. His website includes listings of recorded music, his published works and complete repertoire as well as this online biography.
http://www.snapmedia.com/srulirvingglick/bio/body_bio.html


Srul Irving Glick, Canadian Music Centre
The Canadian Music Centre includes a directory of composers that includes an online biography and list of selected works. These websites have both English and French versions.
http://www.musiccentre.ca/CMC/dac_rca/eng/f_/Glick_Srul_Irving.html

George and Ira Gershwin

The “official” Gershwin website. It includes a jukebox, biographies of Ira and George, anthologies of their film and and show music, lots of good clips of music in the jukebox, with information about performers and the song.
http://www.gershwin.com/


The official website of George and Ira Gershwin. This site includes an extensive bibliography of the writings by and about the Gershwins. The biographies are brief, but there is an excellent photo gallery and discography.
http://www.cmgww.com/music/gershwin/

Gebirtig, Mordechai

Born Krakow, Poland, 1877. Died, 1942. Yiddish folk song poet. He was a poor carpenter who was self-taught in music and composed songs completely by ear, remembering them all in his head. Because he was illiterate in music, friends notated his songs. Despite the handicaps, Gebirtig’s (also spelled Gebertig) songs grew wildly popular and were picked up, even in the United States, to become part of folk, popular theater and sheet music repertoire. Several books of his music were published during his lifetime including Mayne Lider. Mordechai Gebirtig: His Poetic and Musical Legacy Edited by Gertrude Schneider is a book published in 2000 of his music, reviewed at this site.
An opera has been written by Joel Hoffman about his life.CCM Opera Recalls The Holocaust.…
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Fine, Irving

This website is part of the American Memories project of the Library of Congress. “The career of Irving Fine (1914-1962), composer, conductor, writer, and academic, is documented in the Library of Congress Music Division by approximately 4,350 items from the Irving Fine Collection.” In addition to biographical materials, “this first online release presents a selection of 57 photographs, a sketchbook that includes sketches for the woodwind Partita and a string quartet, a manuscript score for the String Quartet (1952), a recorded performance of the Quartet, and the finding aid for the collection.”
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ifhtml/

Gershon Ephros

Born, Serotsk, Poland (outside of Warwaw), 1890. Died, June 28, 1978, Perth Amboy, NJ. Composer and cantor. Compiler and editor of the Cantorial Anthology (6 volumes) which made Jewish liturgical music for the entire year’s holidays available in print. One of the largest accomplishments of this work was making avaiable alternatives to the florid operetta style music so prevalent at the time. Having studied hazzanut and harmony with Abraham Zvi Idelsohn, he set off on an idealistic quest to find the purest Jewish cantorial music. He developed a type of ethnographic field work, interviewing as many cantors as possible, and copying down all the music they knew. He then painstakingly edited the work. Ephros had come to US in 1911, and later appointed cantor of Congregation Beth-El in Norfolk, Virginia in 1918.…
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Denburg, Moshe

Moshe Denburg (b. 1949) grew up in Montreal, Canada, in a religious Jewish family. His first musical influences were the singing and chanting of the Synagogue and his mother’s singing of Jewish and Israeli folksongs. His musical career has spanned over 3 decades and his accomplishments encompass a wide range of musical activities, including Composition, Performance, Jewish Music Education, and Piano Tuning. His compositions have been performed in many parts of the world and as a Performer/Composer he has recorded and toured with his ensemble Tzimmes all over North America.

Mr. Denburg has studied music extensively, both formally and informally. He has travelled worldwide, living and studying music in New York (1965-66), Israel (1966-73), Montreal (1973-78), Toronto (1978-82), India (1982-83; 1985-86), and Japan (1985). From 1986-90 he studied composition with John Celona at the University of Victoria, Canada.…
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Danielpour, Richard

American. Born New York, January 28, 1956. composer. pianist. “Richard Danielpour is one of the most recorded composers of his generation, and became only the third composer — after Stravinsky and Copland — to be signed to an exclusive recording contract by Sony Classical.” There is an in-depth biography of Danielpour from G. Schirmer (AMP) that includes a list of works and links to reviews of his music.
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/danielpour_bio.html

Copland, Aaron

Copland House
The official Aaron Copland house website contains a biography with a timeline, a list of compositions and pictures of the composer in his home. Information about the new Copland Society, founded in 1996, is available.
http://coplandhouse.org/


Aaron Copland and the Landscape of Imagination
A brief biography on the life of Aaron Copland residing on the website of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.


The Aaron Copland Collection at the Library of Congress
Part of the American Memories Project, this website includes links to the featured items in the Aaron Copland collections, including visual images and texts of personal letters, his own writings, his sketches and manuscripts of music, and photographs. An extensive and thoroughly organized primary source on the music of Copland. Also includes an index and a search screen.…
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Castelnuevo-Tedesco, Mario

Born: April 3, 1895, Tuscany. Died: March 16, 1968, Beverly Hills, California. A brief biography of Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco.
http://www.composerjohnbeal.com/Mario.html


Papers of Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco are held in the Library of Congress. Included are: “manuscript and printed music, programs, reviews of Castelnuovo- Tedesco’s music, contracts, photographs and related materials. In addition, the collection includes correspondence from many of the 20th century’s major musical figures…”
http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2000/00-114.html

Papers, Jerry Bock

American. Composer of musicals. Born, 1928, NYC. Best known for his collaborations with Sheldon Harnick: Fiddler on the Roof and Fiorello!. NYPL papers include scores, correspondence, show production materials, and personal life papers.

Bloch, Ernest

Born: July 24, 1880, Geneva, Switzerland. Died: July 15, 1959, Oregon, USA. A brief biography with a listing of works, a selected discography and some interesting links.
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/bloch_bio.html


Ernest Bloch
by Claude Torres, of Montpellier,France
“Discographie du compositeur suisse Ernest Bloch” The website includes a biography, a list of works by style, chronologically and alphabetically. There are also links to other important Bloch websites.
http://claude.torres1.perso.sfr.fr/Bloch/index.html

A Young Person’s Guide to Ernest Bloch
This interesting site from Japan on the composer Ernest Bloch provides a “chronological list” which is a listing of important dates of the composer’s life and a listing of compositions by the composer.
http://member.nifty.ne.jp/bloch/

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Blitzstein, Marc

The Marc Blitzstein website contains a biography, listing of complete works by genre, and photos about the composer. Many of these photos are recoganized as being held in the American Memory collection of the Library of Congress, but unfortunately, the site does not label or credit the photographs, so it is somewhat difficult to keep track… or these may be duplicates found in Wisconsin. The little search box didn’t seem to work. However, there is an excellent discography, filmography, bibliography and information about accessing the Blitzstein archive in Wisconsin. Also valuable is a listing of publishers and rights holders to Blitzstein music. The archive “also contains extensive and rare recordings of Blitzstein’s music, including many items which appear to have been made available only to the archive.…
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Bitton, Eyal

Canadian Composer. Born of Moroccan and German Jewish descent in Montreal, Canada on January 25, 1970. In 1971, his family and he moved to Kinshasa, Zaire where he attended TASOK (The American School of Kinshasa). He moved back to Montreal in 1978 and then attended United Talmud Torahs, Herzliah High School, Vanier College (DEC Pure & Applied Sciences), and McGill University (B.A. Jewish Studies). He has taught English at Ecole Maimonide and at College Francais. He served as President of the Sephardic Educational Center in Montreal, board member of the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue, and YAD Co-Chair for Federation CJA Campaign 2001. He now lives in Toronto with his wife, Michèle Tredger. He is currently currently the Choir Director of Toronto’s Beth Tikvah Synagogue Choir, formerly conducted by Srul Irving Glick.…
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Bikel, Theodore

Theodore Bikel: actor, singer and political activist. Known for his portrayals of Tevye the Milkman in more than 2000 performances of Fiddler on the Roof. Bikel is an advocate of Yiddish folk song. Bikel has been active in organizations dealing with the arts, theatre, and the intersection with government, business and regulation. He has written an autobiography called Theo: The Autobiography of Theodore Bikel. His website includes biographical sketches, lecture topics, speeches, sound clips and a schedule.

http://www.bikel.com

Bernstein , Leonard

The official website of Leonard Bernstein includes… well everything. Very comprehensive. Includes a biography and a series of “time line” events.
http://www.leonardbernstein.com/

The Library of Congress Leonard Bernstein Collection
“This online Leonard Bernstein Collection makes available a selection of 85 photographs, 177 scripts from the Young People’s Concerts, 74 scripts from the Thursday Evening Previews, and over 1,100 pieces of correspondence, in addition to the collection’s complete Finding Aid.” http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lbhtml/

Berlinski, Herman

Herman Berlinski, the great composer of Jewish music, including synagogue organ music, was born in Leipzig on August 18, 1910. He studied piano, composition and conducting at the Leipzig Conservatory 1927-1932. He studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris from 1934-1938, and the Schola Cantorum from 1937-1939. He emigrated to the United States in 1941. This article explores some of his life and the performances of some of his music in Europe.
http://www.juedische-musik.de/synagoge/berlinski.htm

Berger, Arthur

American. Born in 1912 in New York. Died in Boston on October 7, 2003. Avant-garde composer. Studied at NYU and Harvard University. Focused in chamber and solo piano music. New York Music Critics Circle Citation, 1962. Won awards from Guggenheim, Fromm, Coolidge, Naumburg and Fulbright Foundations. Fellow of the American Academy & Institute of Arts and Letters. Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Taught at Mills College, 1939–1943. Taught at Brandeis University 1953-1980 as Irving Fine Professor of Music. Helped establish the graduate program at Brandeis. 2003 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award.