Gruenberg, Louis, 1884-1964

Commissioned by Columbia Broadcasting Corporation for radio performance. Presented 17 October, 1937 as the first opera composed for radio without any thought of visualization or the additional theatrical elements of costumes, scenery and lighting.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1945.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1941; revised 1959 and 1963. First performance Bamberg, Germany, 1 October 1965, broadcast by the Bayerische Rundfunk, Jan Koetsier conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1930-31.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1941. Revised 1964.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

The composer Louis Gruenberg, was a pioneer in forming an American style of classical music.

Best known for his opera, The Emperor Jones, Gruenberg is notable for having forged a vigorous, original style of music out of American elements. Born in 1884 near Brest-Litovsk, Russia, Louis Gruenberg arrived with his family in the United States in 1885 and received his first music lessons from his father, a violinist. At age eight he began studying piano with Adele Margulies at the National Conservatory of Music in New York. He later studied with Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin, beginning a friendship that lasted until Busoni's death. Gruenberg was at first interested primarily in performing as a concert pianist (he toured as an accompanist for Enrico Caruso and as a soloist), but Busoni encouraged him to compose as well. His first compostions were the operas The Witch of Brocken, Op. 1 (1912) and The Bride of the Gods, Op. 2 (1913). In 1920 he won the New York Philharmonic's Flagler Prize for The Hill of Dreams, Op. 10 (1920), which prompted him to concentrate fully on composition.

In addition to composing his own works, Gruenberg was a strong advocate for new music. He conducted the United States premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire in 1923, and he helped to organize the American Music Guild and the League of Composers. His own works, such as The Daniel Jazz, Op. 21 for voice and chamber ensemble (1925), Jazzberries, Op. 25 for piano (1925), and Jazzettes, Op. 26 for violin and piano (1926), were inspired by African-American spirituals and jazz, following the suggestion of Antonín Dvořák for American composers to look toward music native to their land for sources. Throughout his career Gruenberg also continued to produce operas, notably Jack and the Beanstalk, Op. 35 (1930) and The Emperor Jones, Op. 36 (1931), which was performed at the Metropolitan Opera over two seasons and featured on the cover of Time magazine. It also won the Bispham Memorial Medal and was the greatest popular success of Gruenberg's career. Other notable compositions were his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 47 (1944), which was commissioned and premiered by Jascha Heifetz with Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra; Americana Suite, Op. 48 (1945) and Harlem Rhapsody, Op. 62 (1953).

Gruenberg led the composition department at the Chicago Musical College from 1933 to 1936, after which he moved to California and began writing for film. Three of his scores, The Fight For Life (1940), So Ends Our Night (1941) and Commandos Strike At Dawn (1942), were nominated for Academy Awards. He also wrote operas intended for television. In 1947 he was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1950 he left the film industry to concentrate again on his own work. Among his later compositions were two more operas; the oratorio A Song of Faith, Op. 59 (1959 - 1962), which he considered among his best compositions; and several works for voice and piano, including his last, Pages from Rabelais, Op. 78 (1963) Gruenberg died in Beverly Hills, California in 1964.

Louis Gruenberg (b. near Brest-Litovsk, Russia, 22 July/3 Aug 1884; d. Beverly Hills, CA, 10 June 1964) arrived with his family in the United States in 1885 and received his first music lessons from his father, a violinist. At age 8 he began studying piano with Adele Margulies at the National Conservatory of Music in New York. In his early 20s he studied with Ferruccio Busoni in Berlin, beginning a friendship that lasted until Busoni’s death. Gruenberg was at first interested primarily in performing as a concert pianist; he toured as an accompanist for Enrico Caruso and as a soloist, but Busoni encouraged him to compose as well. His first compostions were the operas The Witch of Brocken, Op. 1 (1912) and The Bride of the Gods, Op. 2 (1913). In 1920 he won the New York Philharmonic’s Flagler Prize for The Hill of Dreams, Op. 10 (1920), which prompted him to concentrate fully on composition.

Gruenberg was an advocate for as well as a composer of new music. He conducted the United States premiere of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire in 1923, and he helped to organize the American Music Guild and the League of Composers. His own works, such as The Daniel Jazz, Op. 21 for voice and chamber ensemble (1925), Jazzberries, Op. 25 for piano (1925), and Jazzettes, Op. 26 for violin and piano (1926), were inspired by African-American spirituals and jazz, following the suggestion of Anton Dvorák for American composers to look toward music native to their land for sources.

Gruenberg also continued to produce operas, notably Jack and the Beanstalk, Op. 35 (1930) and The Emperor Jones, Op. 36 (1931), which was performed at the Met over two seasons and featured on the cover of Time magazine; it also won the Bispham Memorial Medal and was the greatest popular success of the Gruenberg’s career. Other notable compositions were his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 47 (1944), which was commissioned and premiered by Jascha Heifetz with Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra; Americana Suite, Op. 48 (1945) and Harlem Rhapsody, Op. 62 (1953).

Gruenberg led the composition department at the Chicago Musical College from 1933 to 1936, after which he moved to California and began writing for film. Three of his scores ( The Fight For Life (1940), So Ends Our Night (1941) and Commandos Strike At Dawn (1942)) were nominated for Academy Awards. He also wrote operas intended for television. In 1947 he was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1950 he left the film industry to concentrate again on his own work. Among his later compositions were two more operas; the oratorio A Song of Faith, Op. 59 (1959 - 1962), which he considered among his best compositions; and several works for voice and piano, including his last, Pages from Rabelais, Op. 78 (1963).

Though unfortunately forgotten by mass audiences, Gruenberg is notable for having forged a vigorous, original style of music out of American elements.

Sources:

Botstein, Leon. “Gruenberg, Harlem Rhapsody", American Symphony Orchestra (Accessed 5 Jan. 2005), <http://www.americansymphony.org>

“Louis Gruenberg”, G. Schirmer, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers (Accessed 5 Jan. 2005), <http://www.schirmer.com/composers/gruenberg/>

Nisbett, Robert Franklin. “Gruenberg, Louis [Edwards, George]”, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 5 Jan. 2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com>

Louis Gruenberg (1884-1964) was a Russian-American composer and pianist.

Born in Russia, Gruenberg was brought to the United States at the age of two. His musical education was in the master class at the Vienna Conservatory in Austria. He began his career as a pianist and made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1912; subsequently he appeared in all the major cities of the United States and Europe. He was chairman of the Composition Department of the Chicago Music College from 1931 to 1933, founder of the League of Composers and the Music Guild, a past president of the International Society of Contemporary Music, a charter member of the MacDowell Society, and a member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.

His awards include prizes from Columbia and RCA Victor Records, the New York Symphony, and the Federation of Musical Clubs (1941), and he was nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. He is perhaps best known for the scores of Green Mansions and Emperor Jones (produced by the Metropolitan Opera), but he also composed the music for Jack and the Beanstalk, Helena's Husband, First Symphony, Jazz Suite, Enchanted Isle, and Serenade to a Beauteous Lady. His music for films includes Fight for Life and So Ends Our Night.

Gruenberg was married and had one daughter. Much of his life was spent in Beverly Hill, California.