Luening, Otto, 1900-1996

American composer, teacher, conductor, and flutist.

From the description of Typewritten letter signed, dated : [New York?], 11 September 1981, to Mr. Allen, 1981 Sept. 11. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270874496

From the description of Typewritten letter signed, dated : New York, 22 July 1992, to Joseph Chouinard, 1992 July 22. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270930274

Composer.

From the description of Reminiscences of Otto Luening : oral history, 1979. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122586963

From the description of Reminiscences of Otto Luening : oral history, 1976. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 309742935

American composer.

From the description of "Eight Tone Poems for Two Violas / Otto Luening. / II.", 1981 Apr. 17. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270919832

From the description of Autograph letters signed (2) and Typewritten letter signed, dated : New York, 4 August 1983, [25 June 1990], and 25 June 1995 to Joan [Peyser], 1983 Aug. 4. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270992604

Composed 1924. First performance New York, 16 October 1935, Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra of the WPA, Franco Autori conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Symphonic poem, op. 15 / Otto Luening. [19--] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52803696

American composer and flutist.

From the description of Interview conducted by Oliver Daniel, Apr. 7, 1979 [sound recording]. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155861689

Composer, flutist.

From the description of Interview conducted by Oliver Daniel, Sept. 22, 1978 [sound recording]. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 155861660

Composed 1923. First performance Philadelphia, 30 January 1935, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and Composers' Laboratory, Isadore Freed conductor, the composer as soloist.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Concertino for flute : accompanied by harp, celesta, and strings / Otto Luening. [1923] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52803686

Composed 1935. First performance New York, 11 April 1936, New York Philharmonic, Hans Lange conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of First symphonic interlude ; Second symphonic interlude / Otto Luening. [19--] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52803709

Sender and recipient are both American composers. They collaborated in composing a 2-piano work, Coal scuttle blues.

From the description of Correspondence to Ernst Bacon, 1925 June 9 to 1987 Feb. 13. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122615679

From the guide to the Correspondence to Ernst Bacon, 1925 June 9 to 1987 Feb.13, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)

Otto Luening was an American composer.

From the guide to the The Otto Luening papers, 1814-1990 (inclusive, 1920-1950, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)

Otto Luening was born on June 15, 1900 in Milwaukee, and died in New York, on Sept. 2, 1996. He was an American composer, teacher, conductor, and flautist, and was a pioneer in the field of electronic music.

Luening began composing as a child in 1906. He made his debut as composer/conductor in 1917. In 1920 Luening came to Chicago, and conducted the American Grand Opera Company in performances of operas in English. From 1925 to 1973 he was on the faculty at many different schools including the Eastman School, the University of Arizona, and Bennington (Vermont) College. In 1944 Luening was appointed director of opera productions at Columbia University (where he developed a graduate seminar in composition) and professor at Barnard College. Luening was a founder of CRI [i.e. Composers Recordings, Inc.](1954) and a trustee of the American Academy in Rome (1953-70), where he was also composer-in-residence (1958, 1961 and 1965). He and Vladimir Ussachevsky established an electronic music center at Columbia University (later named the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center). In the late 1960s Luening renewed his interest in chamber music. A strong proponent of music education, he wrote many works for chamber groups with modest abilities. Luening was awarded two Guggenheim fellowships (1930-31 and 1931-2), which enabled him to write the libretto and music of his opera Evangeline. He was awarded a third Guggenheim fellowship in 1974. Luening was associate conductor, under Hans Lange, of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Chamber Orchestra (1936-8), and from 1941 together with Alan Carter was active in the Vermont Chamber Music Composers' Conferences. In addition Luening was a co-founder of ACA [i.e. American Composers Alliance] (1938) and the American Music Center (1939). Luening continued to teach at Columbia until 1960, and retired from Barnard in 1964. He became professor emeritus and music chairman of the School of the Arts at Columbia until his retirement in 1970. He then taught at the Juilliard School (1971-3). Among his many students are Wuorinen, Dodge, Carlos, and Laderman. (Source: Grove Music online)

From the description of Otto Luening collection of non-commercial sound recordings [sound recording], 1950-1983. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 79469750

Otto Luening was an American composer, teacher, conductor, and flautist, and was a pioneer in the field of electronic music. He was born on June 15, 1900 in Milwaukee, and died in New York, on Sept. 2, 1996. Luening began composing in 1906 at the age of six. He made his debut as composer/conductor in 1917 in Europe. In 1920 Luening returned to the U.S. after studying abroad. From 1925 to 1973 he was on the faculty at many different schools including the Eastman School, the University of Arizona, and Bennington (Vermont) College. In 1944 Luening was named director of opera productions at Columbia University and was also appointed professor at Barnard College. Along with Vladimir Ussachevsky, he established an electronic music center at Columbia University (which was later named the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center). Luening continued to teach at Columbia until 1960, and retired from Barnard in 1964. He became professor emeritus and music chairman of the School of the Arts at Columbia from 1960 until his retirement in 1970, and thereafter taught at the Juilliard School (1971-3). Some of his many students (many of whom are represented in this collection) are Charles Wuorinen, Charles Dodge, Walter (i.e. Wendy) Carlos, and Ezra Laderman.

Luening's interest in chamber music was renewed in the late 1960s. He wrote many works for chamber groups many of which are suitable for amateur ensembles, because of his strong interest in music education. Luening was awarded three Guggenheim fellowships (in 1930-31, 1931-2; and 1974), the first two of which enabled him to write the text and music of his opera Evangeline . Luening was associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Chamber Orchestra (1936-8), and was active in the Vermont Chamber Music Composers' Conferences from 1941 together with Alan Carter. He was a founder of CRI [i.e. Composers Recordings, Inc.] (in 1954) and a trustee of the American Academy in Rome (1953-70), where he was also composer-in-residence in 1958, 1961 and 1965. In addition Luening was a co-founder of ACA [i.e. American Composers Alliance] (1938) and the American Music Center (1939).

Luening's autobiography, The Odyssey of An American Composer, was published in 1980, and documents all aspects of his career.

Source: Trimble, Lester, and Severine Neff: 'Otto Luening' Grove Music Online . ed. L. Macy (Accessed 29 July, 2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com>

From the guide to the Otto Luening collection of non-commercial sound recordings [sound recording], 1950-1983, (The New York Public Library. Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.)

Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) was founded in 1954 by the composers Otto Luening and Douglas Moore and the arts administrator Oliver Daniel. The label's mission was the discovery, distribution and preservation of the finest in contemporary American music. The three founders started the company with a $5,000 profit left over from the defunct American Recording Society, and $10,000 in seed money from the American Composers Alliance.

In February, 1976, CRI became one of the nation's first nonprofit, tax-exempt recording companies, and in June, 1980, it received one of the first three recording and distribution grants to be awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts. A 1987 citation from the American Academy of Arts & Letters stated that CRI "has recorded more American music and for a longer time than any other recording company in the world." Over the years, four CRI recordings received Grammy nominations from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in the category of Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Among other honors and citations, the label received the Letter of Distinction by the American Music Center.

Literally hundreds of American composers had their first recording released on CRI, making the label a mainstay of career development and audience contact for several generations of composers. Over 600 full-length recordings were released by CRI on LP, cassette and CD, representing well over 1,000 compositions in all styles and genres. While virtually every significant American composer was recorded under the label's banner, CRI was particularly successful in recording important talents early in their careers. Of the thirty-seven Pulitzer Prize-winning composers on the label, twenty-seven were recorded by CRI before they won the prestigious award. CRI also recognized and incorporated into its archives the experimental tradition that is so much a part of American music, including important early recordings of John Cage and Harry Partch. The label was an important advocate of women composers as well, starting from its first release in 1954 which featured the music of Marion Bauer.

In 2003 CRI ceased recording activity, and in 2006 the rights to the label’s recordings were transferred to New World Records, which now distributes the CRI catalog. The company was dissolved in 2007.

Source: <http://web.archive.org/web/19980521095812/www.composersrecordings.com/history.html> (Accessed 29 October 2007.)

From the guide to the Composers Recordings, Inc. records, 1946-2007, 1955-2007, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)

Otto Luening (1900-1996) was an American composer, teacher, conductor, and flautist. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was the youngest of six children of Eugene Luening (1852-1944), a noted conductor, pianist, composer, and professor at the University of Wisconsin, who had studied at the Leipzig Conservatory under Ignaz Moscheles and Carl Reinecke (he had also known Richard Wagner). For many years, he was conductor of the Milwaukee Musical Society, and he founded the Luening Conservatory of Music, a precursor of the Wisconsin Conservatory. Eugene's father, Frederick August Luening, had emigrated from Germany and was one of the first settlers of the town of Cedarburg, north of Milwaukee. Otto Luening's mother, Emma Jacobs Luening (1861-1950), was an amateur singer. Her father, Colonel William Jacobs, was a prominent Milwaukee banker who had emigrated from Germany in 1850.

Otto Luening began composing as a child in 1906. In 1912, his family moved to Munich, where he studied theory at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik with Anton Beer-Walbrunn (1915-1917) and made his debut as a flautist (1916). During the First World War he served as an orderly in the American Red Cross Hospital in Munich. After the United States entered the war in 1917, he moved to Zürich, where he studied at the Konservatorium für Musik and at the University of Zürich (1919-1920). He also studied privately with Philipp Jarnach and Ferrucio Busoni, both of whom deeply influenced Luening's conception of music and teaching methods. In Zürich he played the flute in the Tonhalle Orchestra and at the Municipal Opera, and for a season was an actor and stage manager with James Joyce's English Players Company. He made his debut as composer-conductor in 1917.

In 1920, Luening moved to Chicago, where he studied with Wilhelm Middelschulte, but was able to find work as a flautist only with the Statford Theatre, a vaudeville house. He was able to devote time to composition with the sponsorship of Edith Rockefeller McCormick, who presented concerts of Luening's music and helped him establish the Chicago Musical Arts Studio. Luening went on to conduct the American Grand Opera Company in performances of operas in English (including the 1922 Chicago premiere of Charles Wakefield Cadman's Shanewis).

In 1925, he accepted his first academic post as vocal coach at the Eastman School of Music. He later became executive director of the opera department and conductor of the Rochester Opera Company (and of its later offshoot, the American Opera Company). In 1928, he moved to Cologne for a year before coming to New York in 1929. There, he worked as a freelance composer-conductor until he was awarded two Guggenheim fellowships (1930-1931 and 1931-1932; he was awarded a third in 1974). The fellowships enabled him to write the text and music of his opera Evangeline, based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

In 1932, he began teaching at the University of Arizona, and in 1934 he was appointed head of the music department at Bennington College (which had opened only two years earlier), where he remained until 1944. During his tenure at Bennington, Luening was associate conductor, under Hans Lange, of the New York Philharmonic Chamber Symphony (1935-1937) for a series of concert benefits for the college.

Luening served on the Music Committee of the Yaddo Festival (1936-1938, 1940, 1947), and during the 1930s was involved in Works Progress Administration music projects in Vermont and New York City. From 1941 he was active with Alan Carter in the Vermont Chamber Music Composers' Conferences. Luening was also a co-founder of the American Composers Alliance (1937) and the American Music Center (1939), and from 1936 to 1942, managed the New Music series of recordings founded by Henry Cowell.

In 1944, Luening joined the faculty of Barnard College; five years later he was appointed director of opera productions at Columbia University, where he developed a graduate seminar in composition. During his tenure at Columbia he conducted the world premieres of Gian Carlo Menotti's opera The Medium (1946), Virgil Thomson's The Mother of Us All (1947), and his own opera Evangeline (1948).

In 1954, Luening co-founded the record label Composers Recordings, Inc. with Oliver Daniel, Douglas Moore, and Avery Claflin to provide American composers with an opportunity to have their work recorded and circulated. Luening served the company as either President, Co-President, or Chairman from 1968 to 1977.

Luening and Vladimir Ussachevsky began collaborating to produce electronic music using tape recorders in 1952. Their first works (for flute and tape) were premiered that year at an event sponsored by the American Composers Alliance and Broadcast Music, Inc. Leopold Stokowski conducted the concert, which was held at the Museum of Modern Art. Ussachevsky and Luening continued to work together, and in 1959, assisted by a $175,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, they co-founded the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center (now the Computer Music Center); Milton Babbitt and Roger Sessions were named co-directors with Luening and Ussachevsky.

Luening was a trustee of the American Academy in Rome (1953-1970), where he was also composer-in-residence (1958, 1961 and 1965). His other recognitions included honorary doctorates from Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin; an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1946); election to the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1952); and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts (1974, 1977), the National Music Council (1985), and the American Composers Alliance (1970, 1985).

Luening retired from Barnard in 1964, but continued to teach at Columbia until 1968, when he was named professor emeritus and music chairman of the School of the Arts; he retired in 1970. He then taught at the Juilliard School (1971-1973). Among his many students were Charles Wuorinen, Chou Wen-Chung, Charles Dodge, Wendy Carlos, and Ezra Laderman. In 1980 Luening published an autobiography, The Odyssey of an American Composer, documenting all aspects of his career.

Source: Lester Trimble and Severine Neff. "Luening, Otto." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed November 27, 2012, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/17140.

From the guide to the Otto Luening papers, 1800-1996, 1870-1996, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)