Gideon, Miriam, 1906-1996

Composed 1939.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Allegro and andante : for orchestra / Miriam Gideon. [19--]. (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 51987576

Miriam Gideon (1906-1996) was a prolific American composer who was strongly interested in bridging literature and music.

In a varied career, she produced many musical settings and song cycles for poems, Jewish liturgical music and other orchestral pieces. Gideon first studied piano as a child. She graduated from Boston University in 1926 with a Bachelors degree in French and mathematics, after which she studied composition privately with Lazare Saminsky (1931?1934) and Roger Sessions (1935?1943). Gideon later received a Masters degree in literature from Columbia University (1946), as well as a doctorate in sacred music from the Jewish Theological Seminary (1981). During her career she taught composition at Brooklyn College, City College, the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Manhattan School of Music. Gideon was a proponent of new music and she helped to form the American Composers Orchestra in 1977. From the 1970s onward she was often cited as a role model for young female composers, though she admitted later that she had never thought of herself as a woman composer before that time. Gideon's husband was the author/scholar Frederick Ewen.

From the description of Miriam Gideon papers, 1905-1992. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 58840496

The American composer Miriam Gideon (b Greeley, CO, 23 Oct 1906; d New York, 18 June 1996) grew up in Boston and, from age 10, New York. Her parents were a professor of literature and an elementary school teacher. Gideon began music lessons after her family moved to New York, studying piano with her uncle, Henry Gideon, and later with Hans Barth and Felix Fox. Gideon graduated from Boston University in 1926 with a BA in French and mathematics, after which she studied composition privately with Lazare Saminsky (1931 1934) and Roger Sessions (1935 1943). Gideon later received an MA in literature from Columbia University (1946), as well as a doctorate in sacred music from the Jewish Theological Seminary (1981). During her career she taught composition at Brooklyn College, City College, Jewish Theological Seminary and Manhattan School of Music. She also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Brooklyn College (1983), was only the second female composer to be inducted into the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1975), and received awards and commissions from, among others, the Ford, Rockefeller and Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundations.

Gideon was strongly interested in bridging literature and music and produced many musical settings and song cycles for poems, often in two languages. A prolific composer, she also produced music for two complete Jewish Sabbath services (including Shirat Miriam LShabbat, 1974); an opera ( Fortunato, 1958); and instrumental compositions, including pieces for orchestra ( Symphonia Brevis, 1953) string quartet (1946), and sonatas for flute (1943) and piano (1977). Her harmonic language was often atonal, though not systematically so (she described her music as free atonal). Gideon was a proponent of new music and helped form the American Composers Orchestra in 1977. From the 1970s onward she was often cited as a role model for young female composers, though she admitted later that she had never thought of herself as a woman composer before that time. Gideons husband was the author/scholar Frederick Ewen.

Sources:

Ardito, Linda. Gideon, Miriam, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 7 Jan. 2005), <http://www.grovemusic.com>

Kessler, Minuetta. Miriam Gideon: Doctor of Sacred Music in Composition. The Pen Woman, June 1985.

Kozinn, Allan. Miriam Gideon, 89, a Composer of Vocal and Orchestral Music. The New York Times, June 20, 1996, D21.

From the guide to the Miriam Gideon papers, 1905-1992, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)