Eduard Steuermann

Edward (formerly Edward ) coxswain ( born June 18, 1892 in Sambor, Galicia, Austria - Hungary today Sambir, Ukraine, † November 11, 1964 in New York ) was an Austrian- American composer and pianist.

Life

Helmsman came from a Galician- Jewish family. He was born in Sambor was part of the Habsburg dual monarchy of Austria - Hungary. Helmsman had three siblings, including the actress and screenwriter Salomea helmsman ( Salka Viertel ) and the Polish national football team Zygmunt helmsman.

Helmsman studied piano with the Czechs Vilém Kurz, later in 1910 in Basel with Ferruccio Busoni and 1912-14 on the recommendation of Engelbert Humperdinck in Berlin composition with Arnold Schoenberg. After his debut in Poland was eleven years old, he began an extensive concert career that took him from Europe to the U.S. and Israel; he played among others by Fritz Busch, Otto Klemperer, Anton Webern and Hermann Scherchen. Since 1919 he was the pianist of the relevant Schönberg's circle; several piano compositions of Schoenberg were premiered by him, for example Pierrot Lunaire.

In 1938 he emigrated to Los Angeles, where his older sister was already living Salka. In 1944, he played first Piano Concerto by Schoenberg with the NBC Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. 1948-1964 he taught at both the Juilliard School since 1952 as a professor in New York as well as at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. He also gave master classes in several European countries. So he taught in 1957 at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. His students included Alfred Brendel, Lili Kraus, Georg Knepler, Theodor W. Adorno, Charlotte Eisler and Andor Losonczy.

In 1949 he married Clara helmsman. In 1964, he died of leukemia. The documents from his estate and his wife were the Library of Congress passed for archiving.

During the term of the Second Viennese School in general besides Schoenberg whose pupils Alban Berg and Anton Webern are connected, one knows Eduard helmsman Although as a brilliant pianist, a composer, however, he has remained virtually unknown. Theodor W. Adorno, who was a friend of helmsman, 1924 also studied under him. Helmsman was Adorno as "one of the most original and most remarkable composers of today, anything rather than what you would expect from a well - composing pianist, best and strictest Schoenberg school, assisted by a quite own [ ... ] tone " whose " music in its dark and often puzzling intricacy, even a very low-lying and not about folklore arrest to be made Jewish element [ ... ] something genuinely Kafka cal " have.

Works

Under helmsman compositions, which are still largely unpublished until today, there are numerous piano pieces, including the 1924 resulting, revised 1954 Sonata to their rediscovery Maria Luisa Lopez- Vito deserves set out with numerous performances; Chamber music for various instruments, orchestral variations and an orchestral suite, as well as many songs, including texts by Kafka, Hofmannsthal and Brecht. He also made ​​at piano scores of compositions expectancy and The Lucky Hand by Schönberg and transcribed his Chamber Symphony No. 1 for Piano. - For the Brahms Edition Universal Edition helmsman published several volumes.

Writings

• Edward helmsman: The Not Quite Innocent Bystander. Writings of Edward helmsman. Ed. by Clara helmsman, David Porter, and Gunther Schuller. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln / London, 1989, ISBN 0803241917