Esther Sommerstein Zweig (July 29, 1906August 3, 1981) was an American composer, writer, translator, and teacher. She was born in New York and studied at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

, and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Her instructors included composers

Walter Damrosch Walter Johannes Damrosch (January 30, 1862December 22, 1950) was a German-born American conductor and composer. He was the director of the New York Symphony Orchestra and conducted the world premiere performances of various works, including Geo ...

and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

. She taught choral music in the Hebrew schools of New York from 1927 to 1937. Zweig set poems by Yiddish poet

Aliza Greenblatt Aliza Greenblatt ( yi, עליזה גרינבלאַט, September 8, 1888 - September 21, 1975) was an American Yiddish poet. Many of her poems, which were widely published in the Yiddish press, were also set to music and recorded by composers inc ...

to music and translated works by other authors into English, Hebrew, and Yiddish. She married Jacob Zweig on June 29, 1930. From 1949 to 1950 she directed the Esther Zweig Ensemble in New York. Zweig received an award from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1927 and a merit certificate from the University of Vienna. Today, the Jewish Theological Seminary awards the Esther Sommerstein Zweig Education Award annually to a student who has demonstrated unusual intellectual ability and potential for growth. Zweig's published works include: *Conquerors of Canaan (cantata) *''Ersht Nechtn'' - translated by Elsie Mintz, music by Esther Zweig *''Hersh and Miriam and Other Stories'' - by Wolf Karmiol, translated by Esther Zweig *"I Close My Eyes and Dream" (song) *"I Sing to You, America" (song) *"Salute to Haganah" - music by Moshe Nathanson, English words by Esther Zweig *"When the Angels Have Their Feasting" - words by Esther Zweig, music by Zavel Zilberts *"You Well of Joy" opus 8 no 2 - words and music by Samuel Imber, translated by Esther Zweig

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zweig, Esther 1906 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American composers American women classical composers American classical composers American translators 20th-century translators 20th-century American women musicians Hunter College alumni New York University University of Vienna alumni