Jerzy Fitelberg (May 20, 1903 – April 25, 1951) was a Polish-American composer."Jerzy Fitelberg, 48, A Polish Composer," ''New York Times'' (April 27, 1951), p. 23.

Biography

Son of

Grzegorz Fitelberg Grzegorz Fitelberg (18 October 1879 – 10 June 1953) was a Polish conductor, violinist and composer. He was a member of the Young Poland group, together with artists such as Karol Szymanowski, Ludomir Różycki and Mieczysław Karłowicz. Li ...

, Jerzy was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. He first studied music with his father. At a young age, his father had him play percussion in the orchestra of the

National Theatre, Warsaw The National Theatre () in Warsaw, Poland, was founded in 1765, during the Polish Enlightenment, by that country's monarch, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The theatre shares the Grand Theatre complex at the Theatre Square in Warsaw with anothe ...

to gain experience. He subsequently studied in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. From 1922–1926 he studied composition with Walter Gmeindl and

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic plurality (a mixture ...

at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

. In 1923 the University helped him get a deferment for the Polish military draft . In 1927 he re-orchestrated Arthur Sullivan's music for "The Mikado" for Erik Charell's re-staging as an operetta-revue in Berlin's Grosses Schauspielhaus. (Review in the Times (London) September 2, 1927) In 1928, his String Quartet no. 2 won first prize in a competition organized by the Association of Young Polish Musicians in Paris. His first violin concerto made a major impression on the 1929

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

concert. Music critic Henry Prunieres remarked "The violin concerto... asdelicate, sensitive with a fine feeling for orchestral resource." His works were heard at subsequent ISCM concerts of 1931, 1937, 1946 and 1951.Cadenbach, p. 27. Escaping the Nazis, he first traveled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1933. There his music was published by Editions Max Eschig. His String Quartet no. 4 won the

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge aka Liz Coolidge (30 October 1864 – 4 November 1953), born Elizabeth Penn Sprague, was an American pianist and patron of music, especially of chamber music. Biography Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge's father was a we ...

Award administered by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. The work had its premiere on April 9, 1937 at the Library of Congress. He then emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, arriving on May 15, 1940. Among the first works he composed in his new city were those reminiscent of Poland. In 1945, his fifth string quartet was awarded with a prize from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

. His application for US Citizenship was filed on May 26, 1947. At the time he was living at 244 West 72nd Street in New York City. He died in New York in 1951.

Style

Fitelberg said that his style of composition was similar to "the energy and high voltage music of Stravinsky, a focus on linear and harmonic complexity as in Hindemith, and colors of contemporary French music (such as Milhaud), as well as styles of satire.Cadenbach, p. 26.

Legacy

Jerzy Fitelberg's manuscripts are housed in th
Music Division
o
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

List of works

Operas

*Henny Penny

Orchestral works

* Suite No. 1 (1925) * Suite No. 2 (1928) * Concerto for Strings (1930) - transcription of the "String Quartet No. 2" (1928) * Concert Piece (1937) * The Golden Horn (1942) * Epitaph (1943) * Nocturne (1944) * Polish Pictures, suite (1946) * Symphony for Strings (1946) * Sinfonietta (1946) * Concert Overture (wind orchestra) * Der schlechtgefesselte Prometheus, (suite from a ballet) * Symphony No. 1 (?) * Symphony No. 2 (?)

Concertante works

* Violin Concerto No. 1 (1928 ; rev. 1947) * Piano Concerto No. 1 (1929) * Cello Concerto (1931) * Piano Concerto No. 2 (1934 ; rev. 1950) * Violin Concerto No. 2 (1938) * Concerto for Trombone, Piano and Strings (1947) * Clarinet Concerto (1948)

Choral works

*Three Polish Folksongs

Chamber music

* Quintetto (flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, trombone) (1929) * Sonatine for 2 violins (1935) * Sonata, 2 violins, 2 pianos (1938) * String Quartet No. 1 (1926) * String Quartet No. 2 (1928) * String Quartet No. 3 (1936) * String Quartet No. 4 (1936) * String Quartet No. 5 (1945) * Serenade (Viola, piano), 1943 * Serenade (violin, double bass) * Seven Caprices for viola and piano (1944) * Capriccio (flute, oboe, B♭ clarinet, bass clarinet, trombone or bassoon) (1948) * Concerta da camera (violin, piano) * Duo (violin, cello) (1948) * Sonata (solo violoncello) (1948) * Sonata No. 1 for piano (1933) * Suite for organ (1949) * 3 Mazurkas (piano) (1932) * What is Benjamin?: a musical tale for children to read and to play on the piano (1950)

Film music

* Poland Fights On (1943) * Pre-war Poland (1945)

As author

* Fitelberg, Jerzy. "Aspects of instrumentation today." ''Modern Music'' vol. 9, no. 31 (Nov.-Dec. 1931), p. 28-30. * Fitelberg, Jerzy. "News from overseas." ''Modern Music'' vol. 23, no. 1 (Winter 1946), p. 42-44. * Fitelberg, Jerzy. "Forecast and review." ''Modern Music'' vol. 9, no. 4 (May – Jun. 1932), p. 184-87.

References

*Cadenbach, Rainer. "Jerzy Fitelberg" in ''Franz Schrekers Schüler in Berlin: biographische Beiträge und Dokumente''. Schriften aus dem Archiv der Universität der Künste Berlin, Band 8. Berlin: Universität der Künste Berlin, 2005, p. 25-28.

External links

Jerzy Fitelberg papers, 1921-1952
Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitelberg, Jerzy 1903 births 1951 deaths Polish composers American male classical composers American classical composers American people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish American classical composers 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American Jews Polish emigrants to the United States