Gertrud Rittmann (24 September 1908 – 22 February 2005) was a German Jewish composer, musical director, arranger and orchestrator who lived and worked for much of her life in the United States. Her career particularly flourished with major successes in

Broadway theater Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Early years

Trude Rittmann was born in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

, Germany, and began piano lessons at age eight. She studied with

Ernst Toch Ernst Toch (; 7 December 1887 – 1 October 1964) was an Austrian composer of classical music and film scores. He sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music. Biography Toch was born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, into the family ...

and Hans Bruch at the

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

, and graduated in 1932, already noted as a promising composer. Rittmann fled Germany in 1933, and worked in France, Belgium and England, and in 1937 settled in the United States. Her mother and sister escaped Germany as well, but her father died in prison under the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

Later career

In New York Rittmann was hired by Lincoln Kirstein as a concert accompanist and pianist for George Balanchine's American Ballet Caravan. She later became musical director, touring with them for four years and working with composers including Leonard Bernstein,

Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclass ...

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

and Marc Blitzstein. In 1941 Rittmann and Stefan Wolpe composed the music for the film ''Palestine at War'', made by the Palestine Labour Commission. Also in 1941 Rittmann took a position with Agnes de Mille as concert accompanist, and in 1943 did the arrangements for her choreography in the Kurt Weill/

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's bes ...

musical ''

One Touch of Venus ''One Touch of Venus'' is a 1943 musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the 1885 novella ''The Tinted Venus'' by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygma ...

''. Rittmann went on to work on many musicals as orchestrator including '' Finian's Rainbow'' (1947), '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1949), ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' (1950 musical by Leonard Bernstein), '' Fanny'' (1954) and ''

'' (1954 musical by Moose Charlap and Jule Styne) (1954). She also worked closely with composer Frederick Loewe on the shows '' Paint Your Wagon'' (1951), ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'' (1959) and ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

'' (1960). Working on '' Carousel'' (1945), she began a long association with composer Richard Rodgers, and went on to provide arrangements on '' South Pacific'' (1949), ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'' (1951) (for which she composed the ballet "Small House of Uncle Thomas") and ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' (1959) for which she devised the extended vocal sequence for "Do-Re-Mi". According to assistant conductor Peter Howard, the heart of the number – in which Maria assigns a musical tone to each child, like so many Swiss bell ringers – was devised in rehearsal by Rittmann (who was credited for choral arrangements) and choreographer Joe Layton. The fourteen note and tune lyric – "when you know the notes to sing ..." – were provided by Rodgers and Hammerstein; the rest, apparently, came from Rittmann. Howard: "Rodgers allowed her to do whatever she liked. When we started doing the staging of it, Joe took over. He asked Trude for certain parts to be repeated, certain embellishments." Rittmann retired in 1976 and died of respiratory failure in Lexington, Massachusetts. Her music has been issued on ''Great Performances'' (1972).

Compositions and Arrangements

* Adagio * Carousel - Dance Arrangements * Finian's Rainbow - Dance Arrangements * Brigadoon - Musical Assistant to Agnes de Mille * Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! - Ballet Arrangements * Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - Dance Arrangements * Peter Pan (1954 musical), Peter Pan - Dance Arrangements * South Pacific - Assistant to Richard Rodgers * Miss Liberty -"Train" Dance Arrangement * Out of This World (musical), Out of this World - Incidental Music * Dayenu : folk song * Dayeynu *

- Ballet Arrangements * Paint Your Wagon - Dance Arrangements * The Climate of Eden - Incidental Music * The Girl in Pink Tights - Ballet Arrangements * The cherry tree legend : for baritone and soprano soli, mixed chorus (SATB) and piano *

- Dance Arrangements * A suite of moods : for piano solo *

- Choral Arrangements *Christine (musical), Christine - Dance and Vocal Arrangements *

- Dance and Choral Arrangements *A Canticle of Carols. For women's voices *Hot Spot (musical), Hot Spot - Dance and Vocal Arrangements *Jennie (musical), Jennie - Dance and Vocal Arrangements *Darling of the Day - Dance Arrangements *Maggie Flynn - Dance Arrangements *Come Summer - Vocal Arrangements *Two by Two (musical), Two By Two - Dance and Vocal Arrangements *Ambassador (musical), Ambassador - Dance Arrangements *Gigi (musical), Gigi - Dance Arrangements *Four Marys *Sh'tu haadarim

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rittmann, Trude 1908 births 2005 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century German composers American classical composers American women classical composers Ballet composers German classical composers German women classical composers Jewish American classical composers 20th-century American composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century women composers 20th-century German women 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women German emigrants to the United States