Eduard Steuermann (June 18, 1892, Sambor,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

– November 11, 1964,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) was an Austrian-born American pianist and composer. Steuermann studied piano with

Vilém Kurz Vilém Kurz (23 December 1872 – 25 May 1945) was a Czechs, Czech pianist and piano teacher. Career Kurz was born in Havlíčkův Brod, Německý Brod, Bohemia in 23 December 1873. He became a professor at the State Conservatory in Lviv and Vi ...

at the Lemberg Conservatory and

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

in Berlin, and studied composition with Engelbert Humperdinck and

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

. He played the piano part in the first performance of Schoenberg's '' Pierrot Lunaire'' and premiered his

Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

. He continued his association with Schoenberg as a pianist for the composer's

Society for Private Musical Performances The Society for Private Musical Performances (in German, the ) was an organization founded in Vienna in the autumn of 1918 by Arnold Schoenberg with the intention of making carefully rehearsed and comprehensible performances of newly composed musi ...

in Vienna, and made an

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

for piano trio of Schoenberg's ''

Verklärte Nacht ''Verklärte Nacht'' (''Transfigured Night''), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's p ...

''. He performed in the radio premiere of Schoenberg's "Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte" with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

under

Artur Rodziński Artur Rodziński (2 January 1892 – 27 November 1958) was a Polish and American conductor of orchestral music and opera. He began his career after World War I in Poland, where he was discovered by Leopold Stokowski, who invited him to be his ass ...

on November 26, 1944. In 1952, he was awarded the Schoenberg Medal by the

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 ...

. He taught at the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik at Darmstadt. Steuermann, whose parents were non-practising Jews, emigrated to the United States in 1938 to escape the

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

policies of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He was famed for his

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

recitals of the 1950s and was a distinguished teacher, teaching at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

from 1952 to 1964 and the

Philadelphia Conservatory of Music Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

from 1948 to 1963. In the USA, he was known as Edward Steuermann. Among the prominent performers who studied with Steuermann were

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel (born 5 January 1931) is a Czech-born Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is noted for his performances of Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven. Biography Brendel was born in Wizemberk, Czechoslovakia ...

Jakob Gimpel Jakob Gimpel (April 16, 1906March 12, 1989) was a Polish-American concert pianist and educator. Jakob Gimpel was born in Lviv, Lwów (then in Polish Galicia, part of Austria Hungary, and now Lviv, Ukraine) to a Jewish family. Gimpel's younger b ...

Jerome Lowenthal Jerome Lowenthal (born February 11, 1932) is an American classical pianist. He has served as chair of the piano department at the Juilliard School in New York. Additionally, Lowenthal is on the faculty at Music Academy of the West in Montecito, Ca ...

Moura Lympany Dame Moura Lympany DBE (18 August 191628 March 2005) was an English concert pianist. Biography She was born as Mary Gertrude Johnstone at Saltash, Cornwall. Her father was an army officer who had served in World War I and her mother origina ...

Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler (; 16 December 1923 – 6 May 2023) was a German-born Israeli-American pianist and academic teacher. He was known for his work with the Beaux Arts Trio that he co-founded in 1955, playing until its dissolution in 2008, in hund ...

Stephen Pruslin Stephen Lawrence Pruslin (16 April 1940 – 25 September 2022) was an American pianist and librettist who relocated to London in the 1970s to work with Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle. Early life and career Born in New York, Pruslin ...

Russell Sherman Russell Sherman (March 25, 1930 – September 30, 2023) was an American classical pianist, educator and author. He performed internationally, known especially for playing the music of Beethoven and Liszt. Driven by a "lifelong battle to recons ...

, Jacob Maxin, and Beatrice Witkin. He also taught philosopher

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( ; ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, musicologist, and social theorist. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has com ...

, composers

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

and

Paavo Heininen Paavo Johannes Heininen (13 January 1938 – 18 January 2022) was a Finnish composer and pianist. Biography He was born in Helsinki, where he studied at the Sibelius Academy and was taught composition by Aarre Merikanto, Einojuhani Rautavaara, ...

, and theorists Edward T. Cone and

David Lewin David Benjamin Lewin (July 2, 1933 – May 5, 2003) was an American music theorist, music critic and composer. Called "the most original and far-ranging theorist of his generation", he did his most influential theoretical work on the development ...

. In 1964, he died of leukemia in

. In 1989, the

University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...

published a collection of Steuermann's writings entitled, ''The Not Quite Innocent Bystander: Writings of Edward Steuermann'' (). The book was co-edited by Clara Steuermann, David H. Porter and

. A major work by Steuermann, ''Variations for Orchestra'', is published by Philharmusica Co., New York. The actress and screenwriter Salka Viertel was his sister. The conductor

Michael Gielen Michael Andreas Gielen (20 July 19278 March 2019) was an Austrian conductor and composer known for promoting contemporary music in opera and concert. Principally active in Europe, his performances are characterized by precision and vivacity, aid ...

was his nephew. The footballer

Zygmunt Steuermann Zygmunt Steuermann (5 February 1899 – December 1941) was a Polish footballer who played as a forward. He was one of the most renowned members of the Hasmonea Lwów football club. Life Born in Sambor, then in Austro-Hungarian Galicia, Steue ...

was his younger brother. Steuermann married Clara Silvers, a pianist and music librarian, in 1949.Edward and Clara Steuermann collection, 1922-1981

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Notes

External links

Photographs of Steuermann, his siblings, with Schoenberg and others, and a concert program with Steuermann's and Schoenberg's works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steuermann, Eduard 1892 births 1964 deaths Deaths from leukemia in New York (state) People from Sambir Austrian classical pianists American classical pianists American male classical pianists American male pianists 20th-century male pianists Austrian classical composers American male classical composers American classical composers Jewish classical pianists Second Viennese School Lviv Conservatory alumni Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to the United States Pupils of Arnold Schoenberg 20th-century classical composers 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians

Notes

Further reading

External links