Frank Lewin (March 27, 1925 – January 18, 2008) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and teacher.

Biography

Frank Lewin was born March 27, 1925, in Breslau,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He and his family escaped from Germany in 1939, spent a year in Cuba, and came to the United States in 1940. Lewin studied composition with Felix Deyo at the Baldwin Conservatory (Long Island, New York); Jack Frederick Kilpatrick and Hans David at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

; Roy Harris in Logan, Utah; and Richard Donovan and

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

at the Yale School of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1951. Lewin composed and edited music for feature, documentary, and television films, including dozens of original scores for The Defenders and The Nurses. He wrote incidental music for plays from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

, and composed scores for historical outdoor dramas by Paul Green and others, in various parts of the country. He also wrote a number of concert compositions including two operas, several orchestral works, concertos for viola and harmonica, song cycles, and choral music. Lewin was a professor at the Yale School of Music from 1971 to 1992, teaching composition for film; and at the

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York (state), New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, ...

from 1975 to 1989, where he taught the course "Music in Modern Media." Lewin lived in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

from 1956 until his death on January 18, 2008.

Works

Operas *''Gulliver'', an opera in two acts, with some sections composed by Easley Blackwood and Elliot Kaplan (1975) *'' Burning Bright'', based on the novel and play by

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...

(1993) Orchestral *''Evocation'' (1960) *''Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra'', (1960) *''Concerto Armonico'', viola and orchestra (1960); revision and transcription of the ''Harmonica Concerto'' by violist Brett Deubner (2006) *''Concerto on Silesian Tunes'', viola concerto (1965) Instrumental *''Dunlap's Creek'', for organ and English horn (1953) *''Music for the New Family of Violins'', for the eight instruments designed and built by Carleen Hutchins (1965) Choral *''Psalm 121'' (1942) *''Psalm 148'' (1949) *''Psalm 137'' (1956) *''Behold, How Good'' (1959) *''Seasons'' (1962) *''Music for the White House'' (1965) *''Requiem for Robert F. Kennedy (Mass for the Dead, in English)'' (1969) Solo vocal music *''Shall I Compare Thee'' (1949) *''A Dutch Lullaby'', setting of the poem Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (1952) *''Innocence and Experience'', poetry from Songs of Innocence and Experience by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

(1961) *''Variations of Greek Themes'', poetry by

Edwin Arlington Robinson Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Early life Robins ...

(1977) *''A Musical Nashery'', poetry by

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his Light poetry, light verse, of which he wrote more than 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyme, rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York T ...

(1980) *''Wedding Music'' setting of the Song of Solomon (1981) *''Phoenix'' (1993) *''She Walks in Beauty'', setting of the poem by

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

(1994) Theater music *'' The Trojan War Will Not Take Place'' by

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

(1952) *'' Theater of the Soul'' by Nikolai Evreinov (1953) *'' Summer and Smoke'' by Tennessee Williams (1954) *''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' by William Shakespeare (1955) *'' Knight of the Burning Pestle'' by

Beaumont and Fletcher Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather t ...

(1955) *''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' by William Shakespeare (1956) *''

Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a Frame story, framing device, often referred to as the Induction (play), inducti ...

'' by William Shakespeare (1957) *'' Blood Wedding'' by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

(1957) *''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' by William Shakespeare (1958) *'' Thieves' Carnival'' by

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

(1958) *'' Leonce and Lena'' by

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

(1958) *''

'' by William Shakespeare (1967) *'' Caesar at the Rubicon'' by Theodore White (1971) *''Streets of Gold'' by Tom DeTitta (1992) Historical outdoor dramas *''Beyond the Sundown'' by Kermit Hunter (1975) *''The McIntosh Trail'' by Kermit Hunter (1976) *''Dust on her Petticoats'' by Kermit Hunter (1976) *''Hernando DeSoto, Conquistador'' by Kermit Hunter (1976) *''Blue Jacket'' by W.L. "Rusty" Mundell (1982) *''Trumpet in the Land'' by Paul Green (1984) *''The White Savage'' by Joseph Bonamico and Mark Durbin (1997) Film and television *''Wanted'', CBS TV series (1955–56), theme composer *'' The Nurses'', television series (1961–63) *'' The Defenders'', television series (1962–65) *''A Year Toward Tomorrow'', documentary film (1967) *''Animal Doctor'' documentary film for USIA (1968) *''J.T.,'' CBS Children's Television Workshop movie (1969) *'' The Plot Against Harry'', feature film directed by Michael Roemer (1989)

Writings

* The Soundtrack in Nontheatrical Motion Pictures Society of Motion Picture Engineers, 1958. * Man and His Sound—Expo 67. Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, 1968. * Burning Bright, The Genesis of an Opera, Lyrica Society, 1985. * The Music of Language in a Passage from Tannhäuser, Ars Lyrica, Journal of the Lyrica Society for Word-Music Relations, Volume XIII, 2003. * Reflecting on Wagner

Awards

* Fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and New Jersey State Council on the Arts * Distinguished Artist Award from New Jersey State Council on the Arts

References

External links

*
Frank Lewin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewin, Frank American film score composers American male classical composers American classical composers 1925 births 2008 deaths Yale School of Music alumni Musicians from Princeton, New Jersey Burials at Princeton Cemetery Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States 20th-century American composers American male film score composers 20th-century American male musicians