Jan Meyerowitz (23 April 1913 – 15 December 1998) was a German–American composer and writer.

Life

Meyerowitz was born Hans-Hermann Meyerowitz in Breslau (today

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

), the son of a manufacturer. From 1927, he studied in Berlin with and

Alexander von Zemlinsky Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Early life Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton ...

. In 1933, he was forced to leave Germany because he was Jewish and continue his education in Rome with

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

and the conductor

Bernardino Molinari Bernardino Molinari (11 April 1880 – 25 December 1952) was an Italian conductor. Molinari studied under Renzi and Falchi at the Accademia (then "Liceo Musicale") of Santa Cecilia in his home town of Rome. In 1912, he was appointed artisti ...

. In 1938, he moved to Belgium and in 1939 to the South of France, where he made contact with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. His future wife, the singer Marguerite Fricker, helped him in Marseille to survive the

Nazi occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

. In 1946 Meyerowitz emigrated to the U.S. and became an assistant to

Boris Goldovsky Boris Goldovsky (Борис Анисимович Голдовский; June 7, 1908 - February 15, 2001) was a Russian-born conductor and broadcast commentator, active in the United States. He has been called an important "popularizer" of opera in ...

, director of the opera program at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

. In 1951 he became an American citizen. Meyerowitz taught at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

(1956–1962) and at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

. In 1956 Meyerowitz was awarded the first of two

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

s. After his retirement, he returned to France where he died in

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

Selected works

Compositions

Stage works

* ''Simoon'' (1949). Opera in one act.

Libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Peter John Stephens Peter John Stephens (31 July 1912 in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire – 11 June 2002) was a writer of historical fiction books for teens and three children's books. He was also a poet, a lyricist for operas and musicals, and a playwrigh ...

(after

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

). Premiere 2 August 1949 Tanglewood / Massachusetts * ''The Barrier'' (''Die Schranke'' or ''The Mulatto'', ''Il Mulatto''; 1949). Opera in 2 acts. Libretto:

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

. Premiere 18 January 1950 New York (Columbia University) * ''Emily Dickinson'' (earlier: ''Eastward in Eden''; 1951). opera in 4 acts. Libretto: Dorothy Gardner. Premiere 16 November 1951 Detroit) ** 2. acts as separate pieces: ''The Meeting''. Premiere 16. September 1955 Falmouth / Massachusetts * ''Bad Boys in School'' (1952). opera-farce in one act. Libretto: Jan Meyerowitz (after

Johann Nestroy Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions and ...

). Premiere 17 August 1953 Tanglewood / Massachusetts * ''

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

'' (1957–60). Opera in one act. Libretto: Langston Hughes. Premiere 4 August 1960 Tanglewood / Massachusetts * ''Godfather Death'' (1960/61). Chamber opera in 3 acts. Libretto: Peter John Stephens. Premiere 1 June 1961 New York * ''Die Winterballade oder Die Doppelgängerin'' (1966/67). Opera in 3 acts. Libretto: Jan Meyerowitz (after

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

). Premiere 29 January 1967

Staatsoper Hannover Hanover State Opera () is a German opera company based in Hanover, the state capital of Lower Saxony. The company is resident in the Hanover Opera House (), and is part of a publicly-funded umbrella performing arts organisation called Hanover S ...

; Conductor: Reinhard Petersen

Vocal compositions

* ''The Five Foolish Virgins''. Cantata * ''The Story of Ruth'' for coloratura and piano * ''Missa Rachel Plorans'' (1954). mass for choir a cappella * ''The Glory Around His Head'' (1955). Easter cantata for middle voices, 4-voice mixed choir and piano. Libretto:

* ''How Godly Is the House of God'' for 4-voice mixed choir and piano. Libretto: Langston Hughes * ''

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

Cantata''. Libretto: Dorothy Gardner * ''New Plymouth Cantata'' for soloist, 4-voice mixed choir and piano. Libretto: Dorothy Gardner * ''Hérodiade''. Text:

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French Symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools o ...

* ''Arvit Shir hadash l'shabbat'' (''Ein neues Lied für den Sabbat''). premiere 1962 New York (

Park Avenue Synagogue The Park Avenue Synagogue () is a Conservative Jewish congregation at 50 East 87th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York. Founded in 1882. History The congregation was founded in 1882 as the Reform congregatio ...

; Cantor: David Putterman) * ''Hebrew Service'' (1962) * ''Fünf Geistliche Lieder'' (1963) for bass and orchestra ( 2.2.2.2 – 4.2.3.1 – harp – timpani, percussion – strings) * Other cantatas, songs and song cycles with lyrics

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962), commonly known as e e cummings or E. E. Cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. During World War I, he worked as an ambulance driver and was ...

, Robert Herrick,

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

and others

Orchestral works

* ''Midrash Esther'' (1954). symphony. premiere 1957 New York (

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 ...

, Conductor:

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos (; – 2 November 1960) was a Greek and American conductor, pianist, and composer. Life and career Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angelikē (Angeliki) Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods s ...

) * ''Flemish Overture'' (1959) for orchestra (3.3.3.3 – 4.3.3.1 – harp – percussion – strings) * Oboe Concert (1962; orchestra: 2.0.2.2 – 4.2.2.0 – harp – timpani, percussion – strings) * Flute Concert * ''Four Movements for Wind Symphony'' (1974) * ''Four Romantic Pieces for

Concert Band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

'' (1978) * ''Three Comments on War'' for concert band (1964)

Chamber music

* String Quartet (1936–55) * Sonata for violine and violoncello * ''Short Suite'' for brass (3.3.2.1)

Writings

* ''Arnold Schönberg''. Berlin (Colloquium) 1967 (Köpfe des 20. Jahrhunderts, vol. 47) * ''Der echte jüdische Witz''. Berlin (Colloquium) 1971. re-issue: Berlin (arani) 1997.