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, Jerzy was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. 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 List of Polish monarchs, monarch, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The theatre shares the Grand Theatre, Warsaw, Grand Theatre compl ...

to gain experience. He subsequently studied in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. 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, librettist, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic pluralit ...

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 second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

. 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 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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (October 30, 1864 – November 4, 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 wealthy wholesale ...

Award administered by the

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 ...

. 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 (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 ...

, 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 of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. 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 Berlin University of the Arts alumni Musicians from Warsaw