Marion Bauer
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marion Eugénie Bauer (15 August 1882 – 9 August 1955) was an American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic. She played an active role in shaping American musical identity in the early half of the twentieth century. As a composer, Bauer wrote for piano,
chamber ensembles Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
,
symphonic orchestra A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
, solo voice, and vocal ensembles. She gained prominence as a teacher, serving on the faculty of
Washington Square College The New York University College of Arts & Science (CAS) is the primary liberal arts college of New York University (NYU). The school is located near Gould Plaza next to the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the Stern School of Business ...
of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...
, where she taught music history and composition from 1926–1951. In addition to her position at NYU, Bauer was affiliated with
Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...
as a guest lecturer from 1940 until her death in 1955. Bauer also wrote extensively about music: she was the editor for the Chicago-based ''Musical Leader'' and additionally authored and co-authored several books including her 1933 text ''Twentieth Century Music''. Throughout her life, Bauer promoted not only her own work but new music in general. Bauer helped found the American Music Guild, the
American Music Center New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progra ...
, and the
American Composer's Alliance The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus, Marion Bauer and o ...
, serving as a board member of the latter. Bauer additionally held leadership roles in both the
League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...
and the Society for the Publication of American Music as a board member and secretary, respectively. With Claire Raphael Reis,
Minna Lederman Minna Lederman Daniel (3 March 189629 October 1995) was a music writer and editor of the magazine ''Modern Music'' for more than 20 years. Life Lederman was born in Manhattan and studied music, dance and drama as a child. She graduated from Barnard ...
, and others, she was regularly in a leadership position in these organizations. Bauer's music includes dissonance and extended
tertian In music theory, ''tertian'' ( la, tertianus, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of ( major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasse ...
, quartal, and quintal harmonies, though it rarely goes outside the bounds of extended tonality, save for her brief experimentation with
serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...
in the 1940s. During her lifetime, she enjoyed many performances of her works, most notably the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
premiere of ''Sun Splendor'' in 1947 under the baton of
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appearan ...
and a 1951 New York Town Hall concert devoted solely to her music.


Biography


Early life

Marion Bauer was born in
Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two ...
, on August 15, 1882. Her parents—both of French-Jewish background—had immigrated to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, where her father Jacques Bauer worked as a shopkeeper and her mother Julie Bauer worked as a teacher of modern languages. Bauer was the youngest of seven children, with an age difference of 17 years between herself and her oldest sister Emilie. In one anecdote, as an infant, Bauer was placed in a basket atop the family's
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
as Emilie Bauer went about practicing and teaching. Later in Bauer's childhood, Jacques Bauer, an amateur musician himself, recognized his youngest daughter's musical aptitude, and Bauer began studying piano with Emilie. When Jacques Bauer died in 1890, the Bauers moved to
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
, where Bauer graduated from St. Helen's Hall in 1898.Hisama, liner notes to ''Music of Marion Bauer''. Upon completion of secondary school, Bauer joined her sister Emilie in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in order to begin focusing on a career in
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature * Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
.


Studies

Once in New York, Bauer commenced studies with
Henry Holden Huss Henry Holden Huss (June 21, 1862 in Newark, New Jersey – September 17, 1953 in New York City) was an American composer, pianist and music teacher. Huss grew up in New York City, the son of German immigrant parents. After studying piano and ...
and Eugene Heffley, in addition to her sister Emilie. In 1905, her studies brought her into contact with French violinist and pianist Raoul Pugno, who was using New York as a base on an extended concert tour of the United States. By virtue of her upbringing in a home headed by French immigrants, Bauer was fluent in both French and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...
, and was thus able to teach Pugno and his family English.Pickett, “From the Wild West to New York Modernism,” 35. As a result of this favor, Pugno invited Bauer to study with him in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
in 1906, and it was during this time that Bauer also became the first American to study with
Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...
, an associate of Pugno's in the Paris music scene. (Ultimately, Boulanger would teach such notable figures as
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 ...
, David Diamond,
Roy Harris Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American composer. He wrote music on American subjects, and is best known for his Symphony No. 3. Life Harris was born in Chandler, Oklahoma on February 12, 1898. His ancest ...
and Gail Kubik.) As she had done with Pugno, in exchange for composition lessons from Boulanger, Bauer taught her English. When she returned to New York in 1907, Bauer continued her studies with Heffley and Walter Henry Rothwell,Hisama, ''Gendering Musical Modernism'', 5. additionally teaching
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...
and music theory on her own. After another year of study in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
from 1910–11, this time focusing on form and counterpoint with Paul Ertel in
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
, Bauer began to establish herself as a serious composer; it was after this period of study in 1912 that “ auersigned a seven-year contract with usic publisherArthur P. Schmidt.” Although active as a composer and private instructor in the years following 1912, Bauer ultimately undertook two more periods of study in Europe, partially facilitated by financial
inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offici ...
s upon the deaths her mother and older brother.Pickett, “From the Wild West to New York Modernism,” 37. In 1914, she once again returned to Berlin to study with Ertel, but her time there was curtailed by the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. Almost ten years later, Bauer decided once again to undertake an extended period of study in Europe, this time at the
Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
with André Gedalge, who had also taught composers such as
Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
,
Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...
, and
Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably '' Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 ...
. At the time, she was 40 years old and offered the following reason for continuing her studies comparatively late in life: “As a member of the
American Music Guild American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
, I had the opportunity to measure my powers and my limitations with those of my colleagues....The result was a period of study in Europe. This time I decided in Paris I would find the kind of work and musical environment for which I was seeking.” Bauer's studies at the Paris Conservatory, however, were cut short in 1926 when she received the news that her sister Emilie had been hit by a car.Pickett, “From the Wild West to New York Modernism,” 40. Bauer returned to New York, but Emilie's injuries ultimately proved fatal.


Career

Although Bauer had never earned a college degree (despite her years of study), in September 1926, she was hired as an instructor for New York University's music department, becoming their first female music faculty. Among her early colleagues were Albert Stoessel,
Gustave Reese Gustave Reese ( ; 29 November 1899 – 7 September 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications ''Music in the Middle Ages'' (1940) ...
, and
Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
. During her tenure at NYU from 1926–1951, Bauer taught classes in
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature * Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
, form and analysis, aesthetics and criticism, and music history and appreciation, earning the rank of
associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...
in 1930. Bauer taught using her own book, the readings from which would then be followed by class discussions. She also advocated strongly for new music and would play “the few pertinent records and piano rolls available,” or have students play unavailable works. Some of her most famous students from her years at NYU included
Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia to Albert E ...
, Julia Frances Smith, Miriam Gideon, and conductor
Maurice Peress Maurice Peress (March 18, 1930 – December 31, 2017) was an American orchestra conductor, educator and author. After serving as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein beginning in 1961, Peress went on to stand a ...
. In addition to teaching at NYU, Bauer lectured at
Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...
and
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
. She also lectured annually at the Chatauqua Summer Music Institute in
Chautauqua, New York Chautauqua ( ) is a town and lake resort community in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 4,017 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Chautauqua Lake. It is the home of the Chautauqua Institution and the birthplac ...
, putting on lecture-recitals of twentieth-century music with pianist Harrison Potter throughout her career. Potter performed Bauer's piano music in other settings as well, including concerts put on by the
League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...
, the WPA Federal Music Project, the
MacDowell Club The MacDowell Clubs in the United States were established at the turn of the twentieth century to honor internationally recognized American composer Edward MacDowell. They became part of a broader social movement to promote music and other art form ...
, and Phi Beta National Fraternity of Music and Speech. During the Great Depression years, Bauer also spent summers teaching at
Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was r ...
, the Carnegie Institute, and the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was a conservatory, part of a girls' finishing school, founded in 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It merged with the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1955, forming the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, w ...
as well as
Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...
. Even with her teaching and lecturing responsibilities, Bauer remained active as a composer. Between 1919 and 1944, Bauer spent a total of twelve summers in residence at the
MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDow ...
, where she met composers such as
Ruth Crawford Seeger Ruth Crawford Seeger (born Ruth Porter Crawford; July 3, 1901 – November 18, 1953) was an American composer and folk music specialist. Her music was a prominent exponent of the emerging modernist aesthetic and she became a central member of a ...
and
Amy Beach Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (September 5, 1867December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Her "Gaelic" Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in ...
and focused on composition.Edwards, ''New Grove,'' 924. Bauer also helped found the
American Music Guild American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
, the
American Music Center New Music USA is a new music organization formed by the merging of the American Music Center with Meet The Composer on November 8, 2011. The new organization retains the granting programs of the two former organizations as well as two media progra ...
, and the
American Composer's Alliance The American Composers Alliance (ACA) is an American nonprofit composer service organization dedicated to the publishing and promoting of American contemporary classical music. Founded in 1937 by Aaron Copland, Milton Adolphus, Marion Bauer and o ...
, serving on the board of the latter. In 1937,
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 ...
founded the
League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...
, and asked Bauer to serve on the executive board of that organization as well. Bauer additionally served as secretary for the
Society for the Publication of American Music A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
, and helped co-found the
Society of American Women Composers A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
in 1925 along with
Amy Beach Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (September 5, 1867December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Her "Gaelic" Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in ...
and eighteen others.Hisama, ''Gendering Musical Modernism'', 123. As a writer and
music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mu ...
, Bauer was respected for “her intellectual approach to new music,” yet she also maintained a level of accessibility in her writings.Edwards, ''New Grove'', 924. For instance, she was published in various journals, was editor of the highly regarded,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
-based ''Musical Leader'', and most famously published her book ''Twentieth Century Music'', all of which garnered her respect in the music world. At the same time, though, Bauer made new music accessible to newcomers with her books such as ''How Music Grew: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day''. Bauer also had a highly inclusive view of what constituted "serious" music, as demonstrated in the content of ''Twentieth Century Music''. Besides being one of the first textbooks to discuss
serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...
, ''Twentieth Century Music'' also mentioned numerous women composers in contrast to other contemporary music textbooks such as Paul Rosenfeld's ''Musical Portraits, An Hour with American Music'' and John Tasker Howard's ''Our Contemporary Composers'', which only briefly mentioned women composers, if they were mentioned at all. Bauer's book also discussed
modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
works by
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
composers and included
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
in its discussion of twentieth-century music.


Later years

In the spring of 1951, Bauer retired from her position at NYU,Pickett, “From the Wild West to New York Modernism,” 43. although she continued to lecture at Juilliard. Bauer also attended a gathering of MacDowell Colony composers on August 6, 1955. Three days later, while vacationing at the home of Harrison Potter and his wife in
South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts ...
afterward, Bauer died of a heart attack on August 9, 1955, just shy of her 73rd birthday. She is buried with her sisters Emilie and Minnie in the
Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city. Initially , it was ...
in
Valhalla, New York Valhalla is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the New York City metropolitan area. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The name was in ...
.


Music


Style and influences

Although very much an advocate of contemporary music, Bauer herself was considered relatively conservative as a composer; her works from the 1910s-1920s mostly contain a pitch center, and she only turned to
serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...
briefly in the 1940s with works such as ''Patterns''. Her music is generally
melodically A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
driven, using “extended tonality ndemphasizing colouristic
harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...
and
diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a p ...
dissonance.” Both
impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...
and
romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
influences feature in her works, but Bauer's studies with Gédalge particularly marked a change in her style from conventionally tonal to a more impressionistic, post-tonal idiom as demonstrated in her 1924 works ''Quietude'' and ''Turbulence''. For the remainder of her career, though, Bauer continued to integrate both the romanticism advocated by her German teachers with the impressionism she encountered in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
and in the music of her close friend Charles Tomlinson Griffes. The influence of the latter is particularly evident in comparing Bauer's 1917 work ''Three Impressions'' for piano to Griffes's ''Roman Sketches'' published a year earlier: each is an impressionistic-style suite with a poem preceding each movement.Pickett, “From the Wild West to New York Modernism,” 38. The discrepancy between the relative conservatism of Bauer's work versus the more experimental works she advocated in her writings such as ''Twentieth Century Music'' is partially explained by her publisher Arthur P. Schmidt's hesitation to support her early
modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
inclinations in composition. Schmidt and Bauer, although maintaining a close relationship, notably disagreed on style. It is inferred that when Bauer's seven-year contract was about to expire, Schmidt requested that Bauer simplify her compositional style, as indicated by Bauer's response to his correspondence: “It is not stubbornness on my part not to write simple things. I can only write what I feel–and someday (soon I hope) I shall learn to do the big simple thing. I must do my work in steps–evolutionary, not revolutionary. I have so little time to write that naturally change of style is slow.” It is also possible that the experience of having her ''Violin Sonata'' (later published under the title ''Fantasia Quasi Una Sonata'') demoted from first to second place in the 1928
Society for the Publication of American Music A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
competition expressly for its "modernist tendencies" led Bauer to adopt a comparatively conservative style of composition. Bauer did, however, play a significant role in the development of non-
tertian In music theory, ''tertian'' ( la, tertianus, "of or concerning thirds") describes any piece, chord, counterpoint etc. constructed from the intervals of ( major and minor) thirds. An interval such as that between the notes A and C encompasse ...
harmony in American music. Along with
Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Switzerland, Swiss-born Americans, American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As ...
, Bauer was one of the first American composers to experiment with quintal harmony, or harmony based on stacked fifths, as demonstrated in her 1926 solo piano version of ''Sun Splendor'' and her writings about it. The development of this harmonic technique in turn influenced the music of
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 ...
.Pickett, Chapter 19.


Notable collaborations and performances

During her lifetime, Bauer's music was well received by performers, critics, and the public alike. Virtuoso violinist
Maud Powell Minnie "Maud" Powell (August 22, 1867 – January 8, 1920) was an American violinist who gained international acclaim for her skill and virtuosity. Biography Powell was born in Peru, Illinois. Her mother was Wilhelmina "Minnie" Bengelstrae ...
commissioned “Up the Ocklawaha” in 1912, an impressionistic work for violin and piano that programmatically reflected Powell's own excursion on the
Ocklawaha River The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 21, 2011 Ocklawaha River flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. Its name is derive ...
in north central Florida. ''Up the Ocklawaha'' was subject of much praise upon its premiere. In 1915 and 1916, respected opera singers May Dearborn-Schwab, Mary Jordan, and Elsa Alves were featured on two all-Bauer programs presented in New York, accompanied by Bauer herself. The 1916 performance featured twenty of Bauer's songs, and received a favorable review in ''The Musical Leader''. By virtue of her activities in various composition circles, particularly the
League of Composers The League of Composers/ International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce Am ...
and the New York Composer's Forum, Bauer was well-situated to have even her larger-scale, more resource-intensive works performed. Notably, Bauer was the second woman to have her work performed by the
New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appearan ...
conducted the premiere of Bauer's ''Sun Splendor'' at Carnegie Hall in 1947. Despite its premiere with the New York Philharmonic, though, ''Sun Splendor'' was never published in any of its forms–as a piano solo, duet, or orchestral piece–and the only recording currently available is that of the original performance, housed in the New York Philharmonic Archives. An event Bauer herself considered one of the highlights of her entire career was the May 8, 1951 New York Town Hall concert devoted exclusively to her music. Sponsored by the Phi Beta fraternity at the time of Bauer's retirement from NYU, the works performed that day spanned her entire career and included two previously unperformed works: the ''Dance Sonata'', Op. 24 (1932) for dancer and piano (later expanded and revised as ''Moods'' for solo piano) and ''Trio Sonata II'' for flute, cello, and piano. The concert was reviewed by
Olin Downes Edwin Olin Downes, better known as Olin Downes (January 27, 1886 – August 22, 1955), was an American music critic, known as "Sibelius's Apostle" for his championship of the music of Jean Sibelius. As critic of ''The New York Times'', he ex ...
of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', who wrote positively of the event : “The music is prevailingly contrapuntal and dissonance is not absent. Yet the fundamental concept is melodic, the thinking clear and logical, the sentiment sincere and direct.”


Criticism

Some music critics during Bauer's lifetime promoted a divide between “masculine” and “feminine” music, even with the increase of women in the composition field around the turn of the century. Reviews of Bauer's larger, more intellectual pieces exemplify this phenomenon; the pieces were well-received, albeit in terms of being "masculine." For instance, in his review of the 1928 premiere of Bauer's ''String Quartet'', William J. Henderson wrote:
“Those who like to descant upon the differences between the intellect of woman and that of man must have found themselves in difficulties while listening to Miss Bauer’s quartet. It is anything but a ladylike composition. This does not mean that it is rude, impolite or vulgar, but merely that it has a masculine stride and the sort of confidence which is associated in one’s mind with the adventurous youth in trousers.”
One of the most pointed criticisms leveled at Bauer's work pertains to her books. As musicologist
Susan Pickett Susan Pickett is a violinist, musicologist, and Catharine Gould Chism Chair of Music at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had ...
points out regarding ''How Music Grew: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day'', “ day’s reader would take offense with several vulgar racial stereotypes. ' African' and 'savage' were used interchangeably.
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
were 'barbarians.' Chinese and
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
were 'yellow races,' and so forth.”Pickett, Chapter 15. Indeed, in 1975, Ruth Zinar published an article surveying racial stereotypes in music books recommended for children, and reserved her most stinging criticism for Bauer's work: “Of all the books studied, Marion Bauer's and Ethel Peyser's ''How Music Grew from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day'' must be considered to be the most overtly offensive, in addition to be replete with inaccuracies.” Later editions were, however, edited to be more sensitive to issues of race.


Personal life


Personality

By the recollections of friends, colleagues, and students, Bauer was a kindhearted, good-humored person, who treated others with warmth, compassion, and generosity.
Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia to Albert E ...
also recalls in his introduction to the 1978 edition of ''Twentieth Century Music'' how he and his classmates referred to Bauer “not derisively but affectionately” as “'Aunt Marion' for her matronly manner and appearance, and even for her classes, which were conducted so as to be suitable for occurrence at teatime in a genteel parlor.”Babbitt, 368. He too describes Bauer as generous and sensitive, particularly in terms of guiding her students' careers, but also in terms of her writing due to the fact that she mentions so many composers and organizations.


Religious affiliation

Despite her birth to
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrants, Bauer appears not to have been an observant Jew in adulthood. Although Bauer's memorial service was conducted by a
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
,Edwards, ''Jewish Women's Archive''. she was
cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
thereafter, which is forbidden by official
Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical command ...
. Additionally, both
Maurice Peress Maurice Peress (March 18, 1930 – December 31, 2017) was an American orchestra conductor, educator and author. After serving as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein beginning in 1961, Peress went on to stand a ...
, a former student, and Frederic Stoessel claimed that Bauer practiced
Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...
, a claim further supported by a letter Bauer wrote in 1923 expressing “a desire to publish a song appropriate for a Christian Science service.” No official confirmation of Bauer's religious affiliation has been found yet, however.


Sexual orientation

Bauer never married, and much of her personal life remains a mystery.Hisama, ''Gendering Musical Modernism'', 101. She lived with and was supported by her sister Emilie until Emilie's death in 1926. At that point, Bauer went to live with her other sister Flora who also lived in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, a living arrangement that lasted until Flora's death in the early 1950s. Although unconfirmed, Ruth Crawford Seeger's writings, when considered along with remarks by Martin Bernstein (former chair of NYU music dept.) and
Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia to Albert E ...
, imply that Bauer may have been a lesbian.Hisama, ''Gendering Musical Modernism'', 102. Crawford and Bauer met at the
MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDow ...
in 1929, where Bauer quickly became a mentor and close friend to the much younger Crawford.Hisama, ''Gendering Musical Modernism'', 99. Although Crawford preferred to characterize their relationship as one of “sisterly-motherly love,” she also acknowledged that at one time, their relationship had bordered becoming sexual, particularly on Bauer's part when she reserved a single hotel room for the two of them at the International Festival of Contemporary Music in Liège in September 1930, which made Crawford “uncomfortable.” Along with Crawford's perceptions of her relationship with Bauer, Martin Bernstein, a longtime friend of Bauer's and a former chair of the NYU music department, stated: “ a female, auerhad very little interest in ''men'' (emphasis in original)...At least if she had any romantic liaisons with men, we don't know about it.” Babbitt further substantiated Bernstein's thoughts during an interview about Bauer when he remarked, “And she was very much a...let's simply say unmarried. But she was an absolute dear.” Conclusive evidence as to Bauer's sexual orientation has not yet been established.


Legacy

Bauer's legacy can be measured not only by her output of at least 160 compositions along with her five books, but also by the impact she had on the careers of both
Ruth Crawford Seeger Ruth Crawford Seeger (born Ruth Porter Crawford; July 3, 1901 – November 18, 1953) was an American composer and folk music specialist. Her music was a prominent exponent of the emerging modernist aesthetic and she became a central member of a ...
and
Milton Babbitt Milton Byron Babbitt (May 10, 1916 – January 29, 2011) was an American composer, music theorist, mathematician, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music. Biography Babbitt was born in Philadelphia to Albert E ...
, who went on to become well-known American composers of the twentieth century. After they met at the MacDowell Colony in 1929, Bauer encouraged Crawford's efforts in composition and “contributed greatly to Crawford's musical growth and her professional visibility.” For Crawford, Bauer represented a powerful connection into the musical establishment. With her position at the ''Musical Leader'', Bauer was able to publish “a glowing review of a private concert of Crawford's music”; additionally, Bauer introduced Crawford to
Gustave Reese Gustave Reese ( ; 29 November 1899 – 7 September 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications ''Music in the Middle Ages'' (1940) ...
, an editor at the G. Schirmer publishing company at the time. Bauer also played a significant role in Babbitt's career development. Babbitt decided to study with her at NYU in February 1934 after reading her 1933 edition of ''Twentieth Century Music''. In the introduction to the later edition, Babbitt recollected his thoughts upon reading the work for the first time: “ re was a book...which concerned itself interestedly, admiringly, enthusiastically, even affectionately with works of music which, in most academic environments, were unmentionables, untouchables, and unspeakables, and anywhere else were unknowns.” Babbitt specifically mentions his appreciation for her discussion of the serialist composers with accompanying musical examples; during the Depression years, scores (especially of new music) were prohibitively expensive to own personally, and only a few libraries had copies.Babbitt, 367-368. Babbitt greatly respected Bauer, saying in 1983 that Bauer was “a wonderful lady...whose name I'm going to do everything in the world to immortalize.”


Works

(From the list of Bauer's works in ''New Grove'' unless otherwise indicated) Orchestral Works: * ''Lament on an African Theme,'' Op. 20a, strings (1927) * ''Sun Splendor'' (?1936) * ''Symphonic Suite,'' Op. 34, strings (1940) * ''Piano Concerto “American Youth,”'' Op. 36, (1943) (arranged for 2 pianos 1946) * ''Symphony No. 1,'' Op. 45, (1947–1950) * ''Prelude and Fugue,'' Op. 43, flute and strings (1948 rev. 1949) Chamber works: * ''Up the Ocklawaha,'' Op. 6, violin and piano (1913) * ''Sonata No. 1,'' Op. 14, violin and piano (1921 rev. 1922) * ''String Quartet,'' Op. 20 (1925) * ''Fantasia Quasi una Sonata,'' Op. 18, violin and piano (1925) * ''Suite (Duo),'' Op. 25, oboe and clarinet (1932) * ''Sonata,'' Op. 22, viola or clarinet and piano (1932) * ''Concertino,'' Op. 32b, oboe, clarinet, and string quartet or orchestra (1939 rev. 1943) * ''Trio Sonata No. 1,'' Op. 40, flute, cello, piano (1944) * ''Five Pieces (Patterns)'' Op. 41, string quartet (1946–1949, no. 2 arranged for double woodwind quintet and double bass—1948) * ''Aquarelle,'' Op. 39/2a, double woodwind quintet, 2 double basses (1948) * ''Trio sonata No. 2,'' Op. 47, flute, cello, piano (1951) * ''Woodwind Quintet,'' Op. 48, flue, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn (1956) Keyboard works (for piano unless otherwise noted): * ''Three Impressions,'' Op. 10 (1918) * ''From the New Hampshire Woods'', Op. 12 (1922) * ''Three Preludettes'' (1921) * ''Six Preludes,'' op. 15 (1922) * ''Turbulence,'' op. 17/2 (1924) * ''A Fancy'' (1927) * ''Sun Splendor,'' (?1929, arranged for 2 pianos ?1930) * ''Four Piano Pieces,'' op. 21 (1930) * ''Dance Sonata,'' op. 24 (1932) * ''Moods (Three Moods for Dance),'' op. 46 (1950/4) * ''Anagrams,'' op. 48 (1950) * ''Meditation and Toccata,'' organ (1951) Choral works: * ''Wenn ich rufe an dich, Herr, mein Gott'' (Ps xxviii), op. 3, Soprano, women's chorus, organ/piano (1903) * ''Fair Daffodils'' (R. Herrick), women's chorus, keyboard (1914) * ''Orientale'' (E. Arnold), soprano, orchestra (1914, orchestrated 1932, rev. 1934) * ''The Lay of the Four Winds'' (C.Y. Rice), Op. 8, male chorus, piano (1915) * ''Three Noëls'' (L.I. Guiney, trad.), Op. 22, Nos. 1–3, women's chorus, piano (1930) * ''Here at High Morning'' (M. Lewis), Op. 27, male chorus (1931) * ''The Thinker,'' Op. 35, mixed chorus (1938) * ''China'' (B. Todrin), Op. 38, mixed chorus, orchestra/piano (1943) * ''At the New Year'' (K. Patchen), Op. 42, mixed chorus, piano (1947) * ''Death Spreads his Gentle Wings'' (E.P. Crain), mixed chorus (1949 rev. 1951) * ''A Foreigner Comes to Earth on Boston Common'' (H. Gregory), Op. 49, soprano, tenor, mixed chorus, piano (1953) Other vocal works: * "Coyote Song" (J.S. Reed), baritone, piano (1912) * "Send Me a Dream" (Intuition) (E.F. Bauer), solo voice, piano (1912) * "Phillis" (C.R. Defresny), medium voice, piano (1914) * "By the Indus" (Rice), solo voice, piano (1917) * "My Faun" (O. Wilde), solo voice, piano (1919) * "Night in the Woods" (E.R. Sill), medium voice, piano (1921) * "The Driftwood Fire" (Katharine Adams), solo voice, piano (1921) (not listed in New Grove) * "The Epitaph of a Butterfly" (T. Walsh), solo voice, piano (1921) * "A Parable" (The Blade of Grass) (S. Crane), solo voice, piano (1922) * "Four Poems" (J.G. Fletcher), Op. 16, high voice, piano (1924) * "Faun Song," alto, chamber orchestra (1934) * "Four Songs (Suite)," soprano, string quartet (1935 rev. 1936) * "Songs in the Night" (M.M.H. Ayers), solo voice, piano (1943) * "The Harp" (E.C. Bailey), solo voice, piano (1947) * "Swan" (Bailey), solo voice, piano (1947)


Written Works

(From the list of Bauer's works in ''New Grove'') * With Ethel Peyser: ''How Music Grew: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day'' (New York: 1925, rev. 1939) * With Ethel Peyser: ''Music through the Ages: a Narrative for Student and Layman'' (New York, 1932, enlarged 3/1967 by Elizabeth Rogers as ''Music through the Ages: an Introduction to Music History'') * ''Twentieth Century Music'' (New York, 1933, rev. 2/1947) * ''Musical Questions and Quizzes: a Digest of Information about Music'' (New York, 1941) * With Ethel Peyser: ''How Opera Grew: from Ancient Greece to the Present Day'' (New York, 1956)


References


Sources

* Ambache, Diana. Liner notes to ''Marion Bauer: American Youth Concerto'' performed by the Ambache Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble. Naxos (8.559253), 2005. Compact disc. * Ammer, Christine. ''Unsung: A History of Women in American Music'', Century ed. Portland: Amadeus Press, 2001. . * Babbitt, Milton. “Introduction to Marion Bauer's Twentieth Century Music (1978).” ''The Collected Essays of Milton Babbitt''. Ed. Stephen Peles, Stephen Dembski, Andrew Mead, and Joseph N. Straus. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003. . * Block, Adrienne Fried. “Arthur P. Schmidt, Music Publisher and Champion of American Women Composers.” ''The Musical Woman: An International Perspective'', v. 2. Eds. Judith Lang Zaimont, Catherine Overhauser, and Jane Gottlieb. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987. . * Edwards, J. Michele. “Bauer, Marion Eugénie.” ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Ed. Stanley Sadie. London: MacMillan, 1980. II: 924. . * Edwards, J. Michele. “Marion Eugénie Bauer.” ''Jewish Women's Archive''. Accessed June 9, 2011. http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bauer-marion-eugenie. * Hisama, Ellie. ''Gendering Musical Modernism: The Music of Ruth Crawford, Marion Bauer, and Miriam Gideon''. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001. . * Hisama, Ellie. Liner notes to ''Music of Marion Bauer'' performed by Virginia Eskin, Deborah Boldin, and Irina Muresanu. Albany Records (TR465), 2001. Compact disc. * Pickett, Susan. “Chapter 15: Marion in Paris, 1923-1926.” ''The Bauer Sisters''. Unpublished. Used with special permission of the author. * Pickett, Susan. “Chapter 19: Sun Splendor, Fantasia Quasi Una Sonata: A New Twist, String Quartet, 1926–1930.” ''The Bauer Sisters.'' Unpublished. Used with special permission of the author. * Pickett, Susan. “From the Wild West to New York Modernism.” ''
The Maud Powell Signature, Women in Music ''The Maud Powell Signature, Women in Music'', also known as ''Signature'', is an American online music periodical. It is published free of charge by The Maud Powell Society for Music and Education, a non-profit charity Section 501(c)(3) organiza ...
: The March of the Women'' 2, no. 2 (June 2008): 32-45. Accessed March 22, 2011. http://www.maudpowell.org/signature/Portals/0/pdfs/signature/Signature_June_2008_issue.pdf. * Silberberg, Naftali. “Why does Jewish law forbid cremation?” ''Chabad.org''. Accessed June 9, 2011. http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/510874/jewish/Why-does-Jewish-law-forbid-cremation.htm. * Tawa, Nicholas E. ''Mainstream Music of Early Twentieth Century America: The Composers, Their Times, and Their Works''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992. .


External links


The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers: Marion Eugénie Bauer (on GoogleBooks)

Jewish Women's Archive: Marion Eugénie Bauer


* ttp://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm308_main.html Marion Bauer compositions at Mount Holyoke College
Naxos: Marion Bauer
* * * *
Musical Manuscripts Collection
at the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pu ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Marion 1882 births 1955 deaths 20th-century classical composers American women classical composers American classical composers Modernist composers New York University faculty Jewish American classical composers People from Walla Walla, Washington Conservatoire de Paris alumni American women academics Burials at Kensico Cemetery 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century musicologists 20th-century women composers