Richard Hoffmann (20 April 1925 – 24 June 2021)"Richard Hoffmann, Composer and Protégé of Arnold Schoenberg, Dies at 96"
by Erich Burnett, Oberlin College & Conservatory, July 15, 2021 was an American composer,

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

and educator. He served many years as a professor at

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...

Early life

Hoffmann was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Richard and Emanuela Hoffmann. In 1935, the family emigrated to New Zealand,Röder, Werner and Strauss, Herbert A., ''International Biographical Dictionary of Central European Emigrés 1933–1945. Volume II: The Arts, Sciences and Literature, Part 1: A–K'', p. 528 where Hoffmann subsequently received a Bachelor of Music degree from the

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

in 1945. Hoffmann went on to the USA in 1947, primarily to study composition with his cousin,

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

(1948–1951). At the same time he also became Schoenberg's secretary and

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

.Platt, Russell, "Wrestling with the Twelve-Tone Technique of Schoenberg", ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', May 4, 2017Sleeve note to LP CRI 240

Musical style

About the String Trio, which was begun in 1961 (

Altmünster Altmünster (Central Bavarian: ''Oidmünsta''), also known as Altmünster am Traunsee, is a market town located about 3 kilometres south of Gmunden in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, on the west shore of the Traunsee. Its economic base consist ...

, Austria) and, after approximately a year's interruption, completed in 1963 (

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California) the composer wrote:

Teaching career

Hoffmann began his career as a professor at

in 1954, where he worked until 2004. He was a visiting professor at the

University of California in Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

from 1965 to 1966, at Victoria University in 1968, at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1970, at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 1976 and at

Vienna University The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public university, public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the Geogra ...

in 1984.

Achievements

Hoffmann received awards from the Fromm Music Foundation Commission in 1960 (Orchestral Piece No. 2, 1961, Universal Edition, London (1963), UE13635LW) and

National Institute 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, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

in 1966. Also he was given a grant from

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

in 1976, 1978–1979 and

Fulbright Foundation The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

in 1984–1985.

Personal life

On December 21, 1957, Hoffmann married Joan Alfhild Flint. They have 3 children. Hoffman died in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

, on June 24, 2021, aged 96.

Compositions

* Orchestral **Prelude and Double Fugue, strings, 1944 **Violin Concerto, 1948 **Orchestral Piece, 1952 **Piano Concerto, 1953–54 – Mobart Music Publications/Schott **Cello Concerto, 1956–59 – Mobart Music Publications MOB 8540/Schott **Orchestral Piece

o. 2 O is the fifteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. O may also refer to: Letters * Օ օ, (Unicode: U+0555, U+0585) a letter in the Armenian alphabet * Ο ο, Omicron, (Greek), a letter in the Greek alphabet * O (Cyrillic), a letter of the ...

1961, publ. Universal Edition, London (1963), UE13635LW **Music for Strings, for solo violin and string orchestra, 1970–71 – Mobart Music Publications/Schott **Souffleur, for symphony orchestra without conductor, 1975–76 * Vocal **3 Songs ( R. M. Rilke), 1948 **3 Songs (Rilke, ), soprano, piano, 1950 **2 Songs ( M. Maeterlink, E. St Vincent Millay), soprano, piano, 1953–54 **Mutterauge (trad.), chorus, 1956 **Memento mori (grave stone inscriptions), men's 48 voices, tape, 1966–69 **Les adieux (R. Hoffmann), chorus, orchestra, 1980–83 **2 Poems ( A. Giraud), 1 voice, flute + piccolo, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, 1986 **Lacrymosa '91 ( H. Heine), chorus, orchestra, 1990 **2 Songs ( F. Rückert, Heine), soprano, string trio, percussion, 1990 rr. chamber orchestra, 1991**Die Heimkehr ( G. Trakl), 1 voice, double chorus, orchestra, 1997 * Chamber and solo **String Quartet No. 1, 1947 **Trio, violin, bass clarinet, piano, 1948 **Duo, viola and cello, 1949 – Mobart Music Publications MOB 8550/Schott **Duo, violin and piano, 1949, rev. 1965 – Mobart Music Publications/Schott **Piano Quartet, 1950 **String Quartet No. 2, 1950 **Tripartita, solo violin, 1950 **String Trio, 1961–63 **Decadanse, for clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, double bass, and percussion, 1972 – Mobart Music Publications/Schott **String Quartet No. 3 'on revient toujours', 1972–74 – Mobart Music Publications/Schott **Changes, for two sets of chimes, four players, 1974 – Mobart Music Publications/Schott **Notturno tring Quartet No. 5 double string quartet, 1995 **String Quartet No. 6 'Anbruch–Einbruch–Abbruch', 1999 * Keyboard **Piano Sonata, 1945–46 **3 Small Pieces, piano, 1947 **Fantasy and Fugue in Memoriam Arnold Schoenberg, organ, 1951 – Mobart Music Publications/Schott **Variations No. 1, piano, 1951 **Sonatina, piano, 1952 **Passacaglia, organ, 1953 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott **Variations No. 2, piano, 1959 – Mobart Music Publications MOB 8585/Schott **MONO/POLY, piano, 1994 (first performance Pasadena, 13 September 1994, by

Leonard Stein Leonard David Stein (December 1, 1916 – June 24, 2004) was a musicologist, pianist, conductor, university teacher, and influential in promoting contemporary music on the American West Coast. He was for years Arnold Schoenberg's assistant, mus ...

* Electroacoustic **In memoriam patris, tape, 1976 **String Quartet No. 4 '(scordatura – trompe l'oreille)', string quartet, computer, 1977–78

Writings

* Hoffmann, Richard, "Webern: Six Pieces, op. 6, 1909", ''

Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...

'' 6 (1967–68) * Schoenberg, Arnold, ''

Von heute auf morgen ' (''From Today to Tomorrow'' or ''From One Day to the Next'') is a one act opera composed by Arnold Schoenberg, to a German libretto by "Max Blonda", the pseudonym of Gertrud Schoenberg, the composer's wife. It is the composer's opus 32. The ope ...

'', Op. 32, edited by Richard Hoffmann, with Werner Bittinger. Mainz: B. Schott's Söhne; Wien: Universal Edition, 1970.