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 is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

and educator. He served many years as a professor at

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music school, music conservatory of Oberlin College, a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the ...

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 A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

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 and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

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

amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...

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

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

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

Musical style

About the String Trio, which was begun in 1961 (

Altmünster Altmünster (; In the local dialect: ''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 ...

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

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, 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

from 1965 to 1966, at

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

in 1968, at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1970, at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or 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 organized int ...

in 1976 and at

Vienna University The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1984. His students included Jonathan Dawe, Pierre Jalbert, Stan Link, David Serkin Ludwig, Christopher Rouse, and Robert Spano just to name a few.

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 st ...

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 o ...

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. It is located about southwest of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin ...

, 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, or o, is the fifteenth letter of the English 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 ...

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 23, 2004) was an American musicologist, pianist, conductor and university teacher. He was influential in promoting contemporary music on the American West Coast. He was for years Arnold Schoenbe ...

* 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 Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Musi ...

'' 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.