Robert Strassburg
American musician (1915–2003)

Robert Strassburg
Born(1915-08-30)August 30, 1915[1]
New York City, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 2003(2003-10-25) (aged 88)[1]
OccupationsConductor, composer, musicologist
Years active1945–1997

Robert Strassburg (August 30, 1915 – October 25, 2003) was an American conductor, composer, musicologist and music educator. Included among his compositions are numerous musical settings of the poetry of Walt Whitman, as well as several sacred Judaic choral works. As a musicologist, Strassburg was an authority on the compositions of the composer Ernest Bloch.[2]

Biography

Early life

Robert Strassburg was born in New York City. Among his teachers in Tanglewood were Igor Stravinsky, Walter Piston and Paul Hindemith.[3][4][5] His formal academic studies were completed at the New England Conservatory of Music and Harvard University, where he obtained a fellowship in composition. He also completed a doctorate in Fine Arts at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles.[6]

Academic career

Strassburg's professional career as an educator begain at the Philadelphia Music Settlement School, where he served as the chairman of the composition and theory department from 1943 until 1947.[7] After serving as a lecturer at Brooklyn College (1947–1950), Strassburg obtained a position as artist in residence at the Brandeis Arts Institute in Santa Susana, California (1951–1955). He was also the music director of the institute's music camp in Hendersonville, North Carolina. During his years in Miami, he founded the All-Miami Youth Symphony (today the Greater Miami Youth Symphony) in 1958, and was conductor until 1961.[8] Additional contributions were made as the assistant dean for the School of Fine Arts at the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles (1961–1966). This culminated in an appointment as professor of music at Cal State Los Angeles in 1966. During this time he curated the Roy Harris Archive and published a catalogue of Harris' compositions.[7]

Compositions

External audio
audio icon You may hear Robert Strassburg conducting the Period Choral Society performing sacred choral music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in 1957 Here on archive.org
audio icon You may hear excerpts from Strassburg's opera "Chelm"
Here on Milken Archive

One of Strassburg's earliest compositions Lost was completed in 1945 and received critical acclaim.[9] As music director for various synagogues Strassburg expressed a keen interest in Jewish liturgical music and completed several sacred compositions as well as music inspired by Jewish historical themes. His secular music included several works inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman. Strassburg also contributed to a variety of film scores as well as incidental music for such theatrical productions as: King Lear, The Rose Tattoo, and Anne of the Thousand Days[7]

Liturgical

  • Lost (1945)[9]
  • 4 Biblical Statements (1946)
  • Torah Sonata (piano, 1950)
  • A Gilgul fun a Nign (Migrations of a Melody) - on a text by Isaac Leyb for baritone, narrator, and chamber orchestra.[7]
  • Festival of Lights Symphony - for string orchestra[7]
  • Kabbalat Shabbat (Liturgical)[5]
  • L’kha odi - for Kabbalat Shabbat services.[7]
  • Mosaic Horizons (Litrugical for organ)[7]
  • Mah Tavu: High Holiday for Cantor, mixed choir (SATB) with optional keyboard, 1993[10]
  • Patriarchs (String Orchestra)[7]
  • Psalm 117 (Choral, 1965)[11]
  • Torah Sonata - for piano.[7]
  • Tropal Suite (String Quartet, 1967)
  • Terecentenary Suite (Viola & Piano)

Secular

  • Fantasy and Allegro (1947)[12]
  • Festival of Lights Symphony (String Orchestra)
  • Migrations of a Melody (Baritone Narrator Chamber Orchestra)
  • Prayer of Columbus (for Voice & Piano, 1993)[13]
  • The Heritage of Heaven (string orchestra, 1955)[5]
  • Chelm (Opera, 1956)[14][15]
  • Walt Whitman Cycle - (Tenor & Orchestra).[5]
  • Congo Square- (Opera in one act)[5]
  • Leaves of Grass: A Choral Symphony (Choral symphony, 1992)[16]
  • [17][18]
  • Three "Leaves of Grass" – A Walt Whitman Trilogy (Piano, 1996)

Publications

In 1977, Strassburg wrote a biography of Ernest Bloch, Ernest Bloch: Voice in the Wilderness.[19] The research materials for this publication along with Strassburg's notes are accessible at the Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts. The collection is archived for research purposes at the University of Florida, Gainesville.[20][21][22]

Students

Among Strassburg's pupils are Yehudi Wyner,[5] Jack Gottlieb,[5] Charles Davidson,[5] Diane Thome[23][24] and John Serry.[25]

Compositions

External audio
audio icon You may hear Robert Strassburg conducting the Period Choral Society performing sacred choral music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in 1957 Here on archive.org
audio icon You may hear excerpts from Strassburg's opera "Chelm"
Here on Milken Archive
  • Lost (1945)[9]
  • 4 Biblical Statements (1946)
  • Fantasy and Allegro (1947)[26]
  • Torah Sonata (piano, 1950)
  • The Heritage of Heaven (string orchestra, 1955)[5]
  • Chelm (Opera, 1956)[27][28]
  • Psalm 117 (Choral, 1965)[29]
  • Tropal Suite (String Quartet, 1967)
  • Terecentenary Suite (Viola & Piano)
  • Patriarchs (String Orchestra)
  • Migrations of a Melody (Baritone Narrator Chamber Orchestra)
  • Festival of Lights Symphony (String Orchestra)
  • Leaves of Grass: A Choral Symphony (Choral symphony, 1992)[30]
  • Mah Tavu: High Holiday for Cantor, mixed choir (SATB) with optional keyboard, 1993[31]
  • Prayer of Columbus ( for Voice & Piano, 1993)[32]
  • Three "Leaves of Grass" – A Walt Whitman Trilogy (Piano, 1996)
  • Walt Whitman Cycle (Tenor & Orchestra)[5]
  • Congo Square (Opera) [5]
  • Kabbalat Shabbat (Liturgical)[5]
  • Mosaic Horizons (Liturgical)[5]

Archives

  • Audio recordings of several liturgical works composed by Robert Strassburg have been archived within the Milken Archive of Jewish Music.[5]
  • The Robert Strassburg Collection on Ernest Bloch is a repository of research materials which relate to the composer Ernest Bloch and Strassburg's professional endeavors as archived at the University of Florida - Gainsville within the Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts.[33]

Musical influences

Strassburg enjoyed close contact with several other composers of his era including:[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1264. June 21, 2013. p. 26.
  2. ^ Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Cenential Edition, Nicolas Slonimsky, editor, Schirmer, 2001.
  3. ^ Composer's Genealogies: A Compendium of Composers, Their Teachers and Their Students. Pfitzinger, Scott. Rowman & Littlefield, London UK & New York USA 2017 P. 522 (ISBN 9781442272248).
  4. ^ Pfitzinger, Scott (March 2017). Composer Genealogies: A Compendium of Composers, Their Teachers, and Their Students. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442272255.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Strassburg, Robert". Milken Archive of Jewish Music.
  6. ^ Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Cenential Edition, Nicolas Slonimsky, editor, Schirmer, 2001.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Robert Strassburg - 1915-2003" Biography of Robert Strasburg on milkenarchive.org
  8. ^ Higgins, Sharon K. "Knowing the Score: The Hidden History of the Greater Miami Youth Symphony". memorialis.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c The New York Times, November 18, 1945, p. 50
  10. ^ "Strassburg, Robert [WorldCat Identities]".
  11. ^ "Strassburg, Robert".
  12. ^ The New York Times, April 29, 1948, p. 19
  13. ^ "Robert Strassburg | Compositions". AllMusic.
  14. ^ The New York Times, January 1, 1956, p. X7
  15. ^ The New York Times, January 28, 1956, p. 10
  16. ^ The New York Times, July 20, 1997, p. H26
  17. ^ The Routledge Encyclopedia of Walt Whiteman. Kummings, Donald D., Le Master, J. R..Routledge, 2013 "Music Whiteman And" by Robert Strassburg p/p. 437-439 ISBN 9780415890571 Robert Strassburg Leaves of Grass on Google Books
  18. ^ A Companion To Walt Whitman. Kummings, Donald D. Ed. Wiley, 2009 p. 270 ISBN 9781405195515 Robert Strassburg Leaves of Grass on Google Books
  19. ^ Musica Judaica American Society for Jewish Music. Vol. 3, No. 5, pp. 77-80 "Ernest Bloch: Voice in the Wilderness". Robert Strassburg Book review by Byron Cantrll on JSTOR.org
  20. ^ Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts - Special and Area Studies Collections - University of Florida Smathers Libraries. Accessed December 29, 2022.
  21. ^ Ernest Bloch: Voice in the Wilderness, Robert Strassburg, Trident Shop, California State University, 1977.
  22. ^ University of Florida Special & Area Studies Collection - "Robert Strassburg Collection on Ernest Bloch" Robert Strassburg's archive at the University of Florida Gainsville on ufl.edu
  23. ^ University of Washington School of Music Faculty- Biography Diane Thome on washington.edu
  24. ^ The Seattle Times, Melinda Bargreen, September 25, 2016, "Places of Memory: a woman born to write and play music" Review of memoir by Diane Thome on seattletimes.com
  25. ^ "Who Is Who In Music International 1958", Who Is Who In Music International, Chicago, IL. Biographical File # B11719 - John Serry. See International Biographical Center, Cambridge, England as current publisher.
  26. ^ The New York Times, April 29, 1948, p. 19
  27. ^ The New York Times, January 1, 1956, p. X7
  28. ^ The New York Times, January 28, 1956, p. 10
  29. ^ "Strassburg, Robert".
  30. ^ The New York Times, July 20, 1997, p. H26
  31. ^ "Strassburg, Robert [WorldCat Identities]".
  32. ^ "Robert Strassburg | Compositions". AllMusic.
  33. ^ University of Florida Special & Area Studies Collection - "Robert Strassburg Collection on Ernest Bloch" Robert Strassburg's archive at the University of Florida Gainsville on ufl.edu
  • Robert Strassburg on JSTOR.org
  • Robert Strassburg at the Milken Archive (selected discography)
  • Robert Strassburg's musical legacy as held in libraries worldwide and listed on WorldCat.org
  • Robert Strassburg at The Juilliard School of Music Libraries
  • The Robert Straussburg Collection of Ernest Bloch at the Belknap Collection of Performing Arts, University of Florida
  • Knowing the Score: The Hidden History of the Greater Miami Youth Symphony by Sharon Katz Higgins
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