Helm, Everett (Burton)

Helm, Everett (Burton), American composer and musicologist; b. Minneapolis, July 17, 1913; d. Berlin, June 25, 1999. He studied at Harvard Univ. (M.A., 1936; Ph.D., 1939), and also in Europe (1936–38) with Malipiero, Vaughan Williams, and Alfred Einstein. Returning to the U.S., he taught at Western Coll. in Oxford, Ohio (1943–44). From 1948 to 1950 he was a music officer under the U.S. military government in Germany. Except for a stint as ed. in N.Y. for Musical America (1961–63), Helm lived in Europe from 1948, mostly in Germany. A linguist, he contributed articles to various music magazines in several languages; he made a specialty of the music of Yugoslavia and was a guest lecturer at the Univ. of Ljubljana (1966–68).

Writings

Bela Bartók in Selbstzeugnissen und Biddokumenten (Reinbek-bei-Hamburg, 1965; reduction and Eng. tr., N.Y., 1972); Composer, Performer, Public: A Study in Communication (Florence, 1970); Franz Liszt (Hamburg, 1972); Music and Tomorrow’s Public (Wilhelmshaven, 1981).

Works

Adam and Eve, adaptation of a medieval mystery play (Wiesbaden, Oct. 28, 1951); Concerto for 5 Instruments, Percussion, and Strings (Donaueschingen, Oct. 10, 1953); 2 piano concertos: No. 1 (N.Y, April 24, 1954) and No. 2 (Louisville, Feb. 25, 1956); The Siege of Tottenburg, radio opera (1956); Le Roy fait battre tambour, ballet (1956); 500 Dragon- Thalers, Singspiel (1956); Divertimento for Flutes (1957); Sinfonia da camera (1961); Concerto for Double Bass and String Orch. (1968); 2 string quartets; Woodwind Quintet (1967); numerous piano pieces and songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire