Kahn, Erich Itor

Kahn, Erich Itor, German-American pianist and composer; b. Rimbach, July 23, 1905; d. N.Y., March 5, 1956. He studied at the Hoch Cons. in Frankfurt am Main. From 1928 to 1933 he was co-director of the Frankfurt am Main Radio. He went to France in 1933, and in 1938-39 toured as accompanist to Casals in France and North Africa. He emigrated in 1941 to the U.S., where he organized the Albeneri Trio in 1944 (the name being derived from assorted syllables of the first names of the participants: Alexander Schneider, violin; Benar Heifetz, cello; and Erich Kahn, piano). He became the pianist of the Bach Aria Group in 1951. In 1948 he was awarded the Coolidge Medal for eminent service to chamber music. He was held in high esteem as a composer of inventive intellect.

Works

Präludien zur Nacht, suite for Chamber Orch. (1927); Suite for Violin and Piano (1937; rev. as Suite concertante for Violin and Orch., 1937; orchestration completed by R. Leibowitz, 1964); 3 chansons populaires for Mezzo-soprano and Piano (1938); 3 caprices de Paganini for Violin and Piano (1942); Ciaccona dei tempi di guerra for Piano (1943); Actus tragicus for 10 Instruments (1946; Baden-Baden, June 18, 1955); 4 Nocturnes for Soprano and Piano (1954); String Quartet (1954); Les symphonies bretonnes for Orch. (1955).

Bibliography

R. Leibowitz and K. Wolff, E.I.K., un grand représentant de la musique contemporaine (Paris, 1958); H.-K. Metzger and R. Riehn, eds., E.I.K. (Munich, 1994).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire