Leich, Roland (Jacobi)
Leich, Roland (Jacobi)
Leich, Roland (Jacobi), American composer; b. Evansville, Ind., March 6, 1911. He studied composition with Borowski and Sowerby in Chicago, Webern in Vienna (1933-34), Scalero at the Curtis Inst. of Music in Philadelphia (B.M., 1934), and Rogers at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. (M.M., 1942); also studied at Dartmouth Coll. (B.A., 1935), where he served on the faculty (1935-41). In 1946 he became a teacher at the Carnegie Inst. of Technology (later Carnegie-Mellon Univ.) in Pittsburgh, remaining on its faculty until 1976. He was particularly successful as a composer of songs, of which he wrote more than 150.
Works
orch.:Rondo (1942); Concert Piece for Oboe and Strings (1952); Prelude and Fugue (1954). chamber: String Quartet (1936); Flute Sonata (1953); A Musical Christmas Wreath for Woodwind Quintet and Harp (1980); piano pieces; organ music. vocal:Housman Songs (1932); 5 songs, after Housman (1939-78); 40 songs, after Milne (1940); 47 songs, after Dickinson (1950-65); 17 songs, after S. Hay (1956-84); also cantatas and other choral works, hymn tunes, and arrangements of folk melodies and hymns.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire