Mendelsohn, Alfred

Mendelsohn, Alfred, Romanian composer, conductor, and teacher; b. Bucharest, Feb. 17, 1910; d. there, May 9, 1966. He was a student of Schmidt and Marx (composition) and of Lach and Wellesz (music history) in Vienna (1927–31). Returning to Bucharest, he completed his training with Jora (composition) at the Cons. (1931–32). He taught harmony (1932–36) and was director (1936–40) at the E. Massini Cons. From 1946 to 1954 he was asst. music director of the Romanian Opera. From 1949 until his death he also was a prof, at the Cons. In 1945 he received the Enesco Prize and in 1949 was awarded the Romanian Academy Prize. While his music primarily reflects the influence of the Romantic Viennese School, he also probed the potentialities of motivic structures, suggesting the serial concepts of modern constructivists while remaining faithful to basic tonalitarianism.

Works

dramatic:Imnul iubirii (The Love Hymn), dramatic sym. (1946); Harap-Alb (The White Moor), ballet (1948; Bucharest, March 30, 1949); Mesterul Manole, lyric drama (1949); Călin, choreographic poem (1956; Bucharest, May 2, 1957); Anton Pann, operetta (1961); Michelangelo, opera (1964; Timi-§oara, Sept. 29, 1968); Spinoza, lyric scene (1966). orch.: Suită concertănte în stil clasic for Violin and Strings (1938; rev. 1961); Divertisment for Flute and Strings (1938); Rapsodie (1940); Suite for Chamber Orch. (1940); 9 syms.: No. 1, Înainte (1944), No. 2, Veritas (1947), No. 3, Reconstruct (1949), No. 4, Apelul pă;cil (1951), No. 5 (1953), No. 6 (1955), No. 7 (1960), No. 8 (1963; Bucharest, Feb. 11, 1965), and No. 9, concertante for Organ and Orch. (1964; Bucharest, July 1, 1965); 2 piano concertos (1945, 1949); Sinfonietă (1946); 2 cello concertos (1950, 1962); Prăbuşirea Doftanei (Doftana’s Assault), poem (1950; Bucharest, May 7, 1955); 3 violin concertos (1950–54; 1957; 1963); Eliberare (Liberation), poem (1954); Va înfiori acel arminden (The May Tree Will Blossom), festive poem (1956); Concerto grosso for String Quartet and String Orch. (1956); Concertino for Harp and Strings (1956); Concertino for Violin and Strings (1957); Divertisment for Horn and Strings (1957); Concerto for Organ and Strings (1958–59); Piano Concertino (1959); Schiţe dobrogene (Dobrudjan Sketches; 1960–61); Concertino în stil clasic for 2 Violins and Strings (1961); Concerto for 2 Violins and Orch. (1962); 6 Schite (Sketches; 1963); Tuba Concerto (1963); Concerto for Orchestra (1965); Viola Concerto (1965); Epitaf (1965). chamber: 10 string quartets (1930; 1930; 1953; 1954; 1955; 1955; 1955–56; 1958; 1959–61; 1964); 4 Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (1952); Piano Quintet (1953); String Sextet (1956); 4 Pieces for Cello and Piano (1959); 2 piano trios (1957, 1960); 3 violin sonatas (all 1957); Sonata brevis for Violin and Organ (1960); 12 Preludii în stil clasic for Violin (1962); Variatiumi rapsodice for Cello and Piano (1963); Sonata for Solo Cello (1965); piano pieces, including a Sonata (1947). vocal:Cantata Bucurestiu-lui for Reciter, Chorus, and Orch. (1953; Bucharest, Oct. 31, 1954); Horia, heroic oratorio for Soloists and Orch. (1954–56); 2907, oratorio for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1956; Bucharest, March 21, 1957); Glasul lui Lenin, cantata for Chorus and Orch. (Bucharest, Nov. 2, 1957); Sub cerul de vară, sym.-cantata for Soloists, 2 Reciters, Chorus, and Orch. (Bucharest, Oct. 8, 1959); Pentru Mareie Octombrie, oratorio for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (Bucharest, Nov. 3, I960).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire