Steuermann, Edward (actually, Eduard)

Steuermann, Edward (actually, Eduard), eminent Polish-American pianist, pedagogue, and composer; b. Sambor, near Lemberg, June 18, 1892; d. N.Y., Nov. 11, 1964. He studied piano with Vilém Kurz in Lemberg and with Busoni in Berlin (1911–12), and theory with Schoenberg (1912–14); also took some composition lessons with Humperdinck. Returning to Poland, he taught at the Paderewski School in Lwów, and concurrently at the Jewish Cons. in Krakow (1932–36). In 1936 he emigrated to the U.S. He taught at the Philadelphia Cons. (1948–63) and at the Juilliard School of Music in N.Y. (1952–64); also gave summer classes at the Salzburg Mozarteum (1953–63) and in Darmstadt (1954; 1957–60). As a recitalist and soloist with major orchs., Steuermann was an ardent champion of new music, particularly of Schoenberg; gave the first performance of Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto (1944); made excellent arrangements for piano of Schoenberg’s operatic and symphonic works, among them Erwartung, Die gluckliche Hand, Kammersymphonie No. 1, and the Piano Concerto; received the Schoenberg Medal from the ISCM in 1952. Although he did not follow Schoenberg’s method of composition with 12 tones with any degree of consistency, his music possesses an expressionistic tension that is characteristic of the second Viennese School.

Works

ORCH .: Variations (1958); Music f or Instruments (1959–60); Suite for Chamber Orch. (1964). CHAMBER : 7 Waltzes for String Quartet (1946); Piano Trio (1954); Improvisation and Allegro for Violin and Piano(1955); String Quartet, Diary 1960–61); Dialogues for Violin (1963). Piano : Sonata (1926); Suite (1952). VOCAL : Brecht-Lieder for Contralto (1945); 3 Choirs (1956); Cantata for Chorus and Orch., after Kafka (1964); other songs.

Bibliography

A. Ani Netto, E. S.: Um esboço de figura (São Paulo, 1991).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire