Kaufmann, Walter

Kaufmann, Walter , German-born American conductor, composer, and musicologist; b. Karlsbad, April 1, 1907; d. Bloomington, Ind., Sept. 9, 1984. He studied composition with Schreker in Berlin, and also studied musicology in Prague. In 1935 he traveled to India, where he remained for 10 years. He devoted much time to the study of the Hindu systems of composition, and also appeared as conductor, serving as music director of the Bombay Radio. In 1947 he moved to Nova Scotia and taught piano at the Halifax Cons.; from 1948 to 1957 he was music director of the Winnipeg Sym. Orch. In 1957 he settled in the U.S., where he joined the faculty of the Ind. Univ. School of Music in Bloomington. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1964. He wrote Musical Notations of the Orient (Bloomington, 1967), The Ragas of North India (Bloomington, 1968), Tibetan Buddhist Chant (tr. by T. Norbu; Bloomington, 1975), Involvement with Music: The Music of India (N.Y., 1976), Musical References in the Chinese Classics (Detroit, 1976), The Ragas of South India (Bloomington, 1976), and Altinden (Leipzig, 1981), and also valuable articles on Eastern music for American music journals.

Works

dramatic opera: Der grosse Dorin (1932); Der Hammel bringt es an den Tag (1932); Esther (1931–32); Die weisse Gottin (1933); Anasuya, radio opera (Bombay, Oct. I, 1938); The Cloak, after Gogol (1933–50); A Parfait for Irene (Bloomington, Feb. 21, 1952); The Research (1951); The Golden Touch, children’s opera (1953); Christmas Slippers, television opera (1955); Sganarelle (1955); George from Paradise (1958); Paracelsus (1958); The Scarlet Letter, after Hawthorne (Bloomington, May 6, 1961); A Hoosier Tale (Bloomington, July 30, 1966); Rip van Winkle, children’s opera (1966). Ballet: Visages (1950); The Rose and the Ring (1950); Wang (1956). orch.: 6 syms.:No. 1 for Strings (1931), No. 2 (1935), No. 3 (1936), No. 4 (1938), No. 5, Sinfonietta No. 1 (1949), and No. 6 (1956); Prag, suite (1932); 2 piano concertos:(1934, 1949); 2 Bohemian Dances (1942); 2 violin concertos (1943, 1944); 6 Indian Miniatures (1943); Navaratnam, suite for Piano and Chamber Orch. (1945); Phantasmagoria (1946); Variations for Strings (1947); Concertino for Piano and Strings (1947); Dirge (1947); Madras Express (Boston Pops, June 23, 1948); Fleet Street Overture (1948); Strange Town at Night (1948); Faces in the Dark (1948); Andhera for Piano and Orch. (1942–49); Divertimento for Strings (1949); Cello Concerto (1950); Chivaree Overture (1950); Main Street for Strings (1950); Kalif Storch, fairy tale for Speaker and Orch. (1951); Arabesques for 2 Pianos and Orch. (1952); Vaudeville Overture (1952); Sewanee River Variations (1952); Short Suite for Small Orch. (1953); Nocturne (1953); Pembina Highway (1953); 4 Skies (1953); 3 Dances to an Indian Play (1956); 4 Essays for Small Orch. (1956); Sinfonietta No. 2 (1959); Timpani Concerto (1963); Festival Overture (1968); Concertino for Violin and Orch. (1977). chamber: 10 string quartets (1935–46); 3 piano trios (1942–6); 6 Pieces for Piano Trio (1957); String Quartet (1961); Partita for Woodwind Quintet (1963); Arabesques for Flute, Oboe, Harpsichord, and Bass (1963); 8 Pieces for 12 Instruments (1967); Passacaglia and Capriccio for Brass Sextet (1967); Sonatina for Piccolo or Flute Solo (1968). Piano: Concertino (1932); 2 sonatinas (1948, 1956); Sonata (1948–51); Arabesques for 2 Pianos (1952); Suite (1957). vocal: Cantatas: Galizische Baume for Chorus and Orch. (1932); Coronation Cantata for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1953); Rubayyat for Soloist and Orch. (1954). other: Songs.

Bibliography

T. Noblitt, ed., Music East and West: Essays in Honor of W. K. (N.Y., 1981).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire