Stutschewsky, Joachim

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Stutschewsky, Joachim

Stutschewsky, Joachim, Russian-born Israeli cellist, pedagogue, ethnomusicologist, and composer; b. Romny, Feb. 7, 1892; d. Tel Aviv, Nov. 14, 1982. He received his early education at a music school in Kherson; as a youth, played cello in various orchs. in southern Russia; then studied cello with J. Klengel and orch. playing with H. Sitt at the Leipzig Cons. (1909-12). After playing in the Jena Quartet, he was active as a performer, teacher, and editor in Zürich (1914-24) and Vienna (1924-38), where he entered the circle of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. Together with the violinist Rudolf Kolisch, he formed the Wiener Streichquartett (later known as the Kolisch String Quartet). With the usurpation of Austria by the Nazi hordes in 1938, Stutschewsky emigrated to Palestine, and eventually became a naturalized Israeli citizen. From 1939 to 1948 he served as inspector of music in the cultural section of the Jewish National Council. In his early compositions, he followed median modern techniques; then began a study of Jewish folklore in diaspora, and wrote music of profound racial feeling, set in the framework of advanced harmonies. He also contributed to the study of cello techniques and to ethnomusicology.

Writings

Die Kunst des Cellospiels (Vols. 1-2, Mainz, 1929; Vols. 3-4, Vienna, 1938); Mein Weg zur jüdischen Musik (Vienna, 1935); Musika yehudit (Jewish Music; Tel Aviv, 1946); The Cello and Its Masters: History of Cello Playing (MS, 1950); Klezmerini (Tel Aviv, 1959); Musical Folklore of Eastern Jewry (Tel Aviv, 1959); Korot hayav shel musikai yehudi (The Life of a Jewish Musician; Tel Aviv, 1975).

Works

orch: Concertino for Clarinet and Strings (1958); Fantasy for Oboe, Harp, and Strings (1959); Safed, symphonic poem (1960); Israel, symphonic suite (1964; Tel Aviv, May 7, 1973). CHAMBER: Dreykut for Cello and Piano (1924); Duo for Violin and Cello (1940); Hassidic Suite for Cello and Piano (1946); Legend for Cello and Piano (1952); Israeli Dances for Flute, Cello, and Piano (1953); Verschollene Klänge for Flute, String Quartet, and Percussion (1955); Hassidic Fantasy for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano (1956); Piano Trio (1956); 5 Pieces for Flute (1956); String Quartet (1956); Terzetto for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon (1959); String Trio (1960); Wind Sextet (1960); Israeli Suite for Cello and Piano (1962); Monologue for Clarinet (1962); 3 Pieces for Bassoon (1963); Moods for Oboe (1963); Impressions for Clarinet and Bassoon (1963); Soliloquy for Viola (1964); 3 Miniatures for 2 Flutes (1964); Kol Kore (Calling Voice) for Horn (1965); Fragments for 2 Clarinets (1966); 4 Movements for Wind Quintet (1967); 3 for 3, 3 pieces for 3 Cellos (1967); Woodwind Quintet (1967); Visions for Flute (1968); Thoughts and Feelings for Violin (1969); Prelude and Fugue for 2 Trumpets and 2 Trombones (1969); Monologue for Trombone (1970); Dialogues variés for 2 Trumpets (1970); Imaginations for Flute, Violin, Cello, and Piano (1971); Kol Nidrei for Cello and Piano (1972); The Rabbi’s Nigun for Cello and Piano (1974); Sine nomine for Cello (1975); 2 Pieces for Double Bass (1975). Piano: Palestinian Sketches (1931); Israeli Landscapes (1949); 4 Inattendus (1967); Splinters (1975). VOCAL: Songs of Radiant Sadness, cantata for Soloists, Chorus, Speaking Chorus, and Orch. (1958); Jemama baschimscha (24 Hours in the Looking Glass), chamber cantata for Narrator, 2 Sopranos, and 6 Instruments (1960). OTHER: Numerous arrangements for cello of works by Mozart, Tartini, and Boccherini.