opera-ballet, The Daughter of Jephta,
are tempestuous and violent, reaching
at times peaks of volcanic ecstasy. And
if Isaac Goldberg characterizes Saminsky's music as of "unforced originality and subtlety," another eminent
American critic, Lawrence Gilman, described it as "an extraordinary gamut
for color and dynamics, full of barbaric,
original and salient features."In discussing his own manner of
work, Lazare Saminsky writes: "I cannot work upon one piece at a time, as
most composers do. I always compose
several works at once; when I am tired
of concentrating on one, I turn to the
other. I usually write my first sketch
swiftly, even in case of a larger form,
but then I rewrite and remodel the thing
endlessly. I hate to rush a composition;
therefore, only once in my life have I
written for a prize-competition, and
always regret it. I like to work in the
morning, beginning early; I never compose in the evening or at night. Sunshine and foliage give me the greatest
impetus in my work. I cannot work or
compose in enclosed places, narrow
rooms; detest places without horizons,
and therefore, hate cities. I can work
best in the country, and can stay there
forever. . . . I cannot work in a room
littered up with things, or in disorder. I
pity things, just as I pity human beings;
I cannot see them mutilated or soiled or
thrown around in disorder. I hate noise,
and am unable to compose a note in noisy
surroundings. For my work I need complete silence, profound abandon and
absorption."Concerning his diversions: "I love
physical play--walking, riding, swimming, etc.--rather than mental play. But
I was ever a reading addict. I never
could resist a book, or rather, books.
Of other arts, painting is my passion;
and visiting galleries is one of my best
beloved diversions."As far as my musical preferences
go, Mozart was my favorite composer
since my childhood, and remains so.
His
Requiem, Piano Concerto in D-
Minor and Quartet in D-Minor were
ever my best beloved works. Wagner
and Scriabin had a deep and lasting influence upon me, an emotional influence,
so to speak. Rimsky-Korsakoff--and,
much later, Schönberg--had a rather
technical influence; I was affected by
their means and special mastery, rather
than by anything else in their composition."Principal works by Lazare Saminsky:
| ORCHESTRA : First Symphony: Of the Great
Rivers; The Vow (for piano and orchestra); Second Symphony: Of the Summits; Third
Symphony: Of the Seas; Litanies of Women
(for voice and small orchestra); Fourth Symphony; Fifth Symphony: City of Salomon
and Christ; Ausonia; To a Young World. |
| OPERA AND BALLET : Rachel; The Vision of
Ariel; The Plague's Gagliarda; The Daughter of Jephta. |
| CHORUSES AND SONGS : Four Sacred Choruses; Hebrew Song Cycle; The Prophet; Olga's Song Cycle; Sabbath Evening Service; By the Rivers of Babylon; The Lying Day
Cycle; To the Mountains. |
About Lazare Saminsky:
Ewen David.
Hebrew Muric.
Howard J. T. Our American Music;
Paoli Domenico de and
others.
Lazare Saminsky ( Bloch Publishing
Co.).
Herald-Tributte December 7, 1930.
Erik Satie 1866-1925
"The performance of Satie Parade will
stand in the history of French music as
a date equally important with that of the
first performance of Pelléas et Mélisande."--
DARIUS MILHAUD
ERIK ALFRED LESLIE SATIE--
who was one of the most significant
and influential pioneers of modern music
--was born in Honfleur, Calvados, on March 17, 1866 to a musical family. His
mother, of Scotch descent, was a composer of agreeable piano pieces; and his
father was not only a composer of some
reputation but also a music-publisher
prominent in Paris. Erik Satie, therefore, sucked musical learning together
with his mother's milk. As a child, he
evinced a great fondness for liturgic
chants and would sit for hours listening
to them; and his progress with the
piano was astonishing.
In 1883, he entered the Paris Conservatory where he spent a year of great
misery and dissatisfaction. His temperament, from earliest youth, could express
itself musically only with strange harmonies and pointed, often ugly, disson
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