Ernst Levy

For the German American jurist, see Ernst Levy (jurist).

Ernst Levy (18 November 1895 – 19 April 1981) was a Swiss musicologist, composer, pianist and conductor.

Life

Born in Basel, Switzerland, Levy studied with Hans Huber, Egon Petri and Raoul Pugno.[1]

David Dubal describes him as an "unusual and powerful pianist" who made "grandly conceived" recordings of the late Beethoven sonatas and captured "the very essence of the Faustian Liszt".[1] His work as a musicologist and teacher brought him to the United States, where he taught at colleges including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago and the New England Conservatory; he also became a United States citizen.[2] His students included composer Hazel Ghazarian Skaggs.[3] In 1966, he retired from academia and returned to his native Switzerland where he spent the remainder of his life. He died in Morges.

Levy's book A Theory of Harmony was published in 1985 and, among other modern compositional concepts, describes the composer's concept of harmonic "undertones".

Levy's son was composer and cellist Frank Ezra Levy (1930–2017).[4]

Selected compositions

Orchestral

• Symphony No. 2 in D major (1922)
• Symphony No. 3 (1922)
• Symphony No. 7 (1937)
• Symphony No. 8 (1937)
• Symphony No. 10 "France" (1944)
• Symphony No. 11 (1949)
• Symphony No. 12 (1951)
• Symphony No. 13 (1955)
• Third Suite for orchestra (1957)
• Fourth Suite for orchestra (1959)
• Symphony No. 14 (1962)
• Symphony No. 15 (1968)

Concertante

• Concerto for cello and orchestra (1947)

Chamber music

• String Quartet No. 1 (1919)
• Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano (1932)
• Divertimento for clarinet (or oboe) and piano (1952)
• Theme and Transformations for clarinet and piano (1952)
• String Trio No. 1 (1953)
• Sonata for cello and piano (1953)
• Sonata for horn and Piano (1953)
• Fifteen Little Pieces for cello solo (1955)
• Piano Quartet (1956)
• Suite for viola or cello solo (1956)
• Suite for violin solo (1960)
• String Trio No. 2 (1960)
• Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano (1961)
• Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano (1963)
• Sonatina No. 1 for violin and piano (1962)
• Sonatina No. 2 for violin and piano (1962)
• Suite for 2 violas (1963)
• Trio for clarinet, cello and piano (1963)
• Sonata for three violin parts (1965)
• String Trio No. 3 (1966)
• Trio for clarinet, viola and piano (1968)
• Trio No. 2 for clarinet, violin and piano (1970)
• Suite No. 2 for viola solo (1971)
• Soliloquy for clarinet solo (1971)
• Concerto sur "Auprès de ma blonde" for trumpet and piano (1975)
• Threnodie for viola, cello and organ (1975)
• Sonata for 2 violins and piano (1977)
• Intermezzo idilliaco for clarinet and piano (1978)
• String Trio No. 4 (1978)
• String Quartet No. 4 (1978)
• String Quartet No. 5 (1978)
• Sonata for viola and piano (1979)
• Trio for violin, cello and piano (1979)
• Sonata Accompagnata for bassoon and piano or orchestra (1980)

Keyboard

• Fantaisie symphonique for harpsichord (1939)
• Ricercar for harpsichord (1960)
• Meditation on a Hebrew Raga for organ (1961)
• Study on the Whole-Tone Scales for piano (1971)
• Piano Sonata No. 1 (1973)
• Piano Sonata No. 2 (1974)
• Piano Sonata No. 3 (1975)
• Piano Sonata No. 4 (1976)
• Piano Sonata No. 5 (1977)
• Piano Sonata No. 6 (1979)
• Piano Sonata No. 7 (1981)
• Hommage romantique for piano (1977)
• Fantaisie dialoguée for organ and piano (1980)

Vocal

• Gaudeamus, Cantata for mixed chorus, wind orchestra and timpani (1964)
• Li T'ai Po's Answer for tenor, string orchestra and flute (1979)
• Eins und Alles for baritone and string orchestra (1980); words by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Levy, Ernst (1946). Four folk songs from Switzerland: for 4 mixed voices, SATB. New York: Music Press. OCLC 78196587.
• Levy, Ernst (1952). Divertimento for clarinet (or oboe) and piano. New York: Seesaw Music Corp. OCLC 869234.
• Levy, Ernst (1953). Sonata, for violoncello & piano. New York: Seesaw Music Corp. OCLC 222539336.
• Levy, Ernst (1954). 7 piano pieces. New York: Boosey & Hawkes. OCLC 83544484.
• Levy, Ernst; Paul Boepple (1957). Hear, ye children: Proverbs 4:1,7,8 (part-songs). Bennington, VT: Bennington College. OCLC 77291468.
• Levy, Ernst (1968). Trio, for clarinet, viola, and piano. New York: Seesaw Music Corp. OCLC 221789930.
• Levy, Ernst (1969). Sonata for horn and piano. New York: Seesaw Music Corp. OCLC 869439.

Academic works

• Levy, Ernst (1956). On the proportions of the south tower of Chartres Cathedral. Cambridge, MA: Dept. of Humanities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. OCLC 11508947.
• Levy, Ernst; Siegmund Levarie (1968). Tone, a Study in Musical Acoustics. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. OCLC 60510.
• Levy, Ernst; Siegmund Levarie (1983). Musical Morphology: A Discourse and a Dictionary (illustrated ed.). Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-286-2.
• Levy, Ernst; Siegmund Levarie (1985). A Theory of Harmony. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-993-0.

References

1. Dubal, David (2004). The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings (3rd rev. and expanded ed.). Pompton Plains, NJ: Amadeus Press. pp. 215. ISBN 1-57467-088-3.. Entry: "Ernst Levy".
2. Levy (1985), end matter
3. Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International Encyclopedia of Women Composers. Books & Music (USA). ISBN 978-0-9617485-2-4.
4. "Frank Ezra Levy". The Herald-News. Joliet, Illinois. April 25, 2017. p. L5. Retrieved June 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Ernst Levy's official website (created under support of his son, Frank Ezra Levy)
• Guide to the Ernst Levy Papers 1919-2004 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
• Sound recordings of works of the composer from the archives of Swiss Radio SRG SSR on Neo.Mx3