Leonard J. Lehrman:
Works of Jewish Interest
PUBLISHED WORKS
Tales of Malamud, 2 [later 3] one-act operas based on stories [and a scene of a play] by Bernard Malamud (1914-1986):
i) Idiots First
(completion of work begun by Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964)), op.37
(55') 3BarBs2-3TenSop Orch: 21+
excerpts recorded for Premier Recordings
by Ronald Edwards & Leonard Lehrman PRCD 1005
(also by Jose Ferrer, Leonard Bernstein & NYPhilharmonic 4/19/64)
a Depression Era Jewish Everyman story; and
ii) Karla (after "Notes from a Lady at a Dinner Party"
--from Rembrandt's Hat collection), op.38 (40')
a suburban comedy of manners SMATBarB Orch: 21+
both published by Theodore Presser
perf: Ithaca Opera 1974, Indiana U (Jewish Studies) 1976,
Bel Canto Opera (NY) 1978
Winner, Off-Broadway Opera Award
for "most important event of the season," 1978
orchestral premiere by Center for Contemporary Opera
March 19 & 21, 1992 at NYU
recipient of National Endowment for the Arts,
Cary Flagler Trust and other grants
Excerpts perf'd in concerts at Metropolitan Music School
(Jewish Opera Guild) 7/19/79,
Heidelberg Univ 5/13/80 (Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation),
Stern College (Yeshiva Univ) 1/84,
East Berlin 4/85, Moscow Union of Composers (Moscow Youth Festival)
8/85
Temples Beth Sholom & Kol Ami (Seymour Schwartzman) 3/8/87 &
3/25/90;
North Shore Synagogue 4/11/97; Hebrew Union College 6/1/97
and as part of A Blitzstein Cabaret (1989-90):
NY Public Library at Lincoln Ctr (3 perfs); Bryant Library, Roslyn;
Caffe Bonnelle, NY; People's Voice Cafe, NY (2 perfs)
College Music Society Regional Meeting, Purchase, NY;
Boston Conservatory Kurt Weill Festival, March 2, 1990;
Community Church of Boston;
Gay Men's Health Crisis - Center for Contemporary Opera
Shelter Rock Library 4/26/92
Medicine Show March 2, 10-12, 1995
(also including excerpt from new Malamud opera:]
iii) Suppose A Wedding, op. 125; prem. Hebrew Union College 6/1/97
SMTB+male walkon
previewed at North Shore Synagogue 8/28/96
& International Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island 9/2/96
recipient of Puffin Foundation grant
Sima, two-act opera based on "The Krasovitsky Couple"
by David Aizman (1869-1922), op. 40
on themes of anti-Semitism and assimilation in the 1905 Ukraine
performed 1976 Ithaca Opera Assn,
1984 Juedisches Gemeindehaus Berlin (in German);
excerpts performed at Indiana U, Heidelberg U, Berlin, Florida,
92 St Y NYC 6/83, etc., incl. Basel & Fontainebleau (in French);
videotape cablecast, shown in 5 US States,Germany,Austria,Switzerland,USSR
published by Carl Fischer; translated into German and French
SSMBarChildSop+opt.Children'sChor
Hashkivenu in Hebrew or English,
for Cantor, Tenor & Soprano Soli, SATB & Organ (1997),
published by Transcontinental Press
RECORDINGS
(LP) Opus One #145 We Are Innocent
(cassettes)
Helene Williams sings Songs of Conscience
incl. Sisters, exc. from E.G., Superspy! ,
Lewis Allan & Edith Segal songs
Juedische Lieder: Der Juedische Musiktheaterverein Berlin
incl. exc. from Heine & Holocaust cycles, Jewish Voices in Germany,
"A Brown Wolf"
(compact disc) Premier CD 1005 A Blitzstein Cabaret,
incl. exc. from Idiots First
(compact disc) Premier CD 1016 Broadway Dreams,
incl. orig. arr. of music by Jerome Moross & Morton Gould
(compact disc) Capstone CD 8647 Love Songs - incl. 21 orig.songs
+Berk, Tepper, Siegmeister, Singer, Spektor
(compact disc) Capstone CD 8661 Piano Solos -
by 14 L.I. composers incl. Foss, Gould, Kraft, Siegmeister
(compact disc) Capstone CD 8667 More Love Songs - incl. 12 orig.songs
+Dale, Dorff, Mandelbaum, Siegmeister, Spektor et al
(compact disc) Albany A Diamond Jubilee -
music of David Diamond, incl. his Hebrew Melodies
(compact disc) Original Cast OC 4441 A Marc Blitzstein Songbook -
19 songs, incl. 7 Lehrman completions
ARTICLES
for Jewish Currents :
Apr.'81 "Hannah - A Jewish Feminist Opera"
Mar.'84 "Tevye in Berlin - East and West"
Jun.'85 "Jewish Music Theatre in Berlin"
Oct.'86 "A New Jewish Opera"
Nov.'86 "Berlin's Juedischer Musiktheaterverein Continues Its Work"
May '90 "The Legacy of Emma Goldman"
(another version also in Jewish Affairs)
Dec. '90 on Leonard Bernstein
Feb.'91 on Richard Polenberg's Fighting Faiths
for Opera Monthly :
May '91 on Elie Siegmeister
Jun '92 on Franchetti(s) & Columbus
Dec. '92 on Kafka in Berlin
Jan.'93 on Milhaud, Glass & Blitzstein
Sep.-Oct. '93 on Korngold et al
Jan.-Feb.'94 on Rachmaninoff, Robeson, 3 NYCO premieres
May-Jun. '94 on Hahn's Merchant of Venice et al
Sep.-Oct.'94 on the Yiddisher Pinafore et al
Nov.-Dec. '94 on Rorem, Diamond & Blitzstein
M.F.A. thesis on Marc Blitzstein's opera Idiots First
based on Bernard Malamud story
D.M.A. thesis on Leonard Bernstein and his Serenade
after Plato's Symposium
M.L.I.S. thesis on concerts in libraries
(preliminary paper on subject in Wilson Library Bulletin, 2/95, pp.
30-32)
review of Joan Peyser's Bernstein in Summer, 1989 American
Music
letter on Eric Gordon's Mark the Music: A Biography of Marc Blitzstein
in 1989 Kurt Weill Newsletter
review of & letter on
Eric Gordon's Mark the Music: A Biography of Marc Blitzstein
in 1990 Jewish Affairs
paper on completing Blitzstein works, Sonneck Society convention,
Madison WI
4/6/95
review of new Bloch CDs in 1995 Sonneck Society Bulletin
lecture on Jewish opera at Jewish Music Roundtable of
Music Library Association convention Seattle 2/8/96
review of Blackwood & Black CDs in 1997 Sonneck Society Bulletin
for Aufbau :
"Kulturspiegel: Malamud's Angel Levine," review of musical 6/9/95
"Jewish Composers Commemorate
50th Anniversary of End of World War II" 8/18/95
"Jewish Voices, German Words" book review; and
"Has Art No Meaning for the Common Man" -
review of New York City Opera production of
Mathis der Maler 9/15/95
"Breathing New Life Into Jewish Musical Traditions
[Lukas Foss,NYFOS]" 11/24/95
"Reminiscences by a Jewish Composer [David Diamond]" 12/8/95
"Jalda Rebling--A Jiddish Songfinder: A Portrait" 12/22/95
"Martha Schlamme revisited" 1/5/96
"Buckeyes and Bronx Opera's Tartuffe " 1/19/96
"[Maurice] Levine's 'L&L' Does [Frank] Loesser" 2/2/96
"A Symposium in Seattle: Jewish Opera" 2/16/96
[a summary of part of lecture, was also published, in its entirety,
by The Opera Journal - see below]
"In memoriam Morton Gould" 3/1/96
"Words and Music That Challenge or Don't" 3/29/96
"New Meditations on the Holocaust
[The Dreyfus Affair, Dayenu, and Sabina]" 4/12/96
"Three Composers with Jewish Roots
[Joel Feigin, Joel Hoffman, Yehudi Wyner]" 5/10/96
"Reinventing the Liebeslieder" 6/7/96
"Summer Preview: American Jewish Music in Europe" 7/5/96
"Singing Yiddish in Bayreuth [Wolfgang Wagner Interview]" 8/2/96
"Dresden, Berlin's Scheunenviertel and Fontainebleau:
Yiddish Performances in Historic Places" 8/16/96
"The Works of Bernard Malamud - On Stage, in Films, in Music,
and at the Bookstore" 8/30/96
"The Stars Shine at Tilles Center [David Amram et al]" 10/11/96
"Schumann on Broadway, Bernstein at the 'Y'" 10/25/96
"New Life for Two Musical works from 1978
[Working, Schonthal's Jocasta ]" 11/22/96
"Challenging the Established Order - with Varying Results
[Guarneri,Folksbiene,Russians,RalphDale]" 12/6/96
"Schubert/Brahms/Heine Through Jewish Eyes" 1/17/97
"Jewish Music in New Orleans: 'The Big Easy'-Gemisch" 2/14/97
"Memorials to Morton Gould & Johannes Brahms" 2/28/97
"Three Vigorous Music Recitals
[Kafka/Schulhoff,JanetPacker,JayGottlieb]" 3/14/97
"A Cubist Mother Courage " 3/28/97
"Tributes to Three Great Teachers" (Kim,Kraft,Siegmeister) 4/11/97
"Music Evoked by 2 German Literary Classics [Mann,The Visit ]" 4/25/97
"Theodora Hanslowe: Up & Coming Diva" 5/9/97
"Two Francophile Recitals at the Y," "Jewish Women Composers Shine,"
and "Jewish Radicals at Harvard"
review of Roger Rosenblatt's Coming Apart 6/20/97
for The Opera Journal :
"Two Operas at Long Island Universities [Deutsch&Mandelbaum]" 9/95
Marc Blitzstein's Unfinished Opera: SACCO AND VANZETTI. A Symposium" 3/96
"Composer's Notebook: What Is Jewish Opera" 6/96
Review of Speak Low (When You Speak Love):
the Letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya 6/97
PROGRAMS (partial listing)
First Long Island Jewish Composers' Festival
- with Adele Berk, Herbert Deutsch, Mary Feinsinger, Harold
Seletsky, Avraham Sternklar, Ernest Waxman, Helene Williams et al -
part of 12th International Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island,
Suffolk Y, Commack May 30, 1994
Remembering Anne Frank
(program of songs & stories, with soprano Helene Williams)
Fine Arts Museum of Long Island 8/87;
Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island 9/87
- recommended by Anne Frank Foundation in Amsterdam
The Jewish Woman in Song
(variety program, with soprano Helene Williams)
August 26, 1988 Pine Lake Park
November 20, 1988 Jewish Currents Annual Concert
December 21, 1988 Hadassah, Riverdale
February 5, 1989 Ft. Lauderdale Jewish Community Center
May 7, 1989 Jewish Agency for Services to the Aged, NY
May 21, 1989 Jewish Affairs concert
May 28, 1989 Jewish Home & Hospital for the Aged, Bronx
June 27, 1989 Theater unterm Dach, East Berlin
June 28, 1989 Haus der Kirche,
Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, West Berlin
July 1, 1989 Dresden Center for Contemporary Music
August 3, 1989 North Shore Y, Roslyn
September 4, 1989 Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island
November 15, 1989 Men's Club, Temple Emanuel, New Hyde Park
January 7, 1990 Vladeck Auditorium, Bronx
March 6, 1990 Hollywood, FL Hadassah "Woman of Valor" luncheon
March 24, 1990 Ft. Lauderdale Jewish Community Center
April 29, 1990 Five Towns Y, Cedarhurst
May 24, 1990 Workmen's Circle, Manhattan
June 10, 1990 Juedische Gemeinde, Duesseldorf, West Germany
June 12, 1990 Haus der Kirche, Evangelische Akademie, West Berlin
Nov. 5, 1990 Temple Emanuel, Newton, Mass.
May 30, 1991 Jewish Community Center of Bayside Hills
June 2, 1991 Jewish Affairs concert
May 4, 1992 & May 24, 1993 Temple Sinai, Roslyn
June 5, 1992; August 7, 1994 Workmen's Circle, Bronx
October 31, 1993 Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto
January 27, 1995 University Synagogue, Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles
An Israel Cabaret (the land, the people, and tomorrow
- with soprano Helene Williams)
May 1991 Vladeck Auditorium, Bronx concert series
May 18-25, 1991 Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, Boca Raton, W. Palm Beach,
(Florida Century Villages)
Memories & Music of Leonard Bernstein
(with Helene Williams & Janis Sabatino Hills)
Feb. 14, 1991 Hewlett-Woodmere Library
Aug. 15, 1991 World Fellowship Center, Conway NH
Aug. 27, 1991 Bryant Library, Roslyn
Aug. 28, 1991 Plainview-Old Bethpage Library
Oct. 6, 1991 Queensborough Community College
(After Dinner Opera Co.)
Oct. 27, 1991 Bethpage Public Library
Jan. 26, 1992 Great Neck Library
Mar. 15, 1992 Chelsea Center, Nassau County Office of Cultural Development
May 1, 1992 East Meadow Library
Sep. 20, 1992 Selden Community Center (Middle Country Library)
Nov. 22, 1992 Oceanside Library
Aug. 25, 1993 Oshawa Art Museum, Ontario
Sep. 6, 1993 International Jewish Arts Festivals of Long Island, Commack
NY
Dec. 31, 1994 First Night Freeport (Freeport Memorial Library), Freeport
NY
A Blitzstein/Bernstein Cabaret
(with soprano Helene Williams) July 27,1991 Reynolds Hills
Jewish-American Cabaret (with soprano Helene Williams)
June 13, 1992 Congregation Tifereth Israel, Glen Cove
(also with tenor Ronald Edwards)
Sep. 1, 1992 Haus der Kirche, Berlin
Sep. 5, 1992 Dresden Center for Contemporary Music
June 30, 1994 Kabarett Diestel, Berlin
July 1, 1994 Rathaussaal, Rostock (co-sponsored by Amerikahaus)
July 4, 1994 Kabarett Herkuleskeule, Dresden
April 8, 1995 Mid-Island YM-YWHA
July 15, 1995 World Fellowship, Conway NH
July 3, 1996 Hatikvah, Dresden, Germany
(also with tenor Ronald Edwards)
July 8, 1996 Hackisches Hoftheater, Berlin, Germany
(also with tenor Ronald Edwards)
COMMISSIONS (partial listing)
Yism'khu, op.53 no.1 for Cantor, Choir & Organ
- Metropolitan Synagogue, N.Y. City 4/79
Adonai, Ma Adam, op.103 for Cantor & Organ
- Temple Emanuel, Newton, Mass. Yom Kippur '90-93
We Are Innocent, op.104 cantata on letters of Julius &
Ethel Rosenberg
6/88, 48 min. commissioned by the
National Committee to Reopen the Rosenberg Case
prem. by soloists, chorus & orchestra: Marymount Manhattan Theater
June 11, 1989;
recording on OPUS ONE #145
with Metropolitan Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus
perf. by soloists, chorus & piano:
Community Church of NY 6/19/88
WQXR's "The Listening Room" Dec. 8, 1988;
Weill Recital Hall Ezrath Nashim benefit 6/14/89
Temple Sinai of Roslyn, 8/20/89
Plandome Unitarian Church (on "Meet the Composer" grant) 6/19/93
perf. by soloists & piano:
Bryant Library, Roslyn(on "Meet the Composer" grant) 6/14/88,
Museum of Fine Art (Roslyn) Oct. 6, 1988
Community Church of Boston, Dec. 11, 1988,
WESPAC (Ardsley, NY) Dec. 22, 1988
mvt #2 ("The Shofar") perf. by Helene Williams, NYU Law School 6/19/87,
and on 3/6/88, both at Metropolitan Phil Orch chamber concert
and on "Contrasts" concert series at Tom O'Horgan's in New York;
also June 12, 1989 for National Council of Women, Time-Life Bldg, NYC
mvts #1&10 by Ronald Edwards, Adelphi Univ 10/7/96;
#10 by him at Stephen Wise Synagogue 6/19/97
E.G.: A Musical Portrait of Emma Goldman, op.78
with Karen Ruoff Kramer, Stanford U, Berlin
completion commissioned by Bel Canto Opera and others, Berlin 5/86;
3women3men or 1woman & male pianist
1987 perfs: Herbert Liebman Memorial Concerts, Vladeck Auditorium(Bronx);
WBAI,WEVD; Workmen's Circle Branch(Manhattan);
Alchemical Thtr (Manhattan); Cornell University; SUNY-Cortland;
Fine Arts Museum of Long Island (Hempstead);
Jewish Currents Concert
1989 perfs: Temple Emanuel (sponsored by Univ. of Lowell),
Community Church of Boston, Boston University, Harvard College,
Brandeis University Festival;
1990 perfs: Columbia University; Queens College; Wellesley College;
Bryant Library, Roslyn; WQXR's "The Listening Room";
Midtown YM-YWHA (Manhattan);
International Institute for Social History, Amsterdam;
E. & W.Berlin; Dartmouth College
1991 perfs: Ethical Culture Society of N.Y. City;
Peninsula Library, Lawrence, L.I.;
McCormick Auditorium, Norris Ctr, Northwestern Univ.,
(National Opera Assn convention) (Studs Terkel interview & perf)
American Univ., Kreeger Music Bldg., McDonald Recital Hall
(Jewish Studies Program)
San Francisco Modern Language Assn Convention -
Noe Valley Ministry, U.C./Berkeley
(Dennis Bernstein interview & perf))
1992 perfs: UMass/Amherst (Rethinking Marxism Convention)
1994 perf: June 27 - C.W.Post College
(sponsored by PalmerSchoolStudentAssn, Educ.Dept., McGrath Fund)
excerpts "I Believe," "Judith" and "If I Can't Dance"
performed at Weill Recital Hall benefit
for Ezrath Nashim June 14, 1989 and at Temple Sinai 8/20/89;
"Where Do I Belong" performed widely
also as part of Jewish Woman in Song program
"Where Do I Belong" and "If I Can't Dance"
recorded on cassette Songs of Conscience
New World: An Opera About What Columbus Did to the "Indians",
op.102
2S2T2BarB2Rappers+optChor
tells story also from point of view of Luiz De Torres,
the first Jew in America
commissioned by Puffin Foundation
to honor 50th anniversary of Amer Music Center
semi-staged concert premiere by After Dinner Opera Co.
at Lincoln Center Oct. 12, 1991
1-hr. excpt prog on WQXR "The Listening Room" Oct. 12, 1991
suite on WBAI Oct. 14, 1991
staged prem. Heckscher Park, L.I. Aug. 11, 1992
N.Y.C. staged prem. Donnell Lib Feb. 9, 1993
sponsors: Meet The Composer, LICA, Suffolk, Hntgn &
East End Arts Councils, NYFA grants
excerpt perfs:
Golden Fleece Ltd Composers' Chamber Thtr
Square One prog, Thtr 22, 3/31/90
Union Theological Seminary CALC 25th anniv. 7/22/90
WBAI 10/8/90 & 2/8/93
LongIslandComposersAlliance-HuntingtonArtsCouncil
Heckscher Park concert Aug.6, 1991
A Requiem for Hiroshima (text: Lee Baxandall (1959, rev. 1988-9)),
op.101
for SATB Soli, Chorus and Orchestra or Chamber Ensemble
broadcast: WQXR & WBAI 8/90
commissioned by The Riverside Church
Ministry of Peace & Social Justice & Inoue Chamber Ensemble
prem. w/ Voices Saintpaulia, Riverside Church, Aug. 5, 1990
1st perf. w/pno & organ:
Malverne Community Presbyterian Church, Sep. 3, 1995
Kalinin Bridge: to Ilya Krichevsky, op.106
setting of prize-winning poem by Joel Shatzky
commissioned by Prof. E.H. Lehrman Memorial Foundation,
prem. by Helene Williams at Composers Concordance concerts,
Feb. 13 & 21, 1992, CAMI Hall & C.W. Post College
Y'did Nefesh arr.(&Eng.tr.) for mezzo, clarinet & piano,
op.121 no.2
commissioned by Marion Capriotti 6/94
A New Friday Evening Service, op.129
(Trad. words in Hebrew & English) 1996
for Cantor, SATB, Children's Choir, Organ/Pno
+obbligato Flute, Clarinet, Harp, Cello & optional Violin Solo
commissioned by North Shore Synagogue
dedicated to Rabbi Dan Fogel prem. 4/11/97
Prelude, A New Song (Shir Khadash)(Heb. & Eng.), Reader's Kaddish (Heb.),
Bar'chu (Heb.), Sh'ma (Heb.), Mi Chamocha (Heb.),
Hashkivenu (Heb. or Eng.-premiered in Eng.), V'Shamru (Heb.),
Avot V'Emahot (Heb. [arr.]), Yism'chu (Heb.)(see op. 53 #1),
Zog nit keynmol (Yid.&Eng.[arr.],
Shalom Rav (Heb.) - also performed 6/1/97@Hebrew Union College, Manhattan
and 7/3/97 @ GTM convention w/Mi Chamocha, Hashkivenu (Eng.), V'Shamru
Meditation, May the Words (Eng.)(see op. 52A), Adoration (Eng.)(see op.
53 #2),
Kaddish Underscore (see op. 63), Lo Yisa Goi (Heb. [arr.]), Postlude
The Triangle Fire one-act opera on libretto by Ellen Frankel, op. 222
commissioned by Puffin Foundation and Jewish Music Commission
prem. 9/4/16 American Labor Museum, Haledon, NJ;
9/11/16 Puffin Cultural Forum, Teaneck, NJ
NY prem. March 2017
OTHER COMPOSITIONS (partial listing)
Adoration: May the Time Not Distant, op. 53 no.2
(for Metropolitan Synagogue, NYC) 6/79
92 St Y (ASJM) 6/83; AmericanChurch, Berlin 4/85;
TempleBethSholom (Roslyn) 4/87;
TempleSinai (Roslyn) 8/20/89; UniversitySynagogue (L.A.) 1/27/95
A Light in the Darkness, op. 73 song cycle on 6 Orieli poems
incl. Mauthausen memorial, "A Brown Wolf," etc.;
perf. Berlin 2&10/85, Hebrew Union College(NY)Yom Kippur'85;
LICA Raoul Wallenberg concert Aug. 4, 1992;
WWII Memorial concert Sep. 3, 1995; Adelphi 6/17/97
(in German or in English); partially broadcast on WNYC 4/87;
excerpt on cassette
Juedische Lieder: Der Juedische Musiktheaterverein Berlin
A Secular Kaddish, op. 63 (text from the Union Prayer Book)
for Solo Voice a cappella or with viola, clarinet, cello or marimba;
perf. with viola Hamburg Pesach'82; a cappella at 92StY (ASJM), 6/83
and TempleSinai(Roslyn) 8/20/89;
with cello People'sVoiceCafe 11/88
with clarinet, Hewlett-Woodmere Library (LICA) March 12, 1992 and
Society for the Advancement of Judaism 6/9/94;
with marimba, Constance Beavon-Lukas Foss Birthday Concert,
Aug. 30, 1997 Southampton Cultural Center
Bar Mitzvah Cantata (Prayer for Peace), op. 2 for SATB Choir&Organ/Piano
perf. Temple Sinai (Roslyn) Sep. 8, 1962 and Aug. 20, 1989
The Bourgeois Poet, op. 28 song cycle on 8 Karl Shapiro poems
incl. "How Do I Love You," "The First Time" (from Poems of a Jew),
etc.
for soprano or tenor (or baritone) with piano or strings & piano
sung by Antonia Lavanne & Bennington College Composers'
Conference Orchestra, 8/70; premiered Cornell U 10/29/73;
excerpts performed at Harvard, '71, Salzburg '72, Heidelberg U 5/13/80,
E.Berlin 4/19/85 & by Charles Osborne at Temple Sinai (Roslyn)
8/20/89;
choral arr. of "How Do I Love You" perf. by Thomas Sokol Chorale
with pno for ASUC Convention, Cornell, 1975
prem. w/ str qt: Alliance for American Song Merkin Hall concert 10/83
Conscience, op.93
for Voice or TTBB or SATB Chorus with Piano (text: Lewis Allan)
perf. by Ithaca Community Chorus 4/14/88;
and as solo piece: 6/19/87 NYU Law School,
Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island Sep. 7, 1987 (twice),
6/14/88 Bryant Library (Roslyn),
Oct. 6, 1988 Nassau Cty Museum of Fine Art (Roslyn),
Dec. 11, 1988 Community Church of Boston,
Dec. 22, 1988 WESPAC (Ardsley, NY)
June 12, 1989 for National Council of Women, Time-Life Bldg, NYC
June 14, 1989 Weill Recital Hall, for Ezrath-Nashim benefit
Dresden Center for Contemporary Music July 1, 1989,
Temple Sinai (Roslyn) Aug. 20, 1989
recorded on cassette Helene Williams sings Songs of Conscience
Ein Wanderer durch Deutschland nach Heines Wintermaerchen,
op.72
Heine song cycle on mixed feelings about Germany (in German or English)
prem. US Minister's Residence, Berlin 10/22/84 & Berlin Museum
10/29/84
also perf. at Urania, Amerikahaus & Club Romantique in Berlin in
1985;
prem. in English, Adelphi 6/17/97
recorded on cassette
Juedische Lieder: Der Juedische Musiktheaterverein Berlin
Every Boy Should Have a Jewish Mother, op.90 (text: Joshua
Vogel)
perf. at Hadassah 75th Anniversary, Riverdale Temple, 4/5/87;
also at Fine Arts Museum of Long Island 8/27/87
four times at Jewish Arts Festival of Long Island 9/7/87 & 9/3/89
at Weill Recital Hall benefit for Ezrath Nashim, 6/14/89
at American Conference of Cantors convention 6/30/97
and many other times as part of programs The Jewish Woman in Song,
An Israel Cabaret, and Memories and Music of Leonard Bernstein
The Family Man, op.71
1-act opera for 1 male singer
on story by Mikhail Sholokhov (1905-1984)
perf. TOMI & Stern College (Yeshiva Univ.) 1/84,
by George Shirley (Berlin) 1/85,
Golden Fleece (NYC) 6/86 (videotape shown in East Germany & USSR)
prem.w/new German tr. 7/2/96
Kleine Szene, Saxon State Opera, Dresden, Germany
Hannah, op.52
3-act feminist anti-war opera after Chanukah legends & Midrashim
S2M2TBarB; libretto with Orel Odinov;
liturgical excerpts include: Fugue for a Jewish Wedding, May the Words
perf. in concert 5/80:
7th Army Soldiers' Chorus, Roadside Thtr (Mannheim-Seckenheim)
complete broadcast: 12/25/89 WBAI
excerpts perf'd 2/79 Ithaca Music Club; 3/79 Steinway;
8/79 Metropolitan Music School (for Jewish Opera Guild);
5/80 Heidelberg U (Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation);
8/20/89 Temple Sinai, Roslyn; 8/16/90 Chelsea Center, E. Norwich;
broadcast by WBAI 3/79
I'd Like to Go Away Alone, op.105
(Alena Synkova, Terezin 1942-44; tr. Jeanne Nemcova) Feb. 1991
for Voice & Piano; 1'27" prem. June 23, 1991 Merkin Hall;
sung by Susan Alcott
at Nov.'94 Kristallnacht Service for Congregation B'nai Elohim, Scarsdale
prem. with chorus in Yom Hashoah Service Asbury Church, Westchester,
April 27, 1995
recorded on cassette Helene Williams sings Songs of Conscience
In der Fremd, op.62
(Leyb Naydus (1890-1918) in Yiddish, or Eng. translation by composer)
for Voice & Harp/Piano,
in memoriam Lazar Weiner and the Wien synagogue victims
prem. w/piano Vienna Society for Music Thtr 12/82; 92 St Y NYC, 6/83
also perf. widely in East & West Berlin, on ZDF-TV 3/84;
Juedisches Gemeindehaus 4/84 & Akademie der Kuenste (Berlin) 6/84;
92 St Y (ASJM) 6/83; Temple Sinai, Roslyn 8/20/89;
several International Jewish Arts Festivals;
University Synagogue (L.A.) 1/27/95;
North Shore Synagogue 4/11/97; Hebrew Union College 6/1/97;
4/91 Zamir concert at SandersThtr, HarvardU;
broadcast on Kol Yisroel, Jerusalem 11/84
duet version
prem. by Helene Williams & Charles Osborne, Chelsea Ctr, 8/16/90J
Jewish Voices in Germany, op.79
(on 14 texts by Jews living in post-war Germany & Austria)
cantata in German or English
for Soli and/or Chorus with Piano or Orchestra;
perf.Berlin 2&5/86, Dresden 4/86, Temple Beth Sholom(Roslyn)4/87
excerpt on cassette
Juedische Lieder: Der Juedische Musiktheaterverein Berlin
Kererte A Ti, op.121 no.1 (Ladino Folk Text) for soprano &
piano 9/95
in Ladino/English tr. by the composer
prem. Hebrew Union College 6/1/97
Mi Shebeirach, op. 129A
prem. 7/3/97 at American Conference of Cantors convention
at Huntington Hilton by Faith Steinsnyder & David Perber
Shalom Rav, op.130 (Hebrew) for Two-Part Chorus (2') 1996
Sisters, op. 100
3 monologues based on first-person stories of Biblical women
(Lot's Wife, Miriam and Zelophehad's Daughters)
for Voice and Piano or 9 instruments;
for Helene Williams and Womansong
("Zelophehad's Daughters" also arranged for 2Sopranos, Mezzo, and 2Altos)
full cycle prem. 6/14/89 Weill Recital Hall, for Ezrath-Nashim benefit
premiere with dancers:
Cadmon Hill-Clinton Dance Choir, Paulina Kent Dennis, dir.,
Temple Sinai, Roslyn 8/20/89;
also performed at Cadmon Memorial Church, Brooklyn
8/27/89 and 11/19/89
premiere of complete solo version: Golden Fleece Ltd., Theater 22,
3/31/90
prem. complete solo version w/cl.,vc.,pno, perc. & synth,
LICA Bryant Lib March 21, 1993
"Lot's Wife" also performed at Theater unterm Dach, East Berlin, 6/27/89
and at Dresden Center for Contemporary Music July 1, 1989
and on Holocaust Program of Downtown Chamber Players, March 4, 1990
"Zelophehad's Daughters" prem. 6/12/89
for National Council of Women, Time-Life Building
also performed at Ft. Lauderdale Jewish Community Center 3/24/90
and as part of programs The Jewish Woman in Song and An Israel Cabaret
N.Y.City premiere w/ dancers:
6/23/91 Merkin Hall w/Wendy Osserman Dance Co.
complete solo version recorded w/piano on cassette Songs of Conscience
Two Songs of a Madman, op.36
(from Hebrew Melodies by George Gordon, Lord Byron)
for Female Voice and Piano or Winds 5 min. Fall 1973
1) My Soul is Dark
2) They Say That Hope Is Happiness
premiere w/piano Cornell Univ. Dec. 7, 1973
also performed in Heidelberg 5/13/80
#1 also performed in Fontainebleau 7/11/96
premiere w/winds Cornell Wind Ensemble 4/18/77
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, op.99
for SATB chorus or quartet with piano/winds & percussion
premiere at the United Nations
for UN Association meeting, Oct. 26, 1988
by Solo Quartet of the Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus;
also at Temple Sinai, Roslyn, Aug. 20, 1989
TRANSLATIONS
The Roundheads and the Pointedheads
(Brecht-Eisler play on anti-Semitism & corruption)
performed & published at Cornell University November 1973 [see
op.30B]
misc. Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens,
Gerhard Bronner/Peter Wehle cabaret songs
(incl. "Aber nur fast," "Alles in Stereo," "Alles ist relativ,"
"Alte MacDonalds," "A Bissel Freiheit,"
"Ich steh' immer draussen," "Der juedische Cowboy,"
"Schwer ist's ein Ami zu sein," "Der Wegwerfmensch")
Weill & Eisler songs for Gisela May & Roswitha Trexler
(incl. Weill's "Potsdam unter den Eichen"
as well as "J'attends un navire");
songs of Brahms, Prokofiev (Akhmatova cycle) and Shostakovich;
poems of Blok[op.43], Brecht[op.30&57], Derzhavin[op.42#3],
Fet[op.42#1], Heine[opp.60,72,86#1], Kaleko[op.77],
Khlebnikov[op.80], Krylov[op.42#2], Ladino Folksong [op. 121 #1],
Mayakovsky[op.25], Naydus[op.62[, Orieli[op.73], Pushkin[op.86#2],
Leybovich(op.221)
Voznesensky, and Yevtushenko's "Do the Russians Want War?"
(the latter published in Hilltop Beacon, 1966)
ADAPTATIONS
Peace on Earth (1934) by Albert Maltz & George Sklar
(1968, unproduced)
The Cradle Will Rock (1936) by Marc Blitzstein
(1969, Loeb Experimental Theater at Harvard, Tufts)
I've Got the Tune (1937) by Marc Blitzstein
(1970, Lowell House at Harvard; 1989 WHRB-FM)
Candide (1956) by Leonard Bernstein, Lilian Hellman, et al
(1972, Risley College at Cornell)
The Roundheads and the Pointedheads (1931-4)
by Bertolt Brecht & Hanns Eisler (1973, Cornell)
Suppose A Wedding by Bernard Malamud
(1973, Cornell as play; 1997 Hebrew Union College as opera)
A Clementine Kaddish - the missing verse to Tom Lehrer's "Clementine"
(1958)
(1983, Berlin, and numerous times thereafter, including
Amer Conference of Cantors Convention, Huntington NY 7/2/97, etc.)
The Mermaid in Lock #7 (1960) by Elie Siegmeister & Edward
Mabley
(1989, Domaine Naturiste de Belezy, France)
Goot Yuntif (1992)
original rejoinder to Tom Lehrer's "Hanukka in Santa Monica" (1990)
performed at International Jewish Arts Festival of L.I. 5/30/94
North Shore Synagogue, Syosset NY 12/95
Amer Conference of Cantors Convention, Huntington NY 7/2/97, etc.
Adam & Lilith & Eve (1995) (6/24/95, Bucksteep Manor,
Washington MA)
after Manya Pruzhanskaya Lackow & Jacques Drouet
It's A Living (1976) by Morton Gould on text by Carolyn Leigh
(1996, arrangement for piano solo, prem. & recorded at Queens College)
The Creation or God & the Computer (1997)
premiered 7/5/97 Camp Ramblewood, Darlington MD
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