Blog #1 –
Jeanne Behrend: A Musical Pioneer by Marc Peloquin
I had a fascinating phone call yesterday with a pianist and musicologist from Huntsville Alabama, Elizabeth Hostetter. The reason we spoke is because I have been researching the life and work of composer and pianist Jeanne Behrend (1911-1988) who was a close friend of the great American composer Samuel Barber and who promoted American piano music throughout her distinguished life. Elizabeth wrote her doctoral dissertation on Behrend and met her for two
interviews before her death in 1988.
It’s so interesting when something sparks your imagination and you do a little, what I would call, uncovering research. In this case I have discovered a brilliant creative artist who is relatively unknown today and who made significant contributions in the area of American Music. Behrend was a Curtis Institute trained composer and pianist and went on to have a long career that took her to various parts of the world.
Behrend won Columbia University’s Joseph Bearns Prize in 1936 and debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1937 with one of her own compositions for piano. After composing, she found a new passion when a concert tour of South America, with a recommendation by Hector Villa-Lobos, led her to study and perform South American music. She founded the Philadelphia Festival of Western Hemisphere Music in 1959 and was awarded the Southern Cross by the Brazilian government in 1965 for her work with Brazilian music. She taught piano and American music at the Curtis Institute, Juilliard, and Temple University, and edited collections of early American choral music and the works of composers Stephen Foster and Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Elizabeth told me that Samuel Barber would send her piano scores to get her approval before publication, including the popular Four Excursions. She also recorded and wrote about the enigmatic and virtuosic piano music of Gottschalk and had a strong interest in early music which led her to perform and record the 18th century American composer Alexander Reinagle. As a woman in the mid-twentieth century, it was both courageous and innovative that she dedicated her programs to American modern music and music from Latin America. Her advocacy and determination are worth serious consideration and appreciation today. Composers owe a great debt to performers like Behrend who not only champion their works but also educate the listening public about the value of this music and its important place in the history of music.
I am trying to access some of Behrend’s original works for piano, most of which are unpublished. If I am successful, I will perform this music at BSM so we can enjoy the creative brilliance of this special artist.
Happy practicing and listening,
Marc
About Jeanne Behrend:
Jeanne Behrend (May 11, 1911-1988) is known for her work as a composer and for studying and popularizing North and South American music. Behrend won Columbia University’s Joseph Bearns Prize in 1936 and debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1937 with one of her own compositions for piano. After composing, she found a new passion when a concert tour of South America led her to study and popularize South American music. She founded the Philadelphia Festival of Western Hemisphere Music in 1959 and was awarded the Southern Cross by the Brazilian government in 1965 for her work with Brazilian music. She taught piano and American music at the Curtis Institute, Juilliard, and Temple University, and edited collections of early American choral music and the works of composers Stephen Foster and Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
