Robert Strassburg

Robert Strassburg (August 30, 1915 – October 25, 2003) was a leading American conductor, composer, musicologist and music educator of the twentieth century. His studies in music were completed under the supervision of such leading composers as Igor Stravinsky, Walter Piston and Paul Hindemith, with whom he studied at Tanglewood.[2][3][4] His formal academic studies were completed at the New England Conservatory of Music and Harvard University, where he obtained a fellowship in composition. He also completed a doctorate in Fine Arts at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. As a musicologist, Dr. Strassburg is regarded as a leading authority on the compositions of the composer Ernest Bloch.[5]

Robert Strassburg
Born
Robert Strassburg

(1915-08-30)August 30, 1915[1]
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 25, 2003(2003-10-25) (aged 88)[1]
Occupation(s)Conductor,composer, musicologist
Years active1945–1997
External audio
audio icon You may hear Robert Strassburg conducting the Period Choral Society performing sacred choral music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina in 1957
Here on archive.org
audio icon You may hear excerpts from Strassburg's opera "Chelm"
Here on Milken Archive

Biography

Robert Strassburg's contributions to the advancement of music education within the United States of America were far ranging and comprehensive in nature. After serving as a lecturer at Brooklyn College (1947–1950), he obtained a position as artist in residence at the Brandeis Arts Institute in California (1951–1955). During his years in Miami, he founded the All-Miami Youth Symphony in 1958, and was conductor until 1961.[6] Today, it is known as the Greater Miami Youth Symphony and is one of the oldest youth symphonies in continuous existence in Florida. Additional contributions were made as the Assistant Dean for the School of Fine Arts at the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles (1961–1966). This culminated in an appointment as professor of Music at the California State University at Los Angeles in 1966.[7]

Strassburg's contributions as a composer were also undertaken during the course of an extended fifty-year period. An early composition titled Lost was completed as early as 1945 and received critical acclaim.[8]

As music director for various synagogues he expressed a keen interest in Jewish liturgical music and completed several sacred compositions. Many secular compositions also emerged during the ensuing years including over thirty musical settings of the poetry of Walt Whitman. In later years, a monumental choral symphony in ten movements was also completed in honor of the poet Walt Whitman titled Leaves of Grass (1992). He contributed to a variety of film scores as well as incidental music for such theatrical productions as: King Lear, The Rose Tattoo, and Anne of the Thousand Days.[7]

External image
image icon You may see a photograph of Robert Strassburg
Here on Milken Archive

Strassburg is noteworthy as the author of the critically acclaimed biography of Ernest Bloch, Ernest Bloch: Voice in the Wilderness. The research materials associated with this publication along with Dr. Strassburg's written insights are accessible at the Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts. The collection is archived for research purposes at the University of Florida, Gainesville.[9][10]

Several of Robert Strassburg's pupils emerged in later years as noted musicians and composers including: Yehudi Wyner,[4] Jack Gottlieb,[4] Charles Davidson,[4] Diane Thome[11][12] and John Serry.[13]

Compositions
  • Lost (1945)[8]
  • 4 Biblical Statements (1946)
  • Fantasy and Allegro (1947)[14]
  • Torah Sonata (piano, 1950)
  • The Heritage of Heaven (string orchestra, 1955)[4]
  • Chelm (Opera, 1956)[15][16]
  • Psalm 117 (Choral, 1965)[17]
  • Tropal Suite (String Quartet, 1967)
  • Terecentenary Suite (Viola & Piano)
  • Patriarchs (String Orchestra)
  • Migrations of a Melody (Baritone Narrator Chamber Orchestra)
  • Festival of Lights Symphony (String Orchestra)
  • Leaves of Grass: A Choral Symphony (Choral symphony, 1992)[18]
  • Mah Tavu: High Holiday for Cantor, mixed choir (SATB) with optional keyboard, 1993[19]
  • Prayer of Columbus ( for Voice & Piano, 1993)[20]
  • Three "Leaves of Grass" - A Walt Whitman Trilogy (Piano, 1996)
  • Walt Whitman Cycle (Tenor & Orchestra)[4]
  • Congo Square (Opera) [4]
  • Kabbalat Shabbat (Liturgical)[4]
  • Mosaic Horizons (Liturgical)[4]

Archives

Audio recordings of several liturgical works composed by Robert Strassburg have been archived within the Milken Archive of Jewish Music.[4]

Musical influences

Strassburg enjoyed close contact with several other composers of his era including:[4]

References
  1. "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1264. June 21, 2013. p. 26.
  2. Composer's Genealogies: A Compendium of Composers, Their Teachers and Their Students. Pfitzinger, Scott. Rowman & Littlefield, London UK & New York USA 2017 P. 522 (ISBN 9781442272248).
  3. Pfitzinger, Scott (March 2017). Composer Genealogies: A Compendium of Composers, Their Teachers, and Their Students. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442272255.
  4. "Strassburg, Robert". Milken Archive of Jewish Music.
  5. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Cenential Edition, Nicolas Slonimsky, editor, Schirmer, 2001.
  6. Higgins, Sharon K. "Knowing the Score: The Hidden History of the Greater Miami Youth Symphony". memorialis.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  7. "Robert Strassburg - 1915-2003" Biography of Robert Strasburg on milkenarchive.org
  8. The New York Times, November 18, 1945, p. 50
  9. Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts - Special and Area Studies Collections - University of Florida Smathers Libraries. Accessed December 29, 2022.
  10. Ernest Bloch: Voice in the Wilderness, Robert Strassburg, Trident Shop, California State University, 1977.
  11. University of Washington School of Music Faculty- Biography Diane Thome on washington.edu
  12. The Seattle Times, Melinda Bargreen, September 25, 2016, "Places of Memory: a woman born to write and play music" Review of memoir by Diane Thome on seattletimes.com
  13. "Who Is Who In Music International 1958", Who Is Who In Music International, Chicago, IL. Biographical File # B11719 - John Serry. See International Biographical Center, Cambridge, England as current publisher.
  14. The New York Times, April 29, 1948, p. 19
  15. The New York Times, January 1, 1956, p. X7
  16. The New York Times, January 28, 1956, p. 10
  17. "Strassburg, Robert".
  18. The New York Times, July 20, 1997, p. H26
  19. "Strassburg, Robert [WorldCat Identities]".
  20. "Robert Strassburg | Compositions". AllMusic.
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