Yardena Alotin

Yardena Alotin (Hebrew: ירדנה אלוטין; October 19, 1930 in Tel Aviv – October 4, 1994 in New York City) was an Israeli composer and pianist. As a pianist and teacher, Alotin also wrote educational music and music for young musicians, such as Six Piano Pieces for Children. Alotin won the Nissimov Prize for her 1956 work, Yefei Nof.

Biography

Yardena Alotin began studying piano at the age of five with Rivka Sharett-Hoz, the sister of Moshe Sharett, and the wife of Dov Hoz.[1] Yardena Alotin studied from 1948 to 1950 at the Music Teachers' College in Tel Aviv and then from 1950 to 1952 at the Israel Music Academy. Among her teachers were Alexander Uriah Boskovich (theory), Mordecai Seter (harmony, counterpoint), Paul Ben-Haim (orchestrator), Ilona Vincze-Kraus (piano) and Ödön Pártos (composition).[2]

Her first workYefei Nof ('Beautiful Landscape'), composed in 1952 for mixed choir, won the Nissimov Prize and was premiered by the Rinat Choir (of which she was a member) in Tel Aviv and at the Paris International Festival in 1956.[3] Cantata for a cappella choir (1958) was performed at the Perugia Religious Music Festival in 1960.[4] She produced both didactic and commissioned work, and rewrote Yefei Nof for solo flute (1978) for James Galway, who often performed it on tour.[5] It is now an established piece in the international flute repertoire.[6] In 1984, she received a commission from the Tel Aviv Foundation for Culture and Art - Shir Chag [Holiday Song] - to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the city of Tel Aviv.[7] In 1975 and 1976, Alotin was the composer-in-residence at Bar-Ilan University, during which time she composed her Sonata for cello solo, and she taught piano at the Israel Conservatory of Music in Tel-Aviv.[8] Alotin died in New York City on October 4,1994 at 64 years old. She now rests at Yarkon Cemetery in Petah Tikva, Israel.[9] In 1998 Alotin's husband, Yohanan Riverant, donated a fund in her name for the support of Israeli music performance.[5]

Music

Alotin wrote chamber, vocal, piano, and orchestral works. Much of her oeuvre has sacred and biblical references, and makes great use of optimistic, lyrical melodies and colorful dissonance, often influenced by Renaissance and medieval counterpoint. She often writes based on Baroque and Classical forms, with an eclectic language of Eastern, Western, and Jewish influences.[10] Her music uses a multitude of polyphonic textures, as well as more heterophonic textures in her vocal and instrumental works.[11][12] She often employs a contrapuntal use of lines that feature hemiola, cross-rhythm and phrasing, irregular phrasing and metric accents, rhythmic ostinatos, and mixed meters.[13]

Works

Selected works composed by Yardena Alotin include:

Orchestral

  • Al Golah D'vuyah [A Suffering Diaspora], (text by the composer), for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, 1958
    • The Painful Exile (alternate English title)
    • Premiered by the Orchester des Hessischen Rundfunks, Frankfurt, BRD: 1987.[14]
  • Divertimento, for chamber orchestra (1992)

Vocal

  • Yefeh Nof [Beautiful Landscape], (Bible: Psalm 48), SATB (1952)
  • Mishirey Hanachal [Songs of the Stream], (text by L. Goldberg), for voice and piano (1954)
  • Cantata, (Bible: Psalms), SATB (1956)
    • Dedicated to the memory of Leo Kestenberg, one of Alotin's teachers[15]
  • Hinneh Ma Tov [Behold, How Good], (Psalm 132), SATB (1965)
  • 8 Songs for Children, (text by A. Amir), for voice and piano (1970)
  • Shir Chag [Holiday Song], (Bible texts), SATB (1984)
    • Festive Song (alternate English title)
    • Commissioned for the 75th anniversary of Tel Aviv

Chamber

  • Duets, for two violins (1954)
    • Primarily used for educational purposes
  • Kina Fuga [Lament Fugue], for string trio (1960)
  • Sonata, for violin and piano (1960)
  • String Quartet (1960)
  • Sonatina, for violin or flute and piano (1970)
    • Primarily used for educational purposes
  • Sonata, for cello (1976)
    • This work "is full of rhythmic energy. Like the Hebrew language, it goes straight to the point. It is witty, but not without some serene and poetic moments."[16]
  • Yefeh Nof, for flute (1978)
  • Trio, for violin, cello, and piano (1979)

Piano

  • Passacaglia on a Bukharian Theme (1954)
    • Two sections: Prelude (Adagio molto) and Passacaglia (Allegro moderato)[17]
  • Six Piano Pieces for Children (1954) - pedagogical pieces, 8 minutes in duration[17]
    1. An Odd Minuet (Tempo di Minuetto)
    2. Rondo in Old English Style (Andante)
    3. Courante (Allegretto - Homage a Frescobaldi)
    4. Another Odd Minuet (Tempo di Minuetto)
    5. Rondo (Andante)
    6. Capriccino (Tempo Vivo)
  • Three Preludes (1958) - pedagogical pieces[17]
    1. Vivace
    2. Adagio
    3. Allegro buffo (toccata)
  • Suite (1974)
  • Sonatina (1985)

References
  1. "Yardena Alotin | Israel Music Institute". www.imi.org.il. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  2. Sadie, Julie Anne; Samuel, Rhian (1994). The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393034875. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  3. Mishori, Nathan (2001). "Alotin, Yardena". Grove Music. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.00660. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  4. Tischler, Alice (2011). A Descriptive Bibliography of Art Music by Israeli Composers. Sterling heights, MI: Harmonie Park Press.
  5. "Yardena Alotin Fund". Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  6. Boenke, Heide (1988). Flute Music by Women Composers: an Annotated Catalog. New York: Greenwood.
  7. Abramson, Glenda (2005). Encyclopedia of modern Jewish culture, Volume 1 (Digitized online by Google Books). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203494356. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  8. Boenke, Heidi M. (1988). Flute music by women composers: an annotated catalog (Digitized online by Google Books). Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780313260193. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  9. "Yarkon Cemetery", Wikipedia, 2021-02-20, retrieved 2022-03-30
  10. Keren, Zvi (1980). Contemporary Israeli Music: Its Sources and Stylistic Development. Ramat Gan, Il.: Bar Ilan University Press.
  11. Hinson, Maurice; Wesley, Roberts (1987). Guide to the Pianists Repertoire. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
  12. Grossman, Irene Miriam (2004). Piano Music by Women Composers. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
  13. Holland, Bernard (September 19, 1987). "Music: Israeli Composer". New York Times.
  14. The musical woman : an international perspective. Volume III, 1986-1990. Judith Lang Zaimont. New York: Greenwood Press. 1991. ISBN 0-313-23589-9. OCLC 30413278.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. Rhian., Sadie, Julie Anne. Samuel (1995). The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers. W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-03487-9. OCLC 1043852145.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. Haran, Michael (1988), Israeli music for cello., Music in Israel, OCLC 21167564, retrieved 2022-02-26
  17. Grossman, Irene (May 1972). "A Methodological Guide to the Piano Music of Israel". ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. ProQuest 302609580.
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