Paul Schoenfield (1947- )
Echoes
of Mozart, Brahms, Bartok and Shostakovich and a host of other
ingredients impart an infectious zest, and distinctive flavor, to Paul
Schoenfield's music. He moves with what has been called “wizardly ease”
from jazz to popular styles, from vaudeville and klezmer (an Eastern
European Jewish music that features a quirky clarinet) to folk music
and dances from different cultures. Like the music of Gershwin, to
which it has been compared, Schoenfield's sparkles with wit and energy
and draws deeply on the composer's Jewish roots. "The composer's grasp
of music history joins hands with popular and folk traditions of
America and beyond," Plain Dealer music critic Donald Rosenberg has
noted. "This is crossover art achieved with seamless craftsmanship."
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Schoenfield was composing music by the age
of seven. He studied piano, which he had been playing since the age of
six, with Julius Chajes, Ozan Marsh and Rudolf Serkin and toured the
U.S., Europe and South America both as a soloist and with groups from
Music from Marlboro and elsewhere.- Dennis J. Dooley/Cleveland Arts Prize
COMPOSITIONS Schoenfield Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre
Collage, orchestra (????)
Sextet, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion (????)
High-Rock Ballet, amplified violin, saxophone, bass guitar, drum set, synthesizer and piano (????)
Three Pieces, piano 4-hands (????)
Suite for Piano 4-Hands (197-?)
Quintet, piano, 2 violins, viola and cello (pub. 1970)
A Children's Game, female chorus and piano 4-hands (pub. 1971) [text: Christina Rossetti]
Three Country Fiddle Pieces, amplified violin, piano and drum set (1979; pub. 1984-87)
Four Parables, concerto for piano and orchestra (1982-83)
Five Days from the Life of a Manic Depressive, piano 4-hands (1984)
Six British Folk Songs, cello and piano (1985)
Klezmer Rondos, concerto for flute/piccolo, tenor and orchestra (or piano) (1986; rev. 1994)
Cafe Music (3 mvts), violin, cello and piano (1986)
Vaudeville, concerto for piccolo trumpet and orchestra (1988; pub. 1992?)
Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1990)
Four Souvenirs, violin (or flute) and piano (1990) [Samba; Tango; Tin Pan Alley; Square Dance]
Tales from Chelm (4 pieces), narrator and string quartet (1991)
Sparks of Glory (4 pieces), narrator, violin, clarinet, cello and piano (1995)
Slovakian Children's Songs, flute and piano (1995)
Four Motets, chorus (pub. 1996)
Taschyag, 2 pianos (pub. 1996)
Peccadilloes (6 pieces), piano (1997)
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (fp. 1998)
D' vorah, a gospel oratorio, soli, chorus and orchestra (fp. 1998) [text: Margaret Stearns]
The Merchant and the Pauper, opera (1999) [based on a story by Rabbi Nachman of Bratislava]
Four Music Videos, violin, cello and piano (pub. 2000)
Sonatina for Flute, Clarinet and Piano (pub. 2000)
Carolina Réveille, violin, viola, cello and piano (2001)
Achat Sha'alti, flute and piano (pub. 2001) [in collection entitled "Valentines", edited by Carl Wincenc]
Ufaratsta, flute and piano (pub. 2001) [in collection entitled "Valentines", edited by Carl Wincenc]
Camp Songs, song cycle (5 songs), 2 voices, clarinet, 2 violins, cello and double bass (2001) [text: Aleksander Kulisiewicz]
Nocturne, cello and orchestra (fp. 2002)
Partita for Violin and Piano (7 mvts) (2002)
Memoirs, string quartet (2003) [Aubade; Nigun; Ballade; Soliloquy; In Memoriam]
Six Improvisations on Hassidic Melodies, piano (pub. 2003)
Three Intermezzi, piano (2004)
Channah, a gospel oratorio, soli, chorus and orchestra (fp. 2006) [text: based on a sermon by Reverend R.A. Vernon]
Refractions (4 mvts), clarinet, cello and piano (2006) [based on music from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro]
Three Bagatelles, flute, cello and piano (pub. 2006)
Six Chassidic Songs, flute and piano (2007)
Sonatina for Piccolo and Piano (pub. 2008)
Ghetto Songs, song cycle (5 songs), mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano (2008) [text: Mordecai Gebirtig]
Sonata for Violin and piano (2009)
WORKS BY GENRE Schoenfield Links ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
The Merchant and the Pauper, opera (1999) [based on a story by Rabbi Nachman of Bratislava]
Orchestra
Collage, orchestra (????)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Four Parables, concerto for piano and orchestra (1982-83)
Klezmer Rondos, concerto for flute/piccolo, tenor and orchestra (or piano) (1986; rev. 1994)
Vaudeville, concerto for piccolo trumpet and orchestra (1988; pub. 1992?)
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (fp. 1998)
- Gan Tzippi
- Soliloquy
- King David Dancing Before the Ark
Nocturne, cello and orchestra (fp. 2002)
Chorus w/Orchestra
D' vorah, a gospel oratorio, soli, chorus and orchestra (fp. 1998) [text: Margaret Stearns]
Channah, a gospel oratorio, soli, chorus and orchestra (fp. 2006) [text: based on a sermon by Reverend R.A. Vernon]
Choral
A Children's Game, female chorus and piano 4-hands (pub. 1971) [text: Christina Rossetti]
Four Motets, chorus (pub. 1996)
Chamber
Sextet, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion (????)
High-Rock Ballet, amplified violin, saxophone, bass guitar, drum set, synthesizer and piano (????)
Quintet, piano, 2 violins, viola and cello (pub. 1970)
Three Country Fiddle Pieces, amplified violin, piano and drum set (1979; pub. 1984-87)
- Who Let the Cat Out Last Night
- Pining for Betsey
- En Ciudad Juarez
Cafe Music (3 mvts), violin, cello and piano (1986)
Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (1990)
Tales from Chelm (4 pieces), narrator and string quartet (1991)
Sparks of Glory (4 pieces), narrator, violin, clarinet, cello and piano (1995)
Four Music Videos, violin, cello and piano (pub. 2000)
Sonatina for Flute, Clarinet and Piano (pub. 2000)
Carolina Réveille, violin, viola, cello and piano (2001)
Memoirs, string quartet (2003) [Aubade; Nigun; Ballade; Soliloquy; In Memoriam]
Refractions (4 mvts), clarinet, cello and piano (2006) [based on music from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro]
Three Bagatelles, flute, cello and piano (pub. 2006)
Solo Instrument
Six British Folk Songs, cello and piano (1985)
Four Souvenirs, violin (or flute) and piano (1990) [Samba; Tango; Tin Pan Alley; Square Dance]
Slovakian Children's Songs, flute and piano (1995)
Achat Sha'alti, flute and piano (pub. 2001) [in collection entitled "Valentines", edited by Carl Wincenc]
Ufaratsta, flute and piano (pub. 2001) [in collection entitled "Valentines", edited by Carl Wincenc]
Partita for Violin and Piano (7 mvts) (2002)
Six Chassidic Songs, flute and piano (2007)
Sonatina for Piccolo and Piano (pub. 2008)
Sonata for Violin and piano (2009)
Piano
Three Pieces, piano 4-hands (????)
Suite for Piano 4-Hands (197-?)
Five Days from the Life of a Manic Depressive, piano 4-hands (1984)
- Metamorphosis on "I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby"
- ???
- ???
- From "A Bintel Brief"
- Boogie
Taschyag, 2 pianos (pub. 1996)
Peccadilloes (6 pieces), piano (1997)
Six Improvisations on Hassidic Melodies, piano (pub. 2003)
Three Intermezzi, piano (2004)
Vocal
Tales from Chelm (4 pieces), narrator and string quartet (1991)
- A Meeting of the Council of Sages
- A Tight-Rope Walker
- The Witch Cunegunde
- The Soldiers of Chelm
Sparks of Glory (4 pieces), narrator, violin, clarinet, cello and piano (1995)
- B'demayich Chai
- My Name is Chaim
- A Bottle of Brandy
- Lomir Zich Iberbeiten
Camp Songs, song cycle (5 songs), 2 voices, clarinet, 2 violins, cello and double bass (2001) [text: Aleksander Kulisiewicz]
- Black Boehm
- The Corpse Carrier's Tango
- Heil, Sachsenhausen!
- Mister C.
- Adolf's Farewell to the World
Ghetto Songs, song cycle (5 songs), mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano (2008) [text: Mordecai Gebirtig]
- Shifrele's Portrait
- Moments of Despair
- Tolling Bells
- Our Springtime
- A Ray of Sunshine
- Moments of Confidence
SCHOENFIELD LINKS Works by Genre ~ top of page ~
Classical Composer Schoenfield Visits APSU as Acuff Chair of Excellence (Clarksville, TN Online)
Consequential New Music from Paul Schoenfield Premiered in Seattle (Zach Carstensen, The Gathering Note)
Composer's website . . . contact Paul Schoenfield: here
Schoenfield @ Wikipedia
Schoenfield @ Answers.com
Schoenfield @ Art of the States
Schoenfield @ Audiophile Audition
Schoenfield @ Austin Peay State University
Schoenfield @ Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Schoenfield @ Chamber Music Northwest
Schoenfield @ Clarinet Commission Collective
Schoenfield @ Classical Archives
Schoenfield @ Classical Composers Database
Schoenfield @ Classical Net
Schoenfield @ ClassicsToday also here
Schoenfield @ Cleveland Arts Prize
Schoenfield @ Compact Discoveries also here
Schoenfield @ composition:today
Schoenfield @ dramonline.com
Schoenfield @ The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation
Schoenfield @ Facebook
Schoenfield @ InstantEncore
Schoenfield @ La Jolla Music Society
Schoenfield @ Milken Archive of American Jewish Music
Schoenfield @ MusicalCriticism.com
Schoenfield @ Music of Remembrance
Schoenfield @ MusicWeb International
Schoenfield @ MySpaceMusic (@ Carol Wincenc)
Schoenfield @ Naxos
Schoenfield @ New World Records
Schoenfield @ The New York Times
Schoenfield @ REC Music Foundation /The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
Schoenfield @ University of Michigan
Schoenfield @ Utica Chamber Music
Publisher
Schoenfield @ Composer's website/publisher listings
Schoenfield @ Carl Fischer
Schoenfield @ Davidge Publishing
Schoenfield @ Migdal Publishing
Migdal Publishing
1350 Astor #1814
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Phone: 800-753-2224 (Hutchins & Rea)
pes19@comcast.net
Schoenfield @ G. Schirmer
Streaming Audio
Schoenfield @ Art of the States
Schoenfield @ Classical Archives
Schoenfield @ last.fm
Schoenfield @ MySpaceMusic (@ Carol Wincenc)
Schoenfield @ PRX (Public Radio Exchange)
Schoenfield @ Rhapsody.com
Schoenfield @ Yahoo! Music
Recordings
Schoenfield @ ArkivMusic
Schoenfield @ ClassicsOnline
Schoenfield @ Discogs
Schoenfield @ Innova Records
Video
Schoenfield @ YouTube
Schoenfield @ Google Video
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