Joan Peyser
Encyclopedia
Joan Peyser was an American musicologist
and writer, particularly known for her writing on 20th century music and for her biographies of George Gershwin
, Pierre Boulez
, and Leonard Bernstein
. Her biography of Bernstein was, according to Leon Botstein
, the first attempt at a critical account of his life and work.
. When she enrolled at the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, she continued to study piano and took up the viola
as well. After graduating from high school, she attended Smith College
from 1947 to 1949 and then went to Barnard College
where she majored in music and received her BA in 1951. She earned her MA in musicology in 1956 from Columbia University
studying under Paul Henry Lang
. She was one of the winners of ASCAP's first annual Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music writing with her 1966 article on the American composer Marc Blitzstein
("The Troubled Times of Marc Blitzstein" published in the Columbia University Forum).
She went on to win the award four more times during her career. The Biltzstein article brought her to the attention of Delacorte Press, who have her a contract for her first book, The New Music: the Sense behind the Sound, published in 1971. In addition to her books and scholarly articles, she was editor of The Musical Quarterly
from 1977 to 1984 and a regular contributor to The New York Times
, Commentary
, Vogue
, and Opera News
.
Joan Peyser died on April 24, 2011, aged 80, following heart surgery.
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
and writer, particularly known for her writing on 20th century music and for her biographies of George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
. Her biography of Bernstein was, according to Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein is an American conductor and the President of Bard College . Botstein is the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director and principal conductor from 2003-2010...
, the first attempt at a critical account of his life and work.
Biography
Born Joan Gilbert in New York City, Peyser began studying piano when she was 5 and gave her first recital at the age of 13 in New York's Town HallThe Town Hall
The Town Hall is a performance space, located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, in New York City. It seats approximately 1,500 people.-History:...
. When she enrolled at the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, she continued to study piano and took up the viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
as well. After graduating from high school, she attended Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
from 1947 to 1949 and then went to Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
where she majored in music and received her BA in 1951. She earned her MA in musicology in 1956 from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
studying under Paul Henry Lang
Paul Henry Lang
Paul Henry Lang was a Hungarian-American musicologist and music critic....
. She was one of the winners of ASCAP's first annual Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music writing with her 1966 article on the American composer Marc Blitzstein
Marc Blitzstein
Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...
("The Troubled Times of Marc Blitzstein" published in the Columbia University Forum).
She went on to win the award four more times during her career. The Biltzstein article brought her to the attention of Delacorte Press, who have her a contract for her first book, The New Music: the Sense behind the Sound, published in 1971. In addition to her books and scholarly articles, she was editor of The Musical Quarterly
The Musical Quarterly
The Musical Quarterly is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928...
from 1977 to 1984 and a regular contributor to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Commentary
Commentary (magazine)
Commentary is a monthly American magazine on politics, Judaism, social and cultural issues. It was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945. By 1960 its editor was Norman Podhoretz, a liberal at the time who moved sharply to the right in the 1970s and 1980s becoming a strong voice for the...
, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, and Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
.
Joan Peyser died on April 24, 2011, aged 80, following heart surgery.
Selected bibliography
- The New Music: the Sense behind the Sound (New York: Delacorte Press, 1971 (the revised 2nd edition was published in 1980 as Twentieth-Century Music: the Sense behind the Sound))
- Boulez: Composer, Conductor, Enigma (New York: Schirmer Books, 1976)
- The Orchestra: Origins and Transformations (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1986 (editor))
- Bernstein: a Biography (New York: Beech Tree Books, 1987)
- The Memory of all That: the Life of George Gershwin (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993)
- The Music of My Time (New York: Pro/AM Music Resources Inc., 1995)
Sources
- Babbitt, MiltonMilton BabbittMilton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
"Foreword" to Joan Peyser, The Music of My Time, Pro/AM Music Resources Inc., 1995 pp. xiii-xv. - Botstein, LeonLeon BotsteinLeon Botstein is an American conductor and the President of Bard College . Botstein is the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director and principal conductor from 2003-2010...
, "Psychobiography of a Maestro", The New York Times, May 10, 1987 - Kozinn, Allan, "Probing the Inner Life Of Gershwin the Man", The New York Times, January 19, 1993
- Morgan, Paula, "Peyser [née Gilbert], Joan", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy. Accessed via subscription 12 September 2010.
- Peyser, Joan, The Music of My Time, Pro/AM Music Resources Inc., 1995. ISBN 0912483997
- Sleeman, Elizabeth (ed.), "Peyser, Joan G(ilbert)", International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004 , Routledge, 2003, p. 442. ISBN 1857431790
- Kozinn, Allan, "Joan Peyser, Bernstein and Gershwin Biographer, Dies at 80", The New York Times, April 25, 2011
External links
- Articles by Joan Peyser for The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- "Ned Rorem Delivers a Solo on the State of Music", The New York Times, May 3, 1987
- Wuorinen's Bleak View of the Future, The New York Times, June 5, 1988
- Joan Peyser on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...