Paul Tietjens
Encyclopedia
Paul Tietjens was an American composer of the early twentieth century. He is best known for composing music for The Wizard of Oz, the 1902 stage adaptation of L. Frank Baum
's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
, one of the great popular hits of its era.
Tietjens was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri
. At age 14 he appeared as a piano soloist with the St. Louis Symphony. He later studied in Europe with Hugo Kaun
, Harold Bauer
, and Theodor Leschetizky.
Early in his career, Tietjens's ambition was to establish himself as a successful composer of comic operas and operettas. He approached L. Frank Baum in March 1901, not long after the publication and success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. According to Baum's later recollection,
By another report, though, they met through Ike Morgan, a Chicago artist who worked on Baum's American Fairy Tales
(1901). Baum and Tietjens agreed to develop stage projects together. Curiously, their first attempts had nothing to do with Oz. They wrote a show titled The Octopus, or The Title Trust, which was rejected by producers in Chicago and New York. Their next venture was a musical called King Midas, which was never completed.
It was illustrator W. W. Denslow
who suggested a Wizard of Oz stage adaptation. Though Baum was at first cool to the idea, Tietjens was enthusiastic. Baum prepared a libretto, and the project went forward. Tietjens included two songs from The Octopus ("Love Is Love" and "The Traveler and the Pie"). The show went through many script revisions and changes; Tietjens's score was supplemented with music composed by A. Baldwin Sloane and others. Quarrels over the partitioning of the royalties (Denslow was co-copyright holder of the book, and designed the sets and costumes for the musical) led to a permanent rupture between Baum and Denslow. Yet the show
premiered in Chicago on 16 June 1902, and moved to Broadway
in January 1903. It was an enormous hit. It ran through 1907 and then toured widely. The income from the show made Tietjens financially independent at a relatively early age.
Tietjens, however, never equalled that early popular success in subsequent shows. He wrote The Sacred Serpent (1904), a three-act musical comedy. He composed incidental music for J. M. Barrie
's play A Kiss for Cinderella. He worked with Baum on another project, called The Pipes o' Pan (which might have been a revised version of King Midas); it was never produced, and survives only in a fragment.
In 1904 Tietjens married the poet Eunice Strong Hammond, who became known under her married name, Eunice Tietjens
. They had two daughters, Idea and Janet. The death of their elder daughter Idea at the age of four contributed to the break-up of the marriage; the couple divorced in 1914.
In addition to his works for popular theater, Tietjens composed symphonies, a concerto, sonatas, and chamber works. His most significant serious work is arguably his opera The Tents of the Arabs.
Tietjens spent much of his life in Europe. When his health failed in 1942, he returned to St. Louis to live with his sister, and died there the following year. His manuscripts are in the Gaylord Musical Library at Washington University; the University's Tietjens Hall is named in his honor.
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, one of the great popular hits of its era.
Tietjens was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. At age 14 he appeared as a piano soloist with the St. Louis Symphony. He later studied in Europe with Hugo Kaun
Hugo Kaun
Hugo Wilhelm Ludwig Kaun was a German composer, conductor, and music teacher.Kaun was born in Berlin, and completed his musical training in his native city. In 1886 , he left Germany for the United States and settled in Milwaukee, which was home to a well-established German immigrant community...
, Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer was a noted pianist who began his musical career as a violinist.Harold Bauer was born in London; his father was a German violinist and his mother was English. He took up the study of the violin under the direction of his father and Adolf Pollitzer. He made his debut as a violinist in...
, and Theodor Leschetizky.
Early in his career, Tietjens's ambition was to establish himself as a successful composer of comic operas and operettas. He approached L. Frank Baum in March 1901, not long after the publication and success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. According to Baum's later recollection,
- "The thought of making my fairy tale into a play had never even occurred to me when, one evening, my doorbell rang and I found a spectacled young man standing on the mat."
By another report, though, they met through Ike Morgan, a Chicago artist who worked on Baum's American Fairy Tales
American Fairy Tales
American Fairy Tales is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the previous year...
(1901). Baum and Tietjens agreed to develop stage projects together. Curiously, their first attempts had nothing to do with Oz. They wrote a show titled The Octopus, or The Title Trust, which was rejected by producers in Chicago and New York. Their next venture was a musical called King Midas, which was never completed.
It was illustrator W. W. Denslow
William Wallace Denslow
William Wallace Denslow – usually credited as W. W. Denslow – was an illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
who suggested a Wizard of Oz stage adaptation. Though Baum was at first cool to the idea, Tietjens was enthusiastic. Baum prepared a libretto, and the project went forward. Tietjens included two songs from The Octopus ("Love Is Love" and "The Traveler and the Pie"). The show went through many script revisions and changes; Tietjens's score was supplemented with music composed by A. Baldwin Sloane and others. Quarrels over the partitioning of the royalties (Denslow was co-copyright holder of the book, and designed the sets and costumes for the musical) led to a permanent rupture between Baum and Denslow. Yet the show
The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900...
premiered in Chicago on 16 June 1902, and moved to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in January 1903. It was an enormous hit. It ran through 1907 and then toured widely. The income from the show made Tietjens financially independent at a relatively early age.
Tietjens, however, never equalled that early popular success in subsequent shows. He wrote The Sacred Serpent (1904), a three-act musical comedy. He composed incidental music for J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...
's play A Kiss for Cinderella. He worked with Baum on another project, called The Pipes o' Pan (which might have been a revised version of King Midas); it was never produced, and survives only in a fragment.
In 1904 Tietjens married the poet Eunice Strong Hammond, who became known under her married name, Eunice Tietjens
Eunice Tietjens
Eunice Tietjens was an American poet, novelist, journalist, children's author, lecturer, and editor.Born as Eunice Strong Hammond in Chicago on July 29, 1884, she was educated in Europe and travelled heavily....
. They had two daughters, Idea and Janet. The death of their elder daughter Idea at the age of four contributed to the break-up of the marriage; the couple divorced in 1914.
In addition to his works for popular theater, Tietjens composed symphonies, a concerto, sonatas, and chamber works. His most significant serious work is arguably his opera The Tents of the Arabs.
Tietjens spent much of his life in Europe. When his health failed in 1942, he returned to St. Louis to live with his sister, and died there the following year. His manuscripts are in the Gaylord Musical Library at Washington University; the University's Tietjens Hall is named in his honor.