Trude Rittmann
Encyclopedia
Gertrud Rittmann was a German composer and music arranger who lived and worked in the United States
.
, Germany
, and began piano lessons at age eight. She studied with Ernst Toch
and Hans Bruch at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne
, and graduated in 1932, already noted as a promising composer. Rittmann left Germany in 1933 in protest of the ban on Jewish composers, and worked in France
, Belgium
and England
, and in 1937 settled in the United States. Her mother emigrated as well, but her father died in prison under the Nazis.
In New York Rittmann was hired by Lincoln Kirstein
as a concert accompanist and pianist for George Balanchine
's American Ballet Caravan. She later became musical director, touring with them for four years and working with composers including Leonard Bernstein
, Virgil Thompson
, Aaron Copland
and Marc Blitzstein
.
In 1941 Rittmann and Stefan Wolpe
composed the music for the film Palestine at War, made by the Palestine
Labour Commission. Also in 1941 Rittman took a position with Agnes de Mille
as concert accompanist, and in 1943 did the arrangements for her choreography in the Kurt Weill
/Ogden Nash
musical One Touch of Venus
. Rittman went on to work on shows including Finian's Rainbow
(1947), South Pacific
(1949), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
(1949), Paint Your Wagon (1951), Fanny
(1954) and Camelot
(1960).
Working on Carousel
(1945), she began an association with composer Richard Rodgers
, and went on to provide arrangements on The King and I
(1951) and The Sound of Music
(1959), Peter Pan
(1954) and My Fair Lady
(1959). Rittmann retired in 1976 and died of respiratory failure in Lexington
, Massachusetts
. Her music has been issued on Great Performances (1972).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Life
Trude Rittmann was born in MannheimMannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and began piano lessons at age eight. She studied with Ernst Toch
Ernst Toch
Ernst Toch was a composer of classical music and film scores.- Biography :Toch, born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, into the family of a humble Jewish leather dealer when the city was at its 19th-century cultural zenith, sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music...
and Hans Bruch at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, and graduated in 1932, already noted as a promising composer. Rittmann left Germany in 1933 in protest of the ban on Jewish composers, and worked in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and in 1937 settled in the United States. Her mother emigrated as well, but her father died in prison under the Nazis.
In New York Rittmann was hired by Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Kirstein
Lincoln Edward Kirstein was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, and cultural figure in New York City...
as a concert accompanist and pianist for George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
's American Ballet Caravan. She later became musical director, touring with them for four years and working with composers including 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...
, Virgil Thompson
Virgil Thompson
Virgil Thompson is an American author. Her first published novel was the 2002 crime drama Final Things: A Novel of Suspense. She lives in Connecticut.-Bibliography:...
, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
and 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...
.
In 1941 Rittmann and Stefan Wolpe
Stefan Wolpe
Stefan Wolpe was a German-born composer.-Life:Wolpe was born in Berlin. He attended the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory from the age of fourteen, and the Berlin Hochschule für Musik in 1920-1921. He studied composition under Franz Schreker and was also a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni...
composed the music for the film Palestine at War, made by the Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
Labour Commission. Also in 1941 Rittman took a position with Agnes de Mille
Agnes de Mille
Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors...
as concert accompanist, and in 1943 did the arrangements for her choreography in the Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
/Ogden Nash
Ogden Nash
Frederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry".-Early life:Nash was born in Rye, New York...
musical One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus is a musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the novella The Tinted Venus by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth. The show satirizes contemporary American suburban values,...
. Rittman went on to work on shows including Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
(1947), South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
(1949), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a musical with a book by Joseph Fields and Anita Loos, lyrics by Leo Robin, and music by Jule Styne, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Loos...
(1949), Paint Your Wagon (1951), Fanny
Fanny (musical)
Fanny is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays entitled Marius, Fanny and César.The musical premiered on...
(1954) and Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
(1960).
Working on Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
(1945), she began an association with composer Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, and went on to provide arrangements on The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
(1951) and The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
(1959), Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1950 musical)
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, first produced in 1950, with music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein...
(1954) and My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
(1959). Rittmann retired in 1976 and died of respiratory failure in Lexington
Lexington
-Places:In the United States:*Lexington, Kentucky, the largest 'Lexington'*Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldest 'Lexington'** Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War*Lexington, Alabama*Lexington, Georgia...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Her music has been issued on Great Performances (1972).