Jan Meyerowitz (23 April 1913 – 15 December 1998) was a German–American composer and writer.[1]
Life
Meyerowitz was born Hans-Hermann Meyerowitz in Breslau (today
Wrocław), the son of a manufacturer. From 1927, he studied in Berlin with
Walter Gmeindl [
de] and
Alexander von Zemlinsky. In 1933, he was forced to leave Germany because he was Jewish and continue his education in Rome with
Ottorino Respighi,
Alfredo Casella and the conductor
Bernardino Molinari. In 1938, he moved to Belgium and in 1939 to the South of France, where he made contact with the
French Resistance. His future wife, the singer Marguerite Fricker, helped him in Marseille to survive the
Nazi occupation of France.
In 1946 Meyerowitz emigrated to the U.S. and became an assistant to
Boris Goldovsky, director of the opera program at
Tanglewood. In 1951 he became an American citizen. Meyerowitz taught at
Brooklyn College (1956–1962) and at the
City College of New York. In 1956 Meyerowitz was awarded the first of two
Guggenheim Fellowships.[2] After his retirement, he returned to France where he died in
Colmar.
The Barrier (Die Schranke or The Mulatto, Il Mulatto; 1949). Opera in 2 acts. Libretto:
Langston Hughes. Premiere 18 January 1950 New York (Columbia University)
Emily Dickinson (earlier: Eastward in Eden; 1951). opera in 4 acts. Libretto: Dorothy Gardner. Premiere 16 November 1951 Detroit)
2. acts as separate pieces: The Meeting. Premiere 16. September 1955 Falmouth / Massachusetts
Bad Boys in School (1952). opera-farce in one act. Libretto: Jan Meyerowitz (after
Johann Nestroy). Premiere 17 August 1953 Tanglewood / Massachusetts
Esther (1957–60). Opera in one act. Libretto: Langston Hughes. Premiere 4 August 1960 Tanglewood / Massachusetts
Godfather Death (1960/61). Chamber opera in 3 acts. Libretto: Peter John Stephens. Premiere 1 June 1961 New York
Die Winterballade oder Die Doppelgängerin (1966/67). Opera in 3 acts. Libretto: Jan Meyerowitz (after
Gerhart Hauptmann). Premiere 29 January 1967
Staatsoper Hannover; Conductor: Reinhard Petersen
Vocal compositions
The Five Foolish Virgins. Cantata
The Story of Ruth for coloratura and piano
Missa Rachel Plorans (1954). mass for choir a cappella
The Glory Around His Head (1955). Easter cantata for middle voices, 4-voice mixed choir and piano. Libretto:
Langston Hughes
How Godly Is the House of God for 4-voice mixed choir and piano. Libretto: Langston Hughes
Hans-Jürgen Winterhoff and
Helmut Loos (eds.): Fünf schlesische Komponisten des 20–Jahrhunderts. Ernst August Voelkel (1886–1960),
Fritz Lubrich (1888–1971), Edmund von Borck (1906–1944), Jan Meyerowitz, Martin Christoph Redel (born 1947). Bonn (Schröder) 1994 (Deutsche Musik im Osten, vol. 4).
ISBN3-926196-20-3