American Music Review Formerly the Institute for Studies in American Music Newsletter The H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York Volume XXXVIII, No. 1 Fall 2008 “Her Whimsy and Originality Really editorial flurry has facilitated many performances and first record- ings. The most noteworthy recent research on Beyer has been Amount to Genius”: New Biographical undertaken by Melissa de Graaf, whose work on the New York Research on Johanna Beyer Composers’ Forum events during the 1930s portrays Beyer’s public persona during the highpoint of her compositional career (see, for by Amy C. Beal example, de Graaf’s spring 2004 article in the I.S.A.M. Newsletter). Most musicologists I know have never heard of the German-born Beyond de Graaf’s work, we have learned little more about Beyer composer and pianist Johanna Magdalena Beyer (1888-1944), who since 1996. Yet it is clear that her compelling biography, as much as emigrated to the U.S. in 1923 and spent the rest of her life in New her intriguing compositional output, merits further attention. York City. During that period she composed over Beyer’s correspondence with Henry fifty works, including piano miniatures, instru- Cowell (held primarily at the New York mental solos, songs, string quartets, and pieces Public Library for the Performing Arts) for band, chorus, and orchestra. This body of helps us construct a better picture of her life work allies Beyer with the group known as the between February 1935, when her letters to “ultramodernists,” and it offers a further perspec- Cowell apparently began, and mid-1941, tive on the compositional style known as “dis- when their relationship ended. Her letters sonant counterpoint.” These terms are associated reveal both mundane and profound details almost exclusively with Henry Cowell, Ruth about a composer’s daily routines in Depres- Crawford, Carl Ruggles, and Charles Seeger, sion-era New York, painting a rich portrait but Beyer, too, deserves to be placed in their of an intelligent, passionate, humorous, and ranks. In addition to her compositional work, she deeply troubled woman whose reading ranged took full advantage of America’s musical capital from Hölderlin’s Hyperion to Huxley’s essay during a period of determined experimentation “Fashions in Love.” Her correspondence with and self-conscious nationalism. Her network Cowell, for whom she provided a number of included American and immigrant composers, musical and administrative services for ap- conductors, musicians, choreographers, writers, proximately five years, mixes dry exchanges and scholars. Beyer’s friendship with Henry (“send me two copies of Country Set by Tues- Cowell constituted her most important profes- day for Philadelphia”) with painful intimacies sional and personal relationship, yet the official (“may friends touch each other?”). Beyond account of his biography erases her from his Johanna Beyer these occasional non-sequiturs, Beyer’s letters Courtesy of the National Archives life and from the music of his time. Similarly, offer vivid impressions of a piano teacher’s histories of twentieth-century music and American music have exhausting commute between Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, continued to overlook Beyer's contributions. and New Jersey, and expose her suffering caused by the crippling, A recent New World Records two-CD release of Beyer’s previ- degenerative illness ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Beyer’s life hovered ously unrecorded music (NWR 80678-2, 2008) allows us to become continued on page 4 better acquainted with her little-known oeuvre. Yet the compilation also points to the fact that in the twelve years since the publication Inside This Issue of John Kennedy and Larry Polansky’s pioneering research on Beyer in The Musical Quarterly, only a handful of people have carried on Interview with Ursula Oppens by Jason Eckardt.....................6 the work that their biographical sketch, compositional catalog, and Marketing Musard: Bernard Ullman at the Academy source guide called for.1 Since then, with the assistance of some of Music by Bethany Goldberg..............................................8 fifteen volunteer editors, the Frog Peak/Johanna Beyer Project has Remembering Jim Maher by Joshua Berrett...........................10 published sixteen editions of her compositions, all complete with Ives Reimagined, review by Christopher Bruhn.....................11 scrupulous editorial notes and facsimiles of the manuscripts. This Institute News The renaming of the Institute has been the cause of great celebration here The H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute at Brooklyn College (see p. 3) but has had one unforeseen consequence: for Studies in American Music it forces the retirement of Hitchcock’s cleverly-punning column title “ISAM Matters” (“HWHISAM Matters” simply looks dreadful on the page). The above heading seems lackluster by comparison, and if Jeffrey Taylor, Director any readers have ideas for a more provocative title, we’d welcome the Ray Allen, Senior Research Associate suggestion. This space will continue to give us an opportunity to share Stephanie Jensen-Moulton, Research Associate news of the events at the Institute and the activities of its members as Michael Salim Washington, Research Associate we move into a new phase of our development. Carl Clements, Graduate Fellow First, we’re delighted to welcome several new members to our Kathleen Krotman, Administrative Assistant Advisory Board—all likely to be familiar names to our readers. George Boziwick is Chief of the Music Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and was instrumental in the transfer of Advisory Board: Hitchcock’s papers to that institution (see p. 3). Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., George Boziwick, Chief, Music Division, The New York Public Library for one of the country’s preeminent scholars of African American music, the Performing Arts is Director emeritus of Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago, founded in 1983 and still thriving as the only institute Janet Cox-Rearick (Hitchcock), Distinguished Professor emerita, the of its kind. We’re also honored to announce that two Distinguished Graduate Center, CUNY Professors of Music at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Richard Crawford, Distinguished Professor emeritus, University of Center have joined the Board: internationally-known composer Michigan Tania León, and pianist Ursula Oppens, both tireless champions of contemporary music. We look forward to working with them, and the Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., Director emeritus, Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College Chicago rest of our Board members (see the complete list at the left). Despite the gloomy economic news that seemed to greet Ellie M. Hisama, Professor of Music, Columbia University all of us daily this fall, the Institute has been able to present a Tania León, Distinguished Professor of Music, Brooklyn College and the full slate of events through our ongoing “Music of Polycultural Graduate Center, CUNY America” series. On 23 September, jazz pianist, musicologist, and Institute Board member Guthrie P. Ramsey performed with Carol J. Oja, William Powell Mason Professor of Music, Harvard his Philadelphia-based group Dr. Guy’s MusiQologY, and was University interviewed by Hitchcock Institute Research Associate Michael Ursula Oppens, Distinguished Professor of Music, Brooklyn College and Salim Washington. On 15 October, following our renaming the Graduate Center, CUNY celebration, pianist and Conservatory student Angelo Rondello hosted an intriguing look at the history of piano composition in Katherine Preston, David N. & Margaret C. Bottoms Professor of Music, The College of William and Mary the United States with works by Heinrich, Gottschalk, Ives, Carter, and others. He was joined by Distinguished Professor and Institute Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr., Associate Professor of Music, University of Board member Ursula Oppens, as well as several Conservatory Pennsylvania faculty members, alumna, and current students. On 11 November th Judith Tick, Matthews Distinguished University Professor, Northeastern we took part in the celebration of Morton Subotnick’s 75 birthday, University with the composer leading an informal discussion of one of his works. On 19 November, hip hop scholar Marcus Reeves lead a lively conversation on the role of music in shaping racial identity American Music Review (Formerly the ISAM Newsletter) in contemporary urban America. Finally, on 9 December, our own Volume XXXVIII, No. 1/ISSN 1943-9385 Michael Salim Washington joined Columbia University scholar Editors..................................................Ray Allen and Jeffrey Taylor Farah Jasmine Griffin in an informal discussion and book signing Managing Editor..................................Carl Clements honoring the recent publication of their co-authored Clawing at Contributing Editors............................Benjamin Bierman the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Ellie M. Hisama Jazz Collaboration Ever (Thomas Dunne Books, 2008). Overall, Stephanie Jensen-Moulton it was a remarkably diverse and invigorating series. Next spring we Carol J. Oja look forward to presentations honoring the centennial of composer Production Assistant ............................Kathleen Mason Krotman (and one-time Brooklyn College faculty member) Elie Siegmeister, AMR is published in the Fall and Spring. Copyright 2008 by the H. Wiley as well as our continued