PSU at center of composer Ernest Bloch remembrance

By AARON PEARLMAN

article created on: 2009-05-28T00:00:00

In a crowded Northwest Portland living room, 50 people gather to hear a discussion about the 18th century Jewish mystic the Ba’al Shem Tov and hear a recital including Ernest Bloch’s “Ba’al Shem Suite.” It is a friend-raiser for the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies at Portland State University, but just the beginning of a year-long commemoration on the 50th anniversary of the death of Ernest Bloch.

Ernest Bloch—often called the fourth “B” of classical music after Bach, Beethoven and Brahms—lived the last several years of his life in Agate Beach.

He was born July 24, 1880, in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to being a prolific composer, Bloch was a lifelong music educator. He lectured at the Geneva Conservatory of Music and the David Mannes School of Music in New York. He became the director of the Cleveland Institute of Music and moved west to direct the San Francisco Conservatory of Music before accepting an endowed professorship at the University of California, Berkeley.

On a trip to Oregon, Bloch became entranced by the the Oregon coast. In 1941 he purchased a home above the Pacific at Agate Beach, now a part of Newport in Lincoln County. It was here that Bloch lived in the only home he owned and where he composed most of the works he created in the United States, about one-third of his total repertoire.

Bloch composed until nearly the day he died, July 15, 1959, in Portland.

Ernest Bloch II, Bloch’s grandson who lives in Portland, is a committee member of the International Jubilee Festival—a worldwide celebration of Ernest Bloch’s works commemorating the 50th anniversary of his death—organized by the Ernest Bloch Legacy Foundation of Newport.

The younger Bloch is also part of a local ad-hoc committee, organizing events over the coming year to honor his grandfather. He said, “It is gratifying to see evolving a concerted effort to have Bloch studied and performed by younger musicians, heard by younger audiences.”

In the Portland area, PSU is promoting and organizing events in honor of the composer. The Schnitzer Program in Judaic Studies and the Department of Music have teamed up to bring world-renowned Bloch scholar Alex Knapp—an emeritus lecturer in Music at the University of London—to Portland this June and July.

Professor Michael Weingrad of the Schnitzer Program said, “Bloch’s genius is paradigmatic for modern Jewish creativity, and so I’m thrilled at our participation in this celebration.  Dr. Knapp is both an international authority on Ernest Bloch and an expert in Jewish ethnomusicology.  His lectures will discuss the long history of Jewish music, the ways in which Bloch’s music may be situated in that context and the ways in which he transcends any single cultural framework.”

Knapp will teach a course at PSU that is open to the public. It comprises eight lectures on Jewish music, the final two focusing on Bloch’s life and musical influence. Knapp also will visit Bloch’s Agate Beach home for a lecture on the July 15 anniversary of the composer’s death, and will give a lecture in Ashland with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

PSU Department of Music Chair Professor Bryan Johanson said his department will commemorate Bloch by having every music student learn Bloch pieces as their “set” pieces in the coming academic year, leading to many opportunities to hear Bloch’s music. Johanson said, “Knowing that our primary mission is educational, we have planned our involvement with Bloch’s music first as an educational tool, and second through the performance of his music.”

Similar efforts are under way at the University of California, at Berkeley, San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. “These separate and yet consistent efforts are essential to insuring Bloch’s legacy continues for many generations to come,” said Ernie Bloch II.

The list of other Oregon-based organizations participating in the jubilee include Chamber Music Northwest, the Britt Festivals in Jacksonville and Classical 89.9 FM in Portland, all of whom will focus attention on Bloch and his Oregon connections during the summer of 2009.

The Oregon Jewish Museum will present an exhibit of Bloch photographs for fall 2010.

“I am very impressed by the international flavor of the Bloch festivities over the next year. Performances of Bloch’s music are happening in over 23 countries. We are proud at PSU to be a piece of the commemoration of this influential musician with strong ties in Oregon,” said Johanson.

A full slate of all Bloch related events worldwide can be found at ernestbloch.org.

PSU Summer Course with Alexander Knapp:
Register at: summer.pdx.edu/
Jewish Music - Mus 199/399 (2 credits)
M,W, 7- 9:20 p.m., June 15-22
Room XSB 001
Non-credit course number is Mus 099
Non-credit Fee: $100
The final two sessions on July 13 & 15 will focus on Ernest Bloch.
Link: judaic.pdx.edu/osjs/courses09.php
“Sacred Service” Selections; Portland State Chamber Choir; Lake Grove
8 p.m.

• June 5, Admission Free
Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, 4040 Sunset Drive, Lake Oswego
Presented by Portland State University
Link: music.pdx.edu/musicnews/index.html.
“Concerto Grosso No. 2,” Lincoln City
7 p.m.

• June 26
Little Chapel By the Sea, 2125 SE Lee St., Lincoln City
Presented by Soundwaves
Yacov Bergman conducts “Concerto Grosso No. 2” for solo string quartet
and string orchestra commemorating
the 50th anniversary of the death of Ernest Bloch.
Bloch’s “MacBeth,” Pre-performance Lecture by Alexander Knapp, Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Noon

• June 27
Ashland
Presented by Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Alexander Knapp will present a lecture: “Macbeth’s Line is a Gigantic Crescendo; Lady Macbeth’s is a Diminuendo: The Fusion of Music and Psychology in Bloch’s Opera of 1910.”
From Jewish Life, Three Sketches for Cello and Piano, CMNW, Portland
8 p.m.

• July 11
Kaul Auditorium, Reed College
Presented by Chamber Music Northwest.
Link: cmnw.org/09eventDetail_5.php?event_ID=120&performance_ID=173
Emigrés to America” spotlights five pillars of early 20th century music, all of whom moved from Europe to America during or before World War II: Bartok, Bloch, Korngold, Kreisler and Schoenberg.
Knapp Lecture in Newport
July 15, time TBA
For information, e-mail Frank Geltner at fgeltner@coastarts.org
Alexander Knapp will lecture at the former Ernest Bloch home in Newport on the 50th anniversary of Bloch’s death.
“Baal Shem,” Chamber Music Northwest Portland
8 p.m.

• July 25
4 p.m.

• July 26
Reed College, Kaul Auditorium, Portland
Presented by Chamber Music Northwest.
Link: cmnw.org/09eventDetail_5.php?event_ID=127&performance_ID=184
Festival Season Finale.  Chamber Music Northwest with Elmar Oliveira and a chamber ensemble (octet).  Musical conversation at 7 p.m.
“Schelomo,” Alisa Weilerstein-Cellist, Britt Festival, Jacksonville
8 p.m.

• July 31
Britt Pavilion, Jacksonville
Presented by Britt Classical Festival
Link: brittfest.org/performances/orchestra-weilerstein
Alisa Weilerstein will play “Schelomo” at the opening performance of the Britt Classical Festival.
For more information on upcoming events, visit ernestbloch.org
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