Ernst Toch (German:[ˈtɔχ]; 7 December 1887 – 1 October 1964) was an Austrian composer of European classical music and film scores, who from 1933 worked as an émigré in Paris, London and New York. He sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music.
Toch was born inLeopoldstadt, Vienna, into the family of a humbleJewish leather dealer[1] when the city was at its 19th-century cultural zenith. He studied philosophy at theUniversity of Vienna, medicine atHeidelberg and music at theHoch Conservatory (1909–1913) in Frankfurt.[2] His main instrument was the piano, and he was a pianist of considerable stature, performing to acclaim throughout much of western Europe. Much of his writing was intended for the piano.
Toch continued to grow as an artist and composer throughout his adult life, and in America came to influence whole new generations of composers. His first compositions date from c. 1900 and were pastiches in the style ofMozart (quartets, 1905 album verses for piano). His first quartet was performed inLeipzig in 1908, and his sixth (Opus 12, 1905) in the year 1909. In 1909, his Chamber Symphony in F major (written 1906) won the Frankfurt/Main Mozart prize. From this time onwards, Toch dedicated himself to being a full-time composer. He won theMendelssohn prize for composition in 1910. In 1913, he was appointed lecturer of both piano and composition at the College of Music in Mannheim. After winning a further five major prizes for his works, he served four years in the army on the Italian Front duringWorld War I. In 1916, he married Lilly Zwack, the daughter of a banker.
After World War I, he returned toMannheim to compose, developing a new style of polyphony. He received his Ph.D. degree from Heidelberg University in 1921. He then taught on the faculty of theMannheim Conservatory where one of his pupils wasHugo Chaim Adler.
Toch wrote eight string quartets before the war and five afterwards. No 9 (1919) marked a significant stylistic change, shifting from the influence of Brahms towards a more radical, extended tonality and linear development. During the 1920s Toch was considered one of the great avant-garde composers. His work during that decade included the Cello Concerto (1925) and the humorousBunte Suite (1929), but also two short operas,Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse (1927) andEgon und Emilie (1928), notable examples of the short-livedZeitoper genre. These led him towards the full-length three act operaDer Fächer of 1930.That year he also invented "Gesprochene Musik," the idiom of the "spoken chorus", a technique used in his most performed work,Fuge aus der Geographie, which he himself regarded as an unimportant diversion.[3]
Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse (The Princess and the Pea), Op. 43 (1927) (pub. 1927) Musical fairy tale in one act; text afterH. C. Andersen byBenno Elkan; English and German versions exist
Egon und Emilie (Edgar and Emily), Op. 46 (c. 1928) (pub. 1938) Chamber opera in one act; "Not a family drama" (Kein Familiendrama); text byChristian Morgenstern; English and German versions exist
Der Fächer (The Fan), Op. 51 (1929 or 1930) (pub. 1930) Opera-capriccio in three acts; text byFerdinand Lion.Der Fächer was rediscovered and produced for the first time since the 1930s by theBielefeld Opera conducted byGeoffrey Moull in 1995.[5]
Scheherazade: The Last Tale (Das letzte Märchen), Op. 88 (1962) (pub. 1965) Opera in one act; text byMelchior Lengyel, English translation by Cornel Lengyel[6]
An mein Vaterland (To My Fatherland), Op. 23 (1913) (Unpublished) for large orchestra, organ, solo soprano, mixed chorus & boys’ chorus
Gesprochene Musik (Speaking Music), (1930). Only No. 1 of 3 published:
Geographical Fugue, for speaking chorus (1930) (pub. 1950) No. 1 of 3 fromGesprochene Musik
Der Tierkreis (The Zodiac), for women's chorus (1930) (Nos. 1 and 2 pub. 1930; No. 3 unpublished)
Das Wasser (The Water), Cantata after a text by A. Döblin, Op. 53 (1930) (pub. 1930) for tenor, baritone, narrator, chorus, flute, trumpet, percussion & strings
Cantata of the Bitter Herbs, Op. 65 (1938) (pub.?) for solo soprano, alto, tenor & baritone, narrator, chorus & orchestra
Ich wollt, ich wär ein fisch (I wish I were a fish), for high voice & piano (1920) (Unpublished)
Die chinesische Flöte (The Chinese Flute), Op. 29 (1922) (pub. 1923) for soprano, 2 flutes, clarinet, bass clarinet, percussion, celesta & strings. Exists in German and English versions
Nine Songs for Soprano and Piano, Op. 41 (1926) (pub. 1928). Exists in German and English versions
Music for Orchestra and Baritone, Op. 60 (1931) (pub. 1932)
Chansons sans paroles, for voice and piano (1940) (Unpublished)
Poems to Martha, for medium voice & string quartet (1942) (pub. 1943)
There Is a Season for Everything, for mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, violin & cello (c. 1953) (pub. 1953)
Vanity of Vanities, for soprano, tenor, flute, clarinet, violin, viola & cello (1954) (pub.?)
Lange schon haben meine Freunde versucht (My friends have long tried), for soprano & baritone (1958) (Unpublished)
Im fernen Osten (In the Far East) (radio play), for flute, 2 trumpets in C, mandolin, guitar, 2 violins, viola, cello, percussion, chorus & male solo voice (1931)
Die Heilige von U.S.A. (The Saint of the U.S.A.) (stage play), for wind ensemble, percussion, piano, harmonium, alto solo & chorus (1931)
König Ödipus (Oedipus Rex) (radio play), for 2 clarinets, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, percussion & strings (1931)
^Theater in Bielefeld 1975–1998, Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld, Redaktion Heidi Wiese, Heiner Bruns, Alexander Gruber, Fritz Stockmeier 1998,ISBN3-933040-03-5
^Toch, Ernst: "The Shaping Forces in Music", pg. 240–257, Dover Publications, Inc., 1977, Library of Congress: 76-9950, Checklist of Compositions by Lawrence Weschler
Jung, Hermann, ed. (2007).Spurensicherung: Der Komponist Ernst Toch (1887–1964) — Mannheimer Emigrantenschicksale. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.ISBN978-3-631-57400-3.
Weschler, Lawrence (1974).Ernst Toch, 1887–1964: A Biographical Essay Ten Years After His Passing. UCLA, Los Angeles.
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