Leon Kirchner
with Mark Carrington
Boston, Mass.
September 3, 1981
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Side a: pp. 1-15
Birth in Brooklyn, childhood in the Bronx‑‑family background‑‑encouraged by mother to take piano lessons‑‑father's embroidery shop‑‑move to Los Angeles at age nine‑-impressions of the United States from cross‑country train trip‑‑lack of piano from age nine to fourteen‑‑cultural atmosphere of Los Angeles during high school years‑-Klemperer‑‑Schoenberg‑‑resumption of piano playing‑‑pre‑med studies at Los Angeles City College‑‑reading Russian authors‑‑writing short stories‑‑Leonard Stein, Cycler, Klaussen, Decker, Gerald Strang at L.A. City College‑‑meeting Ernst Toch through teacher John Crown.
Side b: pp. 15-31
Impression of first meeting with Decker‑‑Raymond Scout‑‑writing about Albert Elkus and Edward Strickland for book on University of California‑‑mediocrity in the university‑‑disturbed by Dika Newlin's book about Schoenberg‑‑Schoenberg's class‑-understanding Schoenberg's criticism‑‑transfer from UCLA to Berkeley‑‑playing record of Sessions' Second Piano Sonata for Schoenberg and Schoenberg's reaction to it‑-Ernest Bloch‑‑Elliott Carter‑‑incident in class with Bloch.
Side c: pp. 31-49
Continuation of Bloch's reaction to student works‑‑Bloch's writings about his students‑‑attempts to apologize for missing Bloch's class‑‑Bloch's teaching techniques‑‑Bloch's photographs‑‑anecdote about Steiglitz‑‑meeting Hindemith‑‑Lukas Foss‑‑studying with Roger Sessions‑‑Arthur Schnabel‑‑phone call to Schnabel after Serkin concert‑‑first meeting with Schnabel on subway‑‑later meeting‑‑weekly sessions with Schnabel.
Side d: pp. 49-65
Considering career as pianist or conductor‑‑Harvard Chamber Orchestra and Friends‑-difference between today's great conductors and those of the past‑‑piano playing of Glenn Gould‑‑Rudolf Serkin‑‑lectureship at Berkeley in '47‑‑request by Sessions not to take job at Stanford‑‑Guggenheim Fellowship‑‑judgment by Sessions of Kirchner's Duo‑‑conducting chorus for Sessions‑‑Sessions' confidence in his ability‑‑influence of Sessions on his writing‑‑effect of failure of Lily‑‑break in composing‑‑lack of belief in himself‑‑Berlioz, Bruckner‑‑doing Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements‑-understanding last movement of Bruckner's Sixth Symphony‑‑appreciation of quality and value of talent‑‑breakdown in understanding of art object because of identification by language of what is in a work‑‑Isaiah Berlin‑‑words about art replacing art itself‑-Harold Schonberg and the New York Times reviews‑‑Aaron Copland‑‑John Cage.
Side e: pp. 65-80
Aaron Copland‑‑Duo marks first piece with individual stamp‑‑no revision‑‑experience of not recognizing own piece at first‑‑hostility to music of fiftiess and sixties‑‑composers as performers and vice versa in previous centuries‑‑amateurs reading scores as opposed to listening to recordings in earlier times‑‑Mozart and physicality of music‑-Schoenberg on Shostakovich and Gershwin‑‑Rosen‑‑explication of symbols of music without act of composing misses many parameters‑‑three levels‑-explication, composing, performing‑‑system of observations changes as one sees or experiences new level‑act of art presents very complex experiences‑‑Schoenberg and music analysis‑-abilty to reveal music taught by Schoenberg‑‑difference between students at Harvard and UCLA.
Side f: pp. 81-95
Effect of teaching on composing‑‑advice to students not to teach‑‑the ghetto of the university‑‑Meet the Composer‑‑NEA panel‑‑Lily‑‑weight of New York Times reviews‑-establishment of performance course at Harvard‑‑works he feels represent him very well‑‑importance of being technologically alert‑‑Cage and silence‑‑lack of proper rehearsal time for Lily.
AMERICAN MUSIC SERIES 23 k-n
Leon Kirchner
with Vivian Perlis
Cambridge, Massachusetts
February 14, 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Side k pp. 1-12
Orchestration--Shostakovich’s orchestration--Schoenberg’s comments on Shostakovich--encounter with Shostakovich at the University of California--Shostakovich and the Harvard Chamber Players--“Of things exactly as they are”--Klemperer--Leon Fleischer and Klemperer--poetry for “Of things exactly as they are”--Robinson Jeffers, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Wallace Stevens-- “The Cage” of Charles Ives--more on poetry--permission to use the poetry.
Side l pp. 12-24
Copland/Perlis autobiography--Eric Salzman--Kirchner’s aneurysm--Levine and the Met Orchestra--Second Piano Trio--break from composing--Leinsdorf and Schoenberg--Henry Clay Shriver--Schoenberg and Webern--Krasner--compositional development--knowledge of the past.
Side m pp. 24-43
electronics and music--experiences with Lily--recordings of Kirchner’s works--new commissions--teaching--Leonard Bernstein--relationship with Artur Schnabel--teaching at Juilliard--composing for Yo-Yo Ma
Side n pp. 43-49
Kirchner’s family--Music for Orchestra I and II--Leonard Bernstein and Birthday Divertimento--Syoko Aki and Broadus Earle--Composer’s convocation at Yale with Penderecki--Jacob Druckman.