Rudolph Ganz: A Musical Pioneer

by Jeanne Colette Collester

Overview

Rudolph Ganz (1877-1972) was an eminent musician and a champion of modern music. Throughout his long and prolific career as a pianist, conductor, composer, and educator, this Swiss/American musician represented an incomparable link between the old and new. Personal recollections included Liszt and Brahms and friendships with Busoni, Paderewski, Schweitzer, Toscanini, Theodore Thomas, Rachmaninoff, and Bartok. Ravel, Griffes, and Tcherepnin, among others, dedicated important compositions to him. His programs frequently offered first performances of contemporary music. As late as 1962, at age 85, Ganz continued to pioneer new music at the First International Webern Festival.

This first biography of Rudolf Ganz not only fills an important and missing gap in the history of the "golden age" of pianism, but provides the first balanced appraisal of Ganz's tenure as conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (1921-27). The author also traces Ganz's role as one of America's most imaginative and influential music educators. As conductor of the children and young people's concerts in St. Louis (1922-27), New York (1939-48), San Francisco (1939-48),and Chicago (1944-46), Ganz was responsible for introducing American youth to classical music during the early decades of this century. He extended his influence in education as president of the Chicago Musical College (1934-54) and a member of its faculty (1900-05 and 1928-69). The biography is illustrated and includes extensive endnotes and appendixes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810828834
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/01/1995
Pages:	211
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Jeanne Colette Collester (M.Ed., Miami University of Ohio; MA, Washington University, St. Louis) is the step-daughter of Rudolph Ganz. She is Associate Professor and Chair of Art History, Principia College, Elsah, Illinois. In 1988 she published Frederick Oakes Sylvester: The Principia Collection, a monograph on the turn-of-the-century St. Louis artist. In addition to teaching, she co-directs a number of art history programs in Europe, including an art history/music program which travels to London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Munich, and Vienna.

Editorial Reviews

This is more than an affectionate portrait of a remarkable music man. It is a thoughtful reflection on Rudi Ganz, whose ebullient spirit at times concealed his true genius. It is also an exciting tale of the creative artists he knew who changed 20th century music forever.

Studs Terkel

In its careful chronology of an extraordinary life and in its many in-depth quotations from the subject himself, this long overdue book on Rudolph Ganz is much more than just a history and a memoir; it is a guidepost for anyone seriously interested in music at any level. The perception, wisdom, teachings, humor, and above all, the humanity of Ganz shine through in every page and serve to remind us of the richness of the music and of life itself.

Norman Pellegrini

...this fluidly written book gives an outstanding impression of a remarkable artist's career.

Journal Of Police Crisis Negotiations

...Collester writes with order, sequence, and timely explanations of terms, social conditions, and even architecture, bringing Ganz's world to life....

Clavier

For those who care about music in Chicago, in America, and everywhere else in the Western world, his legacy as a man and artist remains.

Bernard Jacobson

All but eclipsed in many history books by his media-nurtured colleagues, Rudolph Ganz was one of the most energetic and innovative educator/conductor/composer/performers of his time. Those of us who knew him in his years as genial patriarch of the Chicago scene have long wished for his story to be told. His stepdaughter, Jeanne Colette Collester, has finally set his impressive record straight with a biography that is neither psychbabble nor gush. Admirers and new friends alike are in her debt.

Thomas Willis

Superb pianist, conductor, composer, and teacher, Rudi Ganz was above all a warm and delightful man, a true homo universalis, a renaissance man. He is brilliantly captured by his stepdaughter, Jean Colette Collester, in this fine book.

Norman Ross

It is packed with the kind of information scholars need...but the warmth and intelligence of the man emerges, whether the topic is his lifelong interest in new music, his uncanny skill with young audiences, or his Chicago friendships.

Chicago Sun-Times

It is packed with the kind of information scholars need...but the warmth and intelligence of the man emerges, whether the topic is his lifelong interest in new music, his uncanny skill with young audiences, or his Chicago friendships.

Chicago Sun-Times

A biography of the Swiss/American musician. Appraises Ganz's tenure as conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra between 1921 and 1927, and traces his role as one of America's influential music educators. Includes many tables on composers' nationalities and season programs for the symphony under Ganz, plus a discography. Contains b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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