Shapey: In His Own Voice

Abstract

Excerpted from a transcript of interviews with Ralph Shapey, this article reveals aspects of Shapey's strong personality and of his complex relationship with his teacher Stefan Wolpe. The article touches on Shapey's principal ideas as a composer: those derived from Wolpe and the ideas of Wolpe he rejected; and his concept of the ‘graven image’, derived from his perception of what was most effective in `all the old masters—Bach, Beethoven, Brahms'. More precise notation was developed to handle the rhythmic concepts that developed in the music of the 1950s. The centrality of Shapey's role as conductor of contemporary music in New York City during the late 1950s and early 1960s is made clear. Shapey also describes his approach to teaching composition, which emphasizes the integrity of abstract musical ideas.

Keywords:

• Marx, Josef
• Meyer, Leonard
• Nemiroff, Isaac
• Sauter, Eddie
• Schoenberg, Arnold
• Stravinsky, Igor

Notes

Wolpe arrived in the United State in the winter of 1938 according to an interview with Irma Wolpe Rademacher. The precise date is not available; Shapey's studies with Wolpe probably began in early 1939.

Shapey/Remembrances:[In the] late 1930s it was considered the preparatory school that led to the Curtis Institute [from] which, in turn, most of the instrumental players ended up in the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Sonate d'amour for violin and piano (1940).

The pianist, Irma Wolpe, was Wolpe's second wife. After their divorce in 1949, she married the mathematician Hans Rademacher.

According to Austin Clarkson, Wolpe edited the score in detail, provided an analytical commentary on the form, and even recopied six pages. The piece was performed at a ‘Class Demonstration of Original Works by Pupils of Stefan Wolpe and Piano Pupils of Irma Wolpe' at the Settlement Music Scholl on 28 May 1940. For further discussion, see the article by Austin Clarkson in this issue.

The score is dated 18 January 1949.

The Trilogy for orchestra consists of Ontogeny (1958), Invocation-Violin Concerto (1958) and Rituals (1959).

Composer (1912–1977), student of Wolpe, later professor at State University of New York-Stony Brook.

Josef Marx (1913–1978), oboist, student of Wolpe, founded McGinnis and Marx Publishing Co.

Friday, 22 May 1959.

Street Music: A Counter-Offering to the Musical Offerings of Ten Composers on My 60th Birthday, performed on 18 December 1962 at Carnegie Recital Hall, New York City.

13 May 1962, New School for Social Research, New York.

Piece for Oboe, Cello, Percussion and Piano (1954).

Chicago, 26 January 1968.

23 March 1968.

This is a reference to the Biblical commandment (Exodus 20/4–5): ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. … Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them.’

Shapey did write A Basic Course in Music Composition (Shapey, 2001).

11 March 1950, Composers' Forum Concert, McMillin Academic Theater, Columbia University, New York City.

Wolpe (1967[1959, as lecture]).

Shapey mentioned, above (on p. 420), without reference to ‘spasticity’, performances of Webern's music that emphasized detached note-to-note movements as having influenced Wolpe.

Meyer (1964, p. 237n).