Composer
Biography:
Ernst Toch, born on December 7, 1887 as the son of a Jewish merchant in Vienna, taught himself early on the basics of music and composition and primarily wrote chamber music. With the premiere of his 6. String Quartet The music of the only seventeen-year-old became known in Vienna through the world-famous Rosé Quartet.
Despite the success, Toch enrolled at the University of Vienna not for music but for medicine. After receiving the Mozart Prize from the City of Frankfurt (1909), Toch gave up his medical studies and studied piano and composition in Frankfurt. In 1912 he became a lecturer at the Mannheim Music Academy, where he taught composition and music theory until 1928. He received his doctorate in 1921 with the thesis "Contributions to the stylistics of melody" at the University of Heidelberg.
In 1929 Toch moved to Berlin. Concerts by Erich Kleiber with the Theater Suite made his music popular in America from 1932. At the invitation of Serge Koussevitzky, Toch performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra 1st Piano Concerto followed by a tour of the United States.
When the NSDAP took power in January 1933, Toch was in Florence. From there he emigrated to London and in 1934 to New York, where he taught at the New School for Social Research. In 1936 he became professor of composition and music theory at the University of Southern California in Santa Monica. In 1940 he became a US citizen.
Toch was not able to reestablish his position as a composer in Europe (like many other emigrants after the forced long absence), success was limited to America. In 1957 he received the Pulitzer Prize for his 3rd Symphony and a Grammy Award (1960).
Ernst Toch died on October 1, 1964 in Santa Monica (California).
Albums:
Concerto in one movement – Concerto for cello and chamber orchestra:
