Humel, Gerald

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Humel, Gerald

Humel, Gerald, American composer; b. Cleveland, Nov. 7, 1931. He studied at Hofstra Univ. in N.Y. (B.A., 1954), the Royal Coll. of Music in London (A.R.C.M., 1956), the Oberlin (Ohio) Coll. Cons, of Music (M.M., 1958), and the Univ. of Mich, in Ann Arbor (1958–60); in 1960 he went to Berlin, where he took private lessons with Blacher and Rufer. His music at first maintained a median line of cosmopolitan modernism, in a neo-Classical direction, but gradually he became oriented toward dodecaphonic techniques.

Works

dramatic: Opera: The Proposal (1949); The Triangle (Oberlin, Nov. 14, 1958). Ballet: Devil’s Dice (1957); 1st Love (1965); Herodias (1967). ORCH.: Flute Concerto (1964); Chamber Concerto for Horn, Piano, and Strings (1966); Concerto for Wind Orch. (1968); Flashes for Chamber Ensemble (1968); Fantasie for 2 Flutes, Cello, and Piano (1968); Lepini (1977). CHAMBER: Duo for Viola and Cello (1964); Cello Sonata (1967); 2 sonatas for Solo Viola (1967, 1968); Clarinet Sonata (1968).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire