Mandelbaum, (Mayer) Joel

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Mandelbaum, (Mayer) Joel

Mandelbaum, (Mayer) Joel, American composer; b. N.Y., Oct. 12, 1932. He studied with Piston at Harvard Univ. (B.A., 1953), with Fine and Shapero at Brandeis Univ. (M.F.A., 1955), and at Ind. Univ. (Ph.D., 1961, with the diss. Multiple Division of the Octave and the Tonal Resources of 19- tone Temperament); also studied with Dallapiccola at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and with Blacher at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. He held a Fulbright fellowship (1957) and was a fellow at the MacDowell Colony (1968). He taught at Queens Coll. of the City Univ. of N.Y. (from 1961), where he served as director of its Aaron Copland School of Music. Many of his compositions reflect his study of microtonal music and the utilization of the Scalatron, an instrument with a color-coordinated keyboard that can be rearranged into divisions of the octave up to and including 31 tones.

Works

dramatic opera: The Mar in the Man-made Moon (1955); The 4 Chaplains (1956); The Dybbuk (1971; rev. 1978). other: Light operas; musicals; incidental music; film scores. orch.:Convocation Overture (1951); Piano Concerto (1953); Sursum corda (1960); Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Horn, Violin, Cello, and Small Orch. (1962); Memorial for Strings (1965); Trumpet Concerto (1970). chamber:Moderato for Cello and Piano (1949); Flute Sonata (1950); Wind Quintet (1957); 2 string quartets (1959, 1979); Xenophony No. 1 for 3 Horns and Trombone (1966) and No. 2 for Violin, Cello, Double Bass, Wind Quintet, and Organ (1979); Romance for String Trio (1973); Fanfare for Brass (1974); 3 Tonal Studies for Large Chamber Ensemble (1979); Oboe Sonata (1981); Clarinet Sonata (1983). keyboard: Piano Sonata (1958); 9 Preludes in 19-tone temperament for 2 Specially Tuned Pianos (1961); 10 Studies for Fokker Organ based on the Conora Suler (1964); Moderato for 2 Pianos (1965); Allegro agitato for 2 Pianos (1979); 4 Miniatures in 31-tone temperament for Architone or Scalatron (1979). vocal: Mass for Men’s Voices and Organ (1954); choruses; songs.