Alexander, Leni (1924–)

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Alexander, Leni (1924–)

German-born Chilean composer. Born June 8, 1924, in Breslau, Germany (today Wroclaw, Poland).

Lived in Hamburg, Germany, until 1939 when forced by Nazi persecution to flee with family to Chile; continued musical studies in Santiago, concentrating on piano and cello; began to study composition (1949); became Chilean citizen (1952); studied in France and Italy (1954–55) with such composers as René Leibowitz, Olivier Messiaen, Luigi Nono, and Bruno Maderna; as a modernist, did not expect her compositions to become popular, but many of them gained her respect from fellow composers and small but growing circles of listeners.

See also Women in World History.

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Alexander, Leni (1924–)

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