Leni Alexander facts for kids

Leni Alexander (born June 8, 1924 – died August 7, 2005) was a talented composer from Germany and Chile. She created many different kinds of music.

Leni Alexander, whose full name was Helene Alexander Pollak, was born in Breslau, Germany (which is now Wrocław, Poland). Her family later moved to Hamburg. In 1939, they had to leave Germany and move to Chile to escape the Nazis.

Leni loved music from a young age. She learned to play the piano using the Montessori system, which is a special way of teaching. In 1942, she earned a diploma to teach music. She worked with young people and children with disabilities. During this time, she became very interested in writing her own music.

Between 1949 and 1953, she studied with famous composers like Fré Focke, Rene Leibowitz, and Olivier Messiaen. She also became friends with other important musicians like Bruno Maderna and Pierre Boulez in Europe.

From 1963 to 1968, Leni explored electronic music. She wrote several pieces using electronic sounds. In 1969, she received a special award called a Guggenheim Fellowship. This allowed her to live and work in cities like Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany, for several years.

Besides writing classical music and music for the stage, Leni Alexander also composed music for television shows, including soap operas. Later in her life, she created "hörspiel" pieces. These were like plays made just for listening, often broadcast on the radio. She made several of these for WDR Radio in Cologne.

Leni Alexander got married in Chile and had two sons and one daughter. She passed away in Santiago, Chile, on August 7, 2005.

Musical Works

Leni Alexander's music was mostly for instruments. Her pieces were performed by orchestras in many countries. These included Chile, Italy, France, and the United States.

Some of her well-known works include:

• String Quartet (1957)
• Cantata of death in the morning (1960)
• Aulicio
• Aulicio II
• Méralo for guitar (1972) (This piece was written for and first played by Leo Brouwer.)
• Ellos se perdieron en el espacio estrellado for orchestra (1975)
• Chacabuco: Ciudades fantasmas, a "hörspiel" (1994)
• Cuando aún no conocía tu nombre (1996)

See also

• In Spanish: Leni Alexander para niños