Ruth Schönthal facts for kids

Ruth Esther Hadassah Schonthal (born June 27, 1924, in Hamburg, Germany – died July 10, 2006, in Scarsdale, New York, United States) was a very talented pianist and composer. She started playing and writing music at a very young age. Her life journey took her across many countries, and she became known for her unique musical style. Ruth Schönthal taught music and wrote many different types of pieces, from operas to piano solos.

Ruth Schönthal's Early Life and Journey

Ruth Schonthal was born in Hamburg, Germany. Her parents were from Vienna. She began composing music when she was just five years old. She was so talented that she became the youngest student ever accepted at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin.

In 1935, Ruth and her family faced a difficult time. They had to leave Nazi Germany and move to Stockholm, Sweden. This was because they were Jewish, and the Nazi government was persecuting Jewish people.

In Stockholm, Ruth continued her music studies. She attended the Royal Academy of Music (RAM). When she was only fourteen, her first sonatina (a small sonata) was published. At RAM, she studied how to compose music with Ingemar Liljefors. She also learned piano from Olaf Wibergh.

Because of growing political problems, Ruth and her family had to move again. They traveled to many places, including the Soviet Union, Japan, and then Mexico City. In Mexico City, when she was 19, Ruth gave a very successful piano concert. She played her own compositions, including her First Piano Concerto. The famous German composer Paul Hindemith was in the audience. He was so impressed that he helped her get a scholarship to study with him at Yale University in 1946. Ruth was one of the few students who graduated from Yale's Conservatory with honors.

Life in America and Teaching Music

In 1950, Ruth Schonthal married a painter named Paul Seckel. They settled in New York City and later moved to New Rochelle, New York. She lived there for most of her life. One of her three sons is Al Seckel, who is known for his work on visual illusions.

Ruth Schonthal was asked to create music for many different projects. She wrote music for chamber groups (small groups of musicians), operas, and large orchestra pieces. She also wrote music for organ and piano.

She taught composition (how to write music) and music theory (the rules of music) at New York University (NYU). She taught there until 2006, when she had to stop due to her health. Ruth also gave private lessons in composition and piano. She was the first composition teacher for the American composer Lowell Liebermann. From 2003 to 2005, a student named Stephanie Germanotta studied with her. This student later became very famous in pop music as Lady Gaga.

Ruth used her music skills to support herself and her family. She wrote music for television shows and commercials. She also played the piano in different bars and clubs in New York.

Her music is performed often in the United States and other countries. It is especially well-known in her home country of Germany. Her music has been published by many companies and recorded on various music labels.

Ruth Schönthal's Musical Style

Ruth Schonthal's music is often described as "expressionist." This means it expresses strong emotions and ideas. Her musical forms (the way her pieces are structured) are very clever and original. She combined different musical techniques, both old and new, in her compositions. Her music often reflected the important issues of her time.

Being away from other composers of her time helped her develop a unique voice in her music. She created a style that came from classical and romantic music traditions. Her experiences studying music across different continents also helped make her music very diverse and interesting.

Awards and Honors

Ruth Schonthal received many awards for her musical achievements:

• In 1994, she won the Internationaler Kunstlerinnen Preis from the City of Heidelberg, Germany. An exhibition about her life and works was held at the Prinz Carl am Kommarkt Museum there.
• In the United States, she received several "Meet the Composer" grants.
• She also won awards from ASCAP, which is an organization that protects the rights of music creators.
• She received a Delta Omicron International award for her first string quartet.
• Yale University gave her a Certificate of Merit for her outstanding service to music.
• New York University honored her with an Outstanding Musician Award.
• Her opera, The Courtship of Camilla, was a finalist in the New York City Opera Competition.
• Her set of 24 preludes, called "In Homage of . . .", was a finalist in the Kennedy-Friedheim Competition.

Selected Musical Works

Here are some of the musical pieces Ruth Schonthal composed:

Opera

• The Courtship of Camilla (1979/80)
• Jocasta (1996/97)
• Princess Maleen (1988/89)

Orchestra

• Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.2 (1977)
• Evening Music, Nocturnal Fantasy with Oceanwaves
• Music for Horn and Chamber Orchestra (1978)
• The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez (1982, revised 1983)
• Soundtrack for a Dark Street (1994)
• 3 Celebrations "Happy Birthday Variations" for children's concerts
• The Young Dead Soldiers for choir and chamber orchestra (1987)

Chamber music

• Duo for clarinet or viola and cello (2002)
• Four Epiphanies for unaccompanied viola (1976)
• Improvisation for solo cello (1994)
• Sonata Concertante for cello or viola or clarinet and piano (1973)
• String Quartet No.1 (1962)
• String Quartet No.2 "in the Viennese Manner" (1983, revised 1996)
• String Quartet No.3 "In memoriam Holocaust" (1997)
• Tango for Two for clarinet and cello (2002)
• Two Duets for violin and viola (2002)

Piano/Harpsichord

• The Canticles of Hieronymus (1986)
• Fiestas y Danzas (1961)
• Fourteen Inventions (1984)
• From the Life of a Pious Woman (1999)
• Heidelberger Fanfare with Variations
• In Homage of ... (24 Preludes)
• Japanese Sketches, Book I (Junior), Book II (Lower Intermediate), Book III (Intermediate)
• Nachklange (Reverberations) (1967–74) for piano with added timbres
• Sonatensatz (1973)
• Sonata Breve (1973)
• Sonata quasi un 'Improvisazione' (1964)
• Sonatina in A (1939)
• Three Elegies (1982)
• Toccata and Arietta (1989)
• 65 Celebrations (1993/94)
• Gestures (1978/79), eleven short piano pieces
• Self-Portrait of the Artist as an Older Woman for piano (1991)
• Variations in Search of a Theme for piano (1974)
• Bird Calls (1981)
• Educational piano music (collections, grade 1-2)
• Miniatures, study and recital pieces for the Early Grades Vol.1, 2,3 for piano (grade 1-3)
• Potpourri/Minuscules for piano
• Near and Far (Adult beginners)
• Pentatonics for piano
• From North and South of the Border

Organ

• The Temptation of St. Anthony (1989/90)

See also

In Spanish: Ruth Schönthal para niños