Israel Citkowitz
Israel Citkowitz | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Skierniewice, Poland |
| Died | May 4, 1974 (aged 65) Westminster, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, composer, educator, critic |
Israel Citkowitz (February 6, 1909 – May 4, 1974) was an American pianist, composer, educator, and critic originally from Poland.
Early life
Citkowitz was born into a Jewish household in Skierniewice, Poland, and relocated to the United States at the age of three. He was the firstborn of two siblings to parents Ida Frankon and Abraham Citkowitz. During his teenage years, he studied composition under Aaron Copland and Roger Sessions, and subsequently refined his expertise in counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger while in Paris.
Career
Between 1927 and 1929, Citkowitz was connected with Shakespeare and Company. Throughout the 1930s, he contributed music critiques to publications such as Modern Music and Musical Mercury, including the pioneering English-language overview of Heinrich Schenker's analytical theories entitled The Role of Heinrich Schenker.
In 1939, he commenced teaching counterpoint and composition at New York City's Dalcroze School of Music. His teaching repertoire featured compositions like Song Cycle to Words of Joyce, a String Quartet, and the choral work The Lamb. Among his distinguished pupils were English composer Leo Smith and American conductor Richard Kapp.
Apart from music, Citkowitz also wrote poetry, producing pieces such as Autumn and The Prodigals of Summer.
Discography
- But Yesterday Is Not Today (1977). New World Records — NW 243
- Modern America Art Songs (date unknown). New Editions (2) — NE 2
Personal life
On September 15, 1935, Citkowitz wed Helen Margaret Simon in Manhattan, New York. The couple had two children before their divorce in 1948. Following this, he resided in his studio located in Carnegie Hall.
He married Lady Caroline Blackwood—an English author and Guinness heiress—on August 15, 1959; she was twenty-two years younger. They had three daughters: Natalya, Eugenia, and Ivana (born after their separation). Their marriage ended in divorce in 1972. Subsequent revelations disclosed that Ivana Lowell’s biological father was Blackwood’s partner at the time, screenwriter Ivan Moffat. Tragically, Natalya passed away at age seventeen in 1978 due to drug-related postural asphyxia.
Death
Citkowitz passed away on May 4, 1974, at his residence in Westminster, London, where he had been living for five years. He was sixty-five years old.