JAVS Fall 2002

17

IN MEMORY OF ALAN SHULMAN (1915-2002)

by jay Shulman

Alan Shulman, composer of the Theme and Variations performed by so many violists, has died. American composer, cellist and arranger Alan Shulman died Wednesday, July 10, 2002, of com plications from a stroke at a nursing home in Hudson, New York. He was 87. Born in Baltimore, June 4, 1915, Shulman studied with Bart Wirtz (cello) and Louis Cheslock (harmony) at the Peabody Conservatory. In 1928 the family moved to Brooklyn where Alan played in the National Orchestral Association under Leon Barzin. He received a New York Philharmonic scholarship, studying cello with Joseph Emonts and harmony with Winthrop Sargent. From 1932 he attended the Juilliard School where he was a fel lowship student, studying cello with Felix Salmond and composition with Bernard Wagenaar. From 1935 to 1938 Alan Shulman was cellist of the Kreiner String Quartet. In 1938, with his brother Sylvan, a violinist, he founded the Stuyvesant String Quartet, which during the 1940s and 1950s was noted for performances and record ings of contemporary quartets of Bloch, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Malipiero, Hindemith and Kreisler, among others. They played the American premiere of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet and recorded it for Columbia Records. Alan Shulman was a charter member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Tosca nini in 1937-42, and in 1948-54. During the 1930s and 1940s he was also active as an arranger for Leo Reisman, Andre Kostalanetz, Arthur Fiedler, and Wilfred Pelletier's Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air. He continued his composi tion studies with Paul Hindemith, and cello stud ies with Emanuel Feuermann. Shulman's first successful composition was Theme and Variations for Viola and Orchestra, which received its premiere over NBC in 1941 with Emanuel Vardi as soloist. Chicago Symphony principal Milton Preves played the work often, and it is in the repertoire of most American viola soloists. He wrote several other viola works, includ

ing Suite for Solo Viola (1953) for Milton Preves, and the "second set" Variations for Viola, Harp and Strings (1984), first performed by Kathryn Plummer at the Viola Congress in 1987. It is pub lished by Piedmont/Presser. Alan Shulman was a founder of the Symphony of the Air (1954) and the Violoncello Society (1956), serving as President 1967-72. He was cel list of the Philharmonia Trio (1962-69) and of the Haydn Quartet (1972-82). Shulman's career was multifaceted, including writing popular songs with entertainer Steve Allen and arrangements for Skitch Henderson, Raoul Poliakin, and Felix Slatkin. During the 1960s and '70s, he was busy in the recording and television studios, and composed teaching material for piano and cello. Shulman taught cello at Sarah Lawrence College, Juilliard, SUNY-Purchase, Johnson State College (VT), and the University ofMaine. He was made a Chevalier du Violoncelle by the Eva Janzer Cello Center at Indiana University in 1997. Shulman was married to pianist Sophie Pratt Bostelmann (1916-1982). He is survived by his sons Jay Shulman, a cellist, and Marc Shulman, a guitarist; and daughters Laurie Shulman, a musi cologist and program annotator, and Lisa Shulman. Alan Shulman's works are published by Chappell/ Warner, Piedmont/Presser, Shawnee/Schirmer, Sam Fox, and Tatra/Jamax. Bridge Records will release an all-Shulman CD next month.

Alan Shulman website: http://www.capital.net/com/ggjj/shulman

Address inquiries to: Jay Shulman (518) 851-9791

Note: Alan Shulman, through his son Jay, donated the manuscripts of his original works for viola to PIVA. I~