Richard Hoffmann (composer, 1925)
Richard Hoffmann (born 20 April 1925 in Vienna, Austria) is an American composer, musicologist and educator. He served many years as a professor at Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Early life 

Hoffmann was born on April 20, 1925 in Vienna, Austria; the son of Richard and Emanuela Hoffmann. In 1935 the family emigrated to New Zealand, where Hoffmann subsequently received a Bachelor of Music degree, from the University of New Zealand in 1945.

Hoffmann went on to the USA in 1947, primarily to study composition with Arnold Schoenberg (1948-1951). At the same time he also became Schoenberg's secretary and amanuensis.

Musical style 
About the String Trio, which was begun in 1961 (Altmünster, Austria) and, after approximately a year's interruption, completed in 1963 (Los Angeles, California) the composer wrote:

Teaching career 

Hoffmann began his career as a professor at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1954, where he worked until 2004. He was a visiting professor at the University of California in Berkeley from 1965 to 1966, at Victoria University in 1968, at Harvard University in 1970, at the University of Iowa in 1976 and at Vienna University in 1984.

Achievements 

Hoffmann received awards from the Fromm Music Foundation Commission in 1960 and National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1966. Also he was given a grant from National Education Association in 1976, 1978-1979 and Fulbright Foundation in 1984-1985.

Personal life 

On December 21, 1957 Richard Hoffmann married Joan Alfhild Flint. They have 3 children, Paul, Anna and Peter.

Compositions 

 Orchestral

Prelude and Double Fugue, strings, 1944
Violin Concerto, 1948
Orchestral Piece, 1952
Piano Concerto, 1953-4 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
Cello Concerto, 1956-9 - Mobart Music Publications MOB 8540/Schott
Orchestral Piece [no. 2], 1961, publ. Universal Edition, London (1963), UE13635LW
Music for Strings, for solo violin and string orchestra, 1970-71 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
Souffleur, for symphony orchestra without conductor, 1975-6

 Vocal

3 Songs (R.M. Rilke), 1948
3 Songs (Rilke, J. Haringer), S. pf, 1950
2 Songs (M. Maeterlink, E. St Vincent Millay), S, pf, 1953-4
Mutterauge (trad,), chorus, 1956
Memento mori (grave stone inscriptions), men's 48vv, tape, 1966-9
Les adieux (R. Hoffmann), chorus, orch, 1980-3
2 Poems (A. Giraud), 1v. fl + pic, b cl, von, va, vc, pf, 1986
Lacrymosa '91 (H. Heine), chorus, orch, 1990
2 Songs (F. Rückert, Heine), S, str trio, percussion, 1990 [arr. chamber orchestra, 1991]
Die Heimkehr (G. Trakl), 1v, double chorus, orch, 1997

 Chamber and solo

String Quartet no. 1, 1947
Trio, violin, bass clarinet, piano, 1948
Duo, viola and cello, 1949 - Mobart Music Publications MOB 8550/Schott
Duo, violin and piano, 1949, rev. 1965 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
Piano Quartet, 1950
String Quartet no. 2, 1950
Tripartita, solo violin, 1950
String Trio, 1961-63
Decadanse, for clarinet, bass clarinet, trumpet, trombone, violin, double bass, and percussion, 1972 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
String Quartet no. 3 'on revient toujours', 1972-4 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
Changes, for two sets of chimes, four players, 1974 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
Notturno [String Quartet no. 5], double string quartet, 1995
String Quartet no. 6 'Anbruch-Einbruch-Abbruch', 1999

 Keyboard

Sonata, piano, 1945-6
3 Small Pieces, piano, 1947
Fantasy and Fugue in Memoriam Arnold Schoenberg, organ, 1951 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
Variations no. 1, piano, 1951
Sonatina, piano, 1952
Passacaglia, organ, 1953 - Mobart Music Publications/Schott
Variations no. 2, piano, 1959 - Mobart Music Publications MOB 8585/Schott
MONO/POLY, piano, 1994 (first performance Pasadena, 13 September 1994, by Leonard Stein)

 Electroacoustic

In memoriam patris, tape, 1976
String Quartet no.4 '(scordatura - trompe l'oreille)', string quartet, computer, 1977–78

Writings 

 Hoffmann, Richard, "Webern: Six Pieces, op. 6, 1909", Perspectives of New Music 6 (1967-8)
 Schoenberg, Arnold, Von heute auf morgen, op. 32, herausgegeben von Richard Hoffmann, unter Mitarbeit von Werner Bittinger. Mainz: B. Schott's Söhne; Wien: Universal Edition, 1970.