Bernhard Heiden

Bernhard Heiden
(b Frankfurt am Main, 24 Aug 1910; d Bloomington, IN, 30 April 2000). American composer of German birth.

He studied with Hindemith at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1929–33) and in 1935 moved to the USA. In 1941 he became a naturalized American. He studied musicology with Grout at Cornell University (MA 1946). Later that year he was appointed to the music school of Indiana University, eventually becoming professor of music and chair of the composition department; in 1981 he became professor emeritus. He was the recipient of many awards and commissions, among them a Guggenheim fellowship (1966–7) and an NEA grant (1976).

Heiden's music is neo-classical in its formal structure, the early works portraying the influence of his teacher, Hindemith. Strongly polyphonic in texture, his prolific output, especially in the genre of chamber music, demonstrates a mastery of sonorous balance and effective instrumentation. He made an important contribution to the solo sonata and concerto repertories, writing for many relatively-neglected instruments like the horn, tuba and viola. His Sonata for viola and piano (1969) is intensely lyrical, with clear contrapuntal writing and chromatic melodies. The Sinfonia for wind quintet (1949), a staple of the woodwind repertory, employs modal harmonies, accentuated by the lyrical shapes of his melodic lines and sonorous voicings. In his vocal music the melodies are often free and daring (as in the Sonnets), while never obliterating the text. Unlike other composers, he did not take part in the postwar avant-garde movement but remained true to his own musicality.