Block: Works for Chamber Music

Friedrich Bloch (Frederick Block after immigrating to the USA) was born in Vienna in 1899. His father Sigmund supported music as a hobby but was opposed to it becoming a profession. His attitude changed when his son returned home unharmed at the end of World War I. His financial support enabled the young composer to study initially with the Czech composer Josef Bohuslav Foerster and then with Hans Gál at the University of Vienna. In the 1920s and 1930s, his success grew, and performances and broadcasts of his chamber music works led to orchestral premieres with the Vienna Symphonists and eventually to opera: His third, "Samum", was extremely successful. After the Anschluss, Jewish participation in Austrian institutions, professional life, and education came to an end, and those who could afford to leave were subject to a ruinous emigration tax. Frederick shipped his piano and personal belongings to New York and moved to London before emigrating in 1940. After his arrival in New York, his output remained high and included three symphonies, "Sunrise" for mixed choir and orchestra, an opera, "Esther", several collections of piano pieces, a Viennese Suite for string orchestra and piano, as well as a large number of suites, sonatas, and chamber music works. Not mentioned in his catalogue of works are over 70 piano transcriptions of major orchestral works by other composers, all published by New York publishers. He also composed and arranged music for radio, mainly for CBS. Tragically, he died of cancer at the age of 46.