Jeanne Behrend

thumb|Jeanne Behrend

'''Jeanne Behrend''' (11 May 1911 – 20 March 1988) was an American pianist, music educator, musicologist and composer.

==Life== Jeanne Behrend was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the Curtis Institute in 1934, where she studied piano with Josef Hofmann and composition with Rosario Scalero. She made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1922 and at Carnegie Hall in 1937, playing one of her own compositions.<ref name=obit>{{citation |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/15/obituaries/jeanne-behrend-76-a-pianist-specialized-in-music-of-americas.html|title=Jeanne Behrend, 76, a Pianist; Specialized in Music of Americas|author=Rockwell, John|work=The New York Times|date=15 April 2008|accessdate=8 May 2014}}</ref>

After completing her education, Behrend worked as a pianist and composer and taught music at Curtis Institute of Music,<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Hostetter |first=Elizabeth A. |title=Jeanne Behrend: Pioneer Performer of American. Music, Pianist, Teacher, Musicologist, and Composer|url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/140ff2f8ed76f8a7398081417b1ba294/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |degree=Doctor of Musical Arts |date=August 1990 |publisher=Arizona State University}}</ref> Juilliard, the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, and Temple University.<ref>{{cite book |title=Notes of a pianist|first1=Louis Moreau|last1=Gottschalk|first2=Jeanne|last2=Behrend|date=2006}}</ref> Becoming aware of the lack of opportunity for American composers, she became a champion of American music and concentrated on her career as a performer.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Guide to Piano Music by Women Composers: Women born after 1900|author=Dees, Pamela Youngdahl|year= 2004}}</ref>

Behrend edited a selection of Louis Moreau Gottschalk piano scores and his autobiography, ''Notes of a Pianist.'' She also edited a collection of Stephen Foster songs and one of American fuguing tunes. She married twice. Her first husband, pianist Alexander Kelberine died in 1940, and her second husband, Americana book dealer George S. McManus died in 1967.<ref name=obit />

Behrend received the Joseph Bearns prize from Columbia University in 1936 for composition. She was recommended for sponsorship by Heitor Villa-Lobos and toured in South America from 1945-46. She founded and directed the Philadelphia Festival of Western Hemisphere Music in 1959 and 1960 and was awarded the Order of the Southern Cross from Brazil. Behrend died in Philadelphia and her papers are housed in the Free Library in the city.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IvoQQU1QL_QC&q=Jeanne+Behrend+composer&pg=PA55|title=The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers|first1=Julie Anne|last1=Sadie|first2=Rhian|last2=Samuel|year=1994|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=9780393034875|accessdate=23 January 2011}}</ref>

==Works== Selected works include: *''A Child's Day'', piano suite *''From Dawn to Dusk'' for orchestra, 1939 *''Lamentation'' for viola and pianoforte, 1944 *''Quiet Piece'' for piano, 1932 *''Festival Fanfare: Prelude to the National Anthem'', 1959

Behrend edited Louis Moreau Gottschalk's ''Notes of a Pianist'' (New York, 1964) and also selections of his music.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *Stinson, Jennifer. [http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/behrend-jeanne "Jeanne Behrend"], Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDeNVnkyEyI Jeanne Behrend - David Guion: Country Jig in D major from YouTube]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Behrend, Jeanne}} Category:1911 births Category:1988 deaths Category:20th-century American classical composers Category:American women classical composers Category:Musicians from Philadelphia Category:Curtis Institute of Music alumni Category:Juilliard School faculty Category:Temple University faculty Category:Jewish American classical composers Category:Classical musicians from Pennsylvania Category:American music educators Category:American women music educators Category:20th-century American women composers Category:20th-century American Jews Category:20th-century American musicologists Category:American women musicologists Category:20th-century American women academics