Glazer, Frank oral history interview (#2)

Authors

Chris Schiff
Andrea L'Hommedieu

Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

4-21-2006

Interview Number

BCOH 045

Abstract

Frank Glazer was born in the town of Chester, Wisconsin on February 19, 1915 to Lithuanian parents Benjamin and Clara Glazer, the sixth of nine children. He lived in Chester and then Fond du Lac, Wisconsin before finally settling in Milwaukee where he graduated from high school. Glazer grew up in a musically talented family (his brother David was a renowned clarinetist and performed with the New York Woodwind Quintet for 35 years) and got started on the piano with the help of his sister Blanche, who died when she was 14 years old.

Glazer made a career that revolved around playing the piano. Some of his accomplishments included playing Carnegie Hall (debuting there in 1949); having his own television show; composing numerous songs; playing with the Boston Symphony and other prestigious orchestras and groups around the world; teaching at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, the University of Indiana, and Bennett College; and a long period as artist-in-residence at Bates College. He and wife Ruth co-founded the Saco River Festival Association in 1976, and he maintained an active performance schedule for the remainder of his life.

Glazer was married to Ruth Gevalt from 1952 until her death in 2006. Glazer died in January, 2015, at the age of 99.

Scope and Content Note

Saying goodbye to family and friends; Leaving for Berlin; Stopping in Cleveland; Stopping in New York City; Reading about Leonard Shure; Schnabel putting Frank in touch with Shure; Crossing the Atlantic; First using German; Arriving at Schnabel’s residence; Finding a place to stay the first night; First lesson with Schnabel; Schnabel’s negative opinion of Frank’s heroes; Being a student of students of Leszetycki; Leonard Shure helping Frank find housing; Moving in with the Kuertz family; Nazis gaining power; Being threatened by a Nazi; Poverty; Being approached by a prostitute; His host family; Being on a budget; Lessons with Schnabel; First playing for Schnabel; Shure and Schnabel’s eldest son Karl Ulrich; Studying with Leonard Shure; Schnabel’s inconsistencies; Complimenting Charles Kullman; Hitler coming to power; Schnabel, Shure, and Glazer leaving Berlin; Deciding to move to Cambridge; Meeting with Schoenberg in Berlin; Schoenberg’s nervousness; Deciding not to study composition in Berlin; Meeting Shure in Cambridge; Studying counterpoint with Schoenberg in Cambridge.

Use Restrictions

Copyright Bates College. This transcript is provided for individual Research Purposes Only; for all other uses, including publication, reproduction and quotation beyond fair use, permission must be obtained in writing from: The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College, 70 Campus Avenue, Lewiston, Maine 04240-6018, or by email at muskie@bates.edu.

Recommended Citation

Schiff, Chris and L'Hommedieu, Andrea, "Glazer, Frank oral history interview (#2)" (2006). Bates College Oral History Collection. 2.
https://scarab.bates.edu/bcoh/2