Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

7-11-2006

Interview Number

BCOH 049

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. Inspired by his high school piano teacher, and assisted financially by two business men, Glazer set off to Berlin in October of 1932 to study the piano under Artur Schnabel. After stopping in Cleveland and New York City he arrived in Berlin. Leonard Shure, a former pupil of Schnabel, helped Frank find a place to live. He moved in with a German family, the Kuertz's, and began taking lessons with Schnabel and Shure. At the time Germany was in a state of political and financial turmoil. Glazer considered studying composition in Berlin under the supervision of Arnold Schoenberg but was dissuaded by Shure. When the political situation became too dangerous for Schnabel, he decided to move to Lake Como in Italy; shortly thereafter, Shure moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1933, Glazer left Berlin to continue studying with Schnabel on Lake Como. After four months, Schnabel was unsure of where he would be living, so Glazer contacted Shure and decided to move to Cambridge and take lessons from him. In Cambridge Glazer also gave piano lessons, took lessons on counterpoint with Schoenberg, took courses at Harvard extension division, and studied Italian. When he was advised by his host mother that he may be doing too much he dropped the courses and the lessons with Schoenberg. In 1935, he traveled back to Lake Como to resume lessons with Schnabel, once again remaining there for four months. Soon afterwards he returned to the United States, and thereafter made his public performing debut at Town Hall in New York City in October, 1936, at age 21. (He reprised this performance in 2006, to mark the 70th year of his performing career.) From then until the U.S. entrance into World War II, he played in Boston, New York, and other U.S. cities, while also spending time in California working on composition and developing his theory on piano technique.

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

Working with and playing the works of Gail Kubik; creating the right concert program; early influences of Felix Salmond and Ursula Greville; preparing for Carnegie Hall and wanting critical feedback; Leonard Groves points him to Felix Salmond; thoughts on Horowitz; meeting Ursula Greville; traveling to California to work on composing and on piano technique; Orlando Weber, Jr’s poems; Alfred Strelsin’s patronage; Al Capp; developing his concepts on proper technique to play the piano for longevity; thoughts on playing chamber music vs. orchestral music.

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 via email at muskie@bates.edu.

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