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Charles Rosen

チャールズ・ローゼン

Chāruzu Rōzen

Aliases: Charles Welles Rosen

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1927-05-05 （New York City）
Died
2012-12-09 （New York City） age 85
Nationality
United States
Languages
English, French
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Upper West Side, New York City

Career

Occupations
Pianist, Musicologist, Music Critic, Author, Professor
Active Years
1951-2012
Affiliations
University of Chicago, Stony Brook University, Harvard University, University of Oxford
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Musicological Society
Influenced By
Moriz Rosenthal, Josef Hofmann
Nominations
Grammy Award nominations (Beethoven late piano sonatas, Diabelli Variations)

Education

Juilliard School
Piano
Period: 1933-1938頃
Country: United States
Attended ages 6-11, left early
Princeton University
French Literature
Degree: A.B.
Period: 1944-1947
Year of Graduation: 1947
Country: United States
Enrolled at age 17
Princeton University
French Literature
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1947-1951
Year of Graduation: 1951
Country: United States
Dissertation on the poetry of Jean de La Fontaine

Awards

National Book Award (Arts and Letters)
1972
Work: The Classical Style
Category: Arts and Letters
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: winner
National Humanities Medal
2012
Organization: The White House
Result: 受賞
Otto Kinkeldey Award
1996
Work: The Romantic Generation
Organization: American Musicological Society
Result: 受賞
Edison Prize
Work: Complete Piano Works of Pierre Boulez
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Classical Style

1971 Music Criticism

Analyzes the nature and evolution of the Classical style developed by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.

Classical periodSonata formCompositional technique
Adaptations
  • [Opera] The Classical Style / Steven Stucky (作曲), Jeremy Denk (台本) (2014)

The Romantic Generation

1995 Music Criticism

Focuses on the early Romantic generation including Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Berlioz.

RomanticismExpressionForm transformation

Sonata Forms

1980 Music Theory

Intensive analysis of the primary musical form used in the classical era.

Sonata formClassical era

Bibliography

  • The Classical Style
  • Schoenberg
  • The Musical Languages of Elliott Carter
  • Romanticism and Realism: The Mythology of Nineteenth-Century Art
  • Sonata Forms
  • The Frontiers of Meaning: Three Informal Lectures on Music
  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • The Romantic Generation
  • Romantic Poets, Critics, and Other Madmen
  • Beethoven's Piano Sonatas: A Short Companion
  • Critical Entertainments: Music Old and New
  • Piano Notes: The World of the Pianist
  • Music and Sentiment
  • Freedom and the Arts: Essays on Music and Literature
  • The Joy of Playing, the Joy of Thinking: Conversations About Art and Performance

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Intellectual and rigorousEmphasis on technical detailsHistorical and cultural contextIntensifies listener's engagement
Recurring Motifs
Evolution of formComposer's innovationsCritique of RomanticismHarmony and structure

Health

  • Cancer
    2012年
    Cause of death

Legacy

Celebrated as a distinguished pianist, recording artist, scholar, and author whose works deepened understanding of classical music.

Academic Societies

  • American Musicological Society

Archives

  • Music Department of the CUNY Graduate Center

In Popular Culture

  • An opera titled The Classical Style, based on his book, premiered in 2014.

Quotes

  • My main goal in writing about music was to increase the listener's engagement with the music.
    Source: Preface to Critical Entertainments (2001)
  • The opening of a work by Mozart is always solidly based in the tonic key.
    Source: The Classical Style (1971)

Trivia

  • Began musical studies at age 4 and enrolled in Juilliard at age 6.
  • Born to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents.
  • Earned a PhD in French literature from Princeton University.
  • Lived in New York City for most of his life.