Minna Lederman
Encyclopedia
Minna Lederman Daniel was a music writer and editor of the magazine Modern Music for more than 20 years.
and studied music, dance and drama as a child. She graduated from Barnard College
in 1917 and married painter Mell Daniel, who died in 1975.
In 1923 Lederman helped found the League of Composers
in New York, and saw the need for a music review magazine. The first issue was published in February of 1924, originally called The League of Composers' Review. In 1925 the name was changed to Modern Music, and publication continued until 1946. It featured and reviewed dance, concert music, musical theater, jazz, film and radio music performances in Europe
, Latin America
and the United States
, but concentrated on serious coverage of new American music.
A number of composers wrote for the magazine, including Aaron Copland
, Virgil Thomson
, Elliott Carter
, Leonard Bernstein
, John Cage
, Marc Blitzstein
and Roger Sessions
. European composers were also featured, including Alban Berg
, Arnold Schoenberg
and Bela Bartok
. Music critic Edwin Denby
was also a regular contributor.
Because of the importance of the magazine, Daniel maintained considerable influence in shaping pre-World War II
American music, perhaps more than any single composer. After the magazine closed, Daniel continued to write on dance and music. She edited the Stravinsky in the Theater anthology published in 1947 and contributed to magazines including Saturday Review, American Mercury, The Nation
and others.
In 1974 she was instrumental in establishing the Archives of Modern Music in the Library of Congress
, and in 1983 she edited The Life and Death of a Small Magazine published by the Institute for Studies in American Music, a compilation of articles written for Modern Music united by Daniel's commentary. In 1984 The compilation won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for distinguished music criticism.
Daniel died in Manhattan at age 99.
Life
Minna Lederman was born in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and studied music, dance and drama as a child. She graduated from Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
in 1917 and married painter Mell Daniel, who died in 1975.
In 1923 Lederman helped found the League of Composers
League of Composers
The League of Composers/International Society for Contemporary Music is a society whose stated mission is "to produce the highest quality performances of new music, to champion American composers in the United States and abroad, and to introduce American audiences to the best new music from around...
in New York, and saw the need for a music review magazine. The first issue was published in February of 1924, originally called The League of Composers' Review. In 1925 the name was changed to Modern Music, and publication continued until 1946. It featured and reviewed dance, concert music, musical theater, jazz, film and radio music performances in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but concentrated on serious coverage of new American music.
A number of composers wrote for the magazine, including Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music...
, Elliott Carter
Elliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music...
, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, Marc Blitzstein
Marc Blitzstein
Marcus Samuel Blitzstein, better known as Marc Blitzstein , was an American composer. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration...
and Roger Sessions
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
. European composers were also featured, including Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
, Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and Bela Bartok
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
. Music critic Edwin Denby
Edwin Denby
Edwin Denby may refer to:* Edwin Denby , U.S. poet, novelist, dance critic* Edwin Denby , U.S. politician, Secretary of Navy, noted in the Teapot Dome Scandal...
was also a regular contributor.
Because of the importance of the magazine, Daniel maintained considerable influence in shaping pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
American music, perhaps more than any single composer. After the magazine closed, Daniel continued to write on dance and music. She edited the Stravinsky in the Theater anthology published in 1947 and contributed to magazines including Saturday Review, American Mercury, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
and others.
In 1974 she was instrumental in establishing the Archives of Modern Music in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, and in 1983 she edited The Life and Death of a Small Magazine published by the Institute for Studies in American Music, a compilation of articles written for Modern Music united by Daniel's commentary. In 1984 The compilation won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for distinguished music criticism.
Daniel died in Manhattan at age 99.