Born in Walla Walla, WA, Aug 15, 1882
Died in South Hadley, MA, Aug 9, 1955
- Marion Bauer was a composer, though she is probably best remembered as a writer on music, educator, and advocate for contemporary American composers, particularly women composers.
- Bauer taught music history and composition at NYU from 1926–51 and was affiliated with Julliard from 1940 until her death.
- Bauer was a champion of American music and contemporary composers. She was a founding member of the American Music Guild, the Society of American Women Composers, and the American Composers Alliance, among many other organizations.
- As a composer, Bauer’s music rarely ventured beyond extended tonality, emphasizing coloristic harmony and diatonic dissonance.
- Interestingly, in the 1920s, her music was seen as modernist. However, by the 1940s, it was viewed as conservative and well-crafted.
- Fun fact – Bauer was one of Nadia Boulanger‘s many illustrious pupils.1
- Interesting connection to Portland – Bauer’s parents were Jewish immigrants from France and had gotten married at Beth Israel Synagogue in Portland, Oregon. Bauer would later complete her formal academic education at St. Helen’s Hall in Portland, a private high school where her mother taught German.2
Learn More
Biography from the Jewish Women’s Archive
Short biography from Naxos
Sources
- J. Michele Edwards, “Bauer, Marion Eugénie,” Grove Music Online, (2001), accessed May 10, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000002353.
- J.Michele Edwards, “Marion Eugénie Bauer,” Jewish Women’s Archive (1999), accessed May 10, 2023, https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bauer-marion-eugenie.