Nationality: Belgian

ADLER, Hugo Chaim

Born in Antwerp, January 14, 1894
Died in Worcester, MA, December 24, 1955

Hugo Adler was a Jewish composer, choral conductor and cantor. He has composed several cantatas and full liturgical services.
Adler was cantor of the Haupt-Synagogue in Mannheim from 1922-1939, when he and his family emigrated to the USA. Afterward he became cantor and music director of Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts.¹
Adler was the father of composer Samuel Adler.

Born near Namur, (present-day) Belgium, 1507
Died in France(?), Oct 14, 1568

Jacques Arcadelt [PRONUNCIATION] was a Franco-Flemish composer most famous for his madrigals. He is largely responsible for establishing the madrigal as a serious musical genre, and future generations of composers, such as Palestrina, would be significantly influenced by his music.²
While little is known about the composer’s upbringing, he may have grown up in France.
- We do know that he spent much of his professional life in Italy. After spending a decade or so working in Florence, Arcadelt was hired as choirmaster for the chapel in Rome under Pope Paul III.
  - Fun fact – it was during Arcadelt’s time in Florence that he wrote the bulk of his madrigals.
- Arcadelt returned to France around 1551, where he would stay until his death. During this time, he served under Cardinal de Lorraine and devoted most of his compositional efforts to chanson.
In his 200+ madrigals, Arcadelt set poetry by Petrarch, Sannazaro, Bembo, and Michelangelo, among others.³

Learn More:
Biography from Interlude

Born in Liège, Dec 10, 1822
Died in Paris, Nov 8, 1890

[SAY-zar FRONK | PRONUNCIATION]

Born in Liège, July 16, 1858
Died in Brussels, May 12, 1931

[EU-zhen ee-zah-EE]

Eugène Ysaÿe was a revered virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor.
Ysaÿe was the dedicatee of many violin works by his contemporaries, including Franck’s Violin Sonata in A Major, Chausson’s Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet and Poème, and d’Indy’s String Quartet No. 1 (among others).⁵
- As a performer, Ysaÿe championed the works of his contemporaries – over 50 works were written specifically for him to perform.⁶
Fun fact – Ysaÿe never received formal training in composition.
- Ysaÿe’s most well-known compositions are his Six Sonatas for Violin Solo, each one written for a famous violinist of the time: Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, Georges Enescu, Fritz Kreisler, Mathieu Crickboom, and Manuel Quiroga.
As a conductor, Ysaÿe led an orchestra in Berlin that later became the Berlin Philharmonic. Later in life, Ysaÿe also led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
- As his health declined in the last couple of decades of his life, Ysaÿe prioritized conducting and composing over performing.⁷
In addition to performing, composing, and conducting, Ysaÿe served as professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatory for over a decade.⁸

Learn More
Biography via Interlude