Howard Pollack

Howard Pollack(born March 17, 1952) is an American pianist and musicologist, known for his biographies of American composers.

Biography

Pollack was born inBrooklynand studied piano while attending James Madison High School. He continued his piano studies at theUniversity of Michigan,where he received his Bachelor of Music in 1973; and at the Aspen Music Festival in 1970. He received a Master of Arts degree (1977) and Ph.D. (1981) in musicology fromCornell University,where he wrote his thesis, "Walter Pistonand His Music ", under the supervision of William Austin. He also studied composition privately withSamuel Adlerin Rochester.

After serving on the faculties of theRochester Institute of Technology,Cornell University, andEmpire State College,Pollack joined the faculty of theUniversity of Houstonin 1987, becoming John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Music in 2005.

Pollack's books include biographies ofWalter Piston,John Alden Carpenter,Aaron Copland,George Gershwin,andMarc Blitzstein.In addition, he co-edited, with Claus Reschke,German Literature and Music: An Aesthetic Fusion (1890–1989)(1992). He also has published articles onJoseph Haydn,Victor Herbert,Charles Griffes,Samuel Barber,andCarlisle Floyd.

Pollack received the Deems Taylor Award fromASCAP(2000) and theIrving LowensAward from the Society for American Music (2001) forAaron Coplandand an Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (2007) and another Deems Taylor Award (2008) forGeorge Gershwin.His other awards include grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, theKurt WeillFoundation for Music, theNewberry Library,the American Musicological Society, and the Society for American Music.

Pollack is a professor at theMoores School of Musicof theUniversity of Houston.

Bibliography

• Walter Piston(1982)
• Harvard Composers: Walter Piston and his Students, from Elliott Carter to Frederic Rzewski(1992)
• John Alden Carpenter: A Chicago Composer(1995)
• Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man(1999)
• George Gershwin: His Life and Work(University of California Press, 2006);ISBN978-0-520-24864-9
• Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World(Oxford University Press, 2012)
• The Ballad of John Latouche: An American Lyricist's Life and Work(Oxford University Press, 2017)
• Samuel Barber: His Life & Legacy(University of Illinois Press, 2023)