GRUENBERG, LOUIS

GRUENBERG, LOUIS (1884–1964), U.S. composer. Born in Poland, near Brest Litovsk, Gruenberg was taken to the U.S. at the age of two. He studied in Berlin with Busoni, and made his debut as a pianist in 1912 at a concert of the Berlin Philharmonic, under Busoni's baton. In that year he composed a children's opera called The Witch of the Brocken which was followed by The Bride of the Gods (1913). After winning a prize for The Hill of Dreams (New York Symphony Society, 1919), Gruenberg devoted himself entirely to composition. The League of Composers performed his Daniel Jazz in 1925. This was followed by The Creation (1923), into which he introduced Negro spirituals. In 1931 the Juilliard School of Music commissioned and produced his opera "Jack and the Beanstalk." Gruenberg's most important work was his opera Emperor Jones, based on Eugene O'Neill's play of that name. Gruenberg was one of the first American composers to use elements of Negro spirituals and jazz in serious music. His opera Green Mansions, based on W.H. Hudson's novel, was commissioned by the Columbia Broadcasting System and broadcast in 1937. Moving to California, Gruenberg wrote background music for films, and composed two other operas, Queen Helena (1936) and Volpone (1945), five symphonies, and various chamber works. He was one of the organizers of the League of Composers. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: MGG, S.V.; Baker, Biog Dict, S.V. and suppl.; Grove, Dict, S.V. (John W. Gassner)