Rubin Goldmark
Rubin Goldmark was an American pianist, composer, and music educator, born in New York City on August 15, 1872. His father, Leo Goldmark, was an Austrian immigrant active in New York’s musical circles, and his uncle was the composer Karl Goldmark.
Goldmark studied piano at the City College of New York with Alfred von Livonius. From 1889 to 1891 he studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Robert Fuchs, Johann Nepomuk Fuchs, and Anton Door, and also studied privately with his uncle. After returning to New York, he took lessons from pianist Rafael Joseffy. When Antonín Dvořák arrived in the United States, Goldmark became one of his first American students at the National Conservatory of America.
From 1895, Goldmark taught at a music college in Colorado Springs. There he wrote the symphonic poem Hiawatha, based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem; it was first performed in Boston in 1900. He returned to New York in 1905, taught privately, and gave concerts and lectures on music across the United States and Canada.
His works included a piano quartet dedicated to Joseffy, a string quartet, a piano trio, a violin sonata, and the orchestral Negro Rhapsody. From 1924, he headed the composition department at the Juilliard School. His students included George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, and Alexei Haieff. Goldmark died in New York City on March 6, 1936.