Unsung Heroes: Bernhard Heiden

Look at this cutie...

       Another little-known master of his trade is a German musician and composer by the name of Bernhard Heiden. Heiden was born in Frankfurt, Germany to a family of amateur musicians who introduced him to music at a very young age. He studied music in both Germany and the US most notably under a renowned neoclassical composer named Paul Hindemith. He wrote hundreds of blasphemously under-appreciated compositions and was the first man ever to successfully write sonatas for the saxophone, a feat that earned him my utmost love because poor Noble is so often neglected and overlooked when I play in classical settings because saxophones simply don't get no respect.
       From an early age, Heiden's musical fluency had become blatantly obvious. At age five, he began to study piano, violin, clarinet, harmony, and music theory. Then, just one year later, he wrote his first composition. For those who struggle with math, that would make him six years old which is astounding because most of us can hardly write words at age six much less compose a musical masterpiece. I, to this day, do not think I have adequate musical powers to write a song of merit and I am quite a bit older than six. He later began to study at the Hochschule fur Musik in Berlin where he met his life-long mentor, Paul Hindemith. Heiden Moved to Detroit in 1935 to distance himself from the rapidly growing Nazi party where he took countless simultaneous jobs in the music industry. It was also at this point that he wrote his most famous and influential piece, his Sonata for Eb Saxophone and Piano.
       Heiden's style is very distinct and unorthodox for his time. Music critic Nicholas Slonimsky aptly described it as "neoclassical in its formal structure, and strongly polyphonic in texture; it is distinguished by its impeccable formal balance and effective instrumentation." To be honest, I was startled when I found this quote because most reputable music critics abhorred Heiden's style because he was weird and I couldn't believe a critic from that era would describe anyone with the audacity to impose saxophones on classical spheres as having "effective instrumentation"but good for you, Slonimsky! Though it is certainly true that despite his unorthodox tendencies, his style was certainly influenced by the neoclassical movement and played a major role in its revival. The mood of his music is definitely old-fashioned--almost baroque-- it's just that the techniques he implements make it unorthodox with his quirky polyphony, sporadic syncopation, and tense counterpoint between lead and accompaniment but it is those very stylistic devices that make me see him as one of the most creative and under-appreciated composers of all time.

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

       You may have noticed that this blog is very... diverse, which may or may not be a euphemism for scatter-brained. One reason for this is because I'm new to this and another is simply because I too am scatter-brained and have too many interests for my own good. Furthermore, I think one will get more out of my writing if one knows a little about me so here are the top ten facts about the Noble Savage:

1. My name really is Noble. I'm kind of self conscious about this fact because I think it makes me sound pretentious. Of course, we can decide for ourselves whether or not I, in fact, am pretentious but I definitely don't want anyone deciding that as soon as they hear my name. Also, with a name like this I almost felt obligated to created a blog titled using silly wordplay. 
2. I like to ride bicycles. I don't care for cars and try to only use them when going on a date or giving a friend a ride as a favor so I try to commute on a bicycle as much as I can. I also race with a team called Saltcycle-Intelitechs, a spectacular group of smelly, bearded champions. I own an Iro fixed gear that I built myself from the ground up for commuting and a carbon fiber Bianchi for racing. 
3. I play the saxophone. I am primarily a jazz artist and mostly perform with jazz combos. I have never really been able to wrap my head around classical saxophone playing because I just don't really think the saxophone was designed for classical music but I have fiddled with some classical solos from time to time. Interestingly enough, though, I actually leave for a tour through Europe two days from now with a large wind ensemble. This is very strange because it is the first time I have ever played in a large group and I really have no idea how to do it; I am totally shooting from the hip. 
4. I love chess. I love to play chess and many of my friendships have been forged using the game's righteous flames. As you can see by my chess.com Elo score, I am a mediocre chess player at best but I think I can hold my own and I love to play even when I lose so long as it is a valiant and honorable defeat. Chess is cool! If you disagree you don't know anything. Also, feel free to challenge me if you have a chess.com profile and tell me you read this because it will make me feel really good if anyone actually sees this post. My username is Nobilis_Saeva. Huzzah!