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.