German Jew born in Mannheim in 1928. Came from musical family - father was a composer of Jewish religious music.
Family wisely got out in 1939 to America before it was too late. As an adult, he has lived in Dallas, Tx and later in Rochester, NY in 1966.
He was educated at Boston University, and also at Harvard.
Some of his famous teachers were: Piston, Thompson, Hindemith, and Fine at Harvard (1948-1950); and Copland at Tanglewood (1949, 1950).
He was married to Carol Starker (1960-1989) and currently to conductor Emily Brown Freeman (1991- ).
Besides his memoirs, he is the author of three books about music and has written for many magazines over his years.
A prolific composer, his music covers the ground from serial techniques to "melodic Modern," typically using much orchestral colour.
selected works from
New Grove - see full listing at:
https://www.samuelhadler.com/worksinstrumentalOrch: Sym. no.1, 1953
Sym. no.2, 1957
Southwestern Sketches, wind, 1960
Sym. no.3 ‘Diptypch’, 1960, rev. 1980
Requiescat in pace, 1963
Sym. no.4 ‘Geometrics’, 1967
Conc., ww, brass, perc, 1968
Org Conc., 1970
Conc. for Orch, 1971
Sym. no.5 ‘We are the Echoes’ (C. Adler, A.J. Heschel, J.R. Oppenheimer, M. Rukeyser, K. Wolfskehl), Mez, orch, 1975
Concertino no.2, 1976
Fl Conc., 1977
Pf Conc., 1983
Sym. no.6, 1985
Conc., ww qnt, orch, 1991
Concertino no.3, 1993
Time in Tempest Everywhere, 1993
Gui Conc., 1994
Vc Conc., 1995
Pf Conc. no.2, 1996
Viola Conc, 1998
Violin Concerto, 2012
c38 other works, incl. c19 works for wind ens, brass
Chbr and solo inst: Sonata, hn, pf, 1948
Str Qt no.3, 1953
Sonata, vn, pf, 1956
Introduction and Capriccio, hp, 1964
Pf Trio no.1, 1964
Sonata no.3, vn, pf, 1965
Sonata, vc, pf, 1966
Cantos I–XV, various insts, 1968–96
4 Dialogues, euphonium, marimba, 1974
Str Qt no.6 (W. Whitman), Mez/Bar, str qt, 1975
Aeolus, God of the Winds, cl, vn, vc, pf, 1977
Pf Trio no.2, 1978
Sonata, fl, pf, 1981
Str Qt no.7, 1981
Gottschalkiana, brass qnt, 1982
Sonata, va, pf, 1984
Sonata, gui, 1985
Sonata, ob, pf, 1985
Str Qt no.8, 1990
A Mediterranean Suite, vn, pf, 1992
c50 other works
keyboards: Toccata, Recitation and Postlude, org, 1959
Sonata breve, pf, 1963
Pf Sonatina, 1979
Hpd Sonata, 1982
Duo Sonata, 2 pf, 1983
stageThe Outcast of Poker Flat (op, 1, J. Stampfer), 1959, Dallas, April 1961; The Wrestler (op, 1, Stampfer), 1971, Dallas, June 1972; The Lodge of Shadows (musical drama, J. Ramsey), Bar, orch, dancers, 1973, Fort Worth, TX, 1988; The Disappointment (op, A. Barton), 1974 [reconstruction of an early ballad opera]; The Waking (ballet, T. Roethke and others), chorus, orch, 1978
vocalShir chadash (Sabbath service), B, SAB, org, 1960; The Vision of Isaiah (Bible), B, SATB, orch, 1962; B’Shaaray tefilah (Sabbath service), B, SATB, org/orch, 1963; Shiru Ladonay (Sabbath service), solo/unison vv, org, 1965; Behold your God (cant., Bible), 1966; The Binding (orat, A. Friedlander, after Bible: Genesis, Midrash), 1967; From out of Bondage (Bible), S, A, T, B, SATB, brass qnt, perc, org, 1968; A Whole Bunch of Fun (cant., G.V. Catullus, Finjan, Moore, O. Nash, Roethke, Dr Seuss), vv, orch, 1969; We Believe (liturgical), mixed vv, 8 insts, 1974; Of Saints and Sinner (I. Feldman, W. Kaufmann, others), medium v, pf, 1976; A Falling of Saints (Rosenbaum), T, B, chorus, orch, 1977; It is to God I shall Sing (Pss), chorus, org, 1977; Of Musique, Poetrie, Nature and Love (R. Herrick), Mez, fl, pf, 1978; Snow Tracks (Amer. poets), high v, wind, 1981; Choose Life, Mez, T, SATB, orch, 1986; 6 other large choral works; numerous smaller sacred and secular choral works; c20 works for solo vv, acc. and unacc.; works for children; arrs.