Biography
Frederick Block, an Austrian Jewish composer originally named Friedrich Bloch, produced an extensive body of work both prior to and following his departure from Austria. Nazi expansion in his homeland prompted relocation first to England and subsequently to the United States. While residing in America he earned his living primarily by adapting orchestral scores for solo piano. Of his total catalogue—nine operas and three symphonies among them—only a handful have received recent performances or recordings. Several pieces appeared on the 2024 Chandos release Chamber Works by Frederick Block, issued by Canada’s ARC Ensemble.
Born Friedrich Bloch in Vienna on August 30, 1899, Block began piano and composition lessons at age nine, yet his parents initially resisted any professional musical ambitions. Their opposition ended after his service in the Austrian army during World War I, at which point they endorsed his enrollment at the Vienna Conservatory under Josef Bohuslav Foerster and, later, at the University of Vienna with Hans Gál. By the late 1920s his chamber compositions had gained regular hearings on Viennese programs, prompting him to turn toward larger orchestral and operatic forms. His third opera, Samum, reached the stage at the Slovak National Opera in Bratislava in 1936 and was also transmitted by radio.
This period of mounting recognition ended abruptly with Austria’s annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938. Because of his Jewish background, Block was excluded from Austrian musical institutions and chose immediate emigration. He arranged shipment of his piano to New York before traveling to London; two years afterward he arrived in New York. There he secured employment orchestrating and arranging for publishers and broadcasters, in addition to composing the score for the film We Are the Marines. More than seventy symphonic works were reduced for piano and issued by New York publishers. In remaining hours he composed swiftly, producing additional operas, the Viennese Suite for string orchestra and piano, and numerous smaller pieces. Altogether his published output reached seventy-eight opus-numbered compositions: nine operas, three symphonies, four orchestral suites, chamber music, piano works, and songs.
Having fled Nazi persecution, Block was soon diagnosed with cancer and died in New York on June 1, 1945. Although his music has remained seldom performed, the ARC Ensemble recorded Chamber Works by Frederick Block for the Chandos label in 2024. His papers and numerous manuscripts reside at the New York Public Library.
Born Friedrich Bloch in Vienna on August 30, 1899, Block began piano and composition lessons at age nine, yet his parents initially resisted any professional musical ambitions. Their opposition ended after his service in the Austrian army during World War I, at which point they endorsed his enrollment at the Vienna Conservatory under Josef Bohuslav Foerster and, later, at the University of Vienna with Hans Gál. By the late 1920s his chamber compositions had gained regular hearings on Viennese programs, prompting him to turn toward larger orchestral and operatic forms. His third opera, Samum, reached the stage at the Slovak National Opera in Bratislava in 1936 and was also transmitted by radio.
This period of mounting recognition ended abruptly with Austria’s annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938. Because of his Jewish background, Block was excluded from Austrian musical institutions and chose immediate emigration. He arranged shipment of his piano to New York before traveling to London; two years afterward he arrived in New York. There he secured employment orchestrating and arranging for publishers and broadcasters, in addition to composing the score for the film We Are the Marines. More than seventy symphonic works were reduced for piano and issued by New York publishers. In remaining hours he composed swiftly, producing additional operas, the Viennese Suite for string orchestra and piano, and numerous smaller pieces. Altogether his published output reached seventy-eight opus-numbered compositions: nine operas, three symphonies, four orchestral suites, chamber music, piano works, and songs.
Having fled Nazi persecution, Block was soon diagnosed with cancer and died in New York on June 1, 1945. Although his music has remained seldom performed, the ARC Ensemble recorded Chamber Works by Frederick Block for the Chandos label in 2024. His papers and numerous manuscripts reside at the New York Public Library.