Ernest Bloch
20th Century · 1880–1959
Ernest Bloch was born in Geneva in 1880 and moved to the United States in 1916, where he became a formative teacher: he was the first director of the Cleveland Institute of Music, later led the San Francisco Conservatory, and spent his final years composing on the Oregon coast.
He is best known for the works of his so-called Jewish Cycle, written in his thirties, in which he set out to capture what he described as the Jewish soul in music. The most famous is Schelomo, a rhapsody for cello and orchestra in which the solo cello speaks as the voice of King Solomon, by turns brooding and ecstatic. Later in life his style broadened, reaching back to Baroque forms and forward to tougher modern harmony.
Schelomo is the essential first listen. After that, try the Concerto grosso no. 1 for string orchestra and piano, his crisp nod to the Baroque.
67 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.
Chamber
- Piano Quintet no. 1
- 2 Pieces for Viola and Piano
- 3 Nocturnes for Piano Trio
- 4 Episodes, for chamber orchestra
- Abodah: a Yom Kippur melody, for violin and piano
- Baal Shem: 3 Pictures of Hassidic life, for violin and piano
- Exotic Night, for violin and piano
- In the Mountains, for string quartet
- Meditation Hébraïque, for cello and piano
- Melody, for violin and piano
- Night, for string quartet
- Paysages, for string quartet
- Prelude, for string quartet
- Quintet for Piano and Strings no. 1
- Quintet for Piano and Strings no. 2
- String Quartet no. 1
- String Quartet no. 2
- String Quartet no. 3
- String Quartet no. 4
- String Quartet no. 5
- Suite for Solo Viola
- Suite for Viola and Piano
- Suite hébraïque, for viola and piano
- Suite modale, for flute and strings
- Suite no. 1 for Solo Cello
- Suite no. 1 for Solo Violin
- Suite no. 2 for Solo Cello
- Suite no. 2 for Solo Violin
- Suite no. 3 for Solo Cello
- Violin Sonata no. 1
- Violin Sonata no. 2, "Poème mystique"
Keyboard
- Piano Sonata
- 4 Circus Pieces
- Danse sacrée
- Enfantines, 10 Children's pieces
- Ex-voto
- Nirvana, poem
- Visions and Prophecies
- Visions and Prophecies, for piano
Orchestral
- Concerto grosso no. 1, for string orchestra and piano
- Schelomo, rhapsody for cello and orchestra
- 3 Jewish Poems, suite
- Concertino for Flute, Viola and Strings
- Concerto grosso no. 2, for string quartet and string orchestra
- Concerto symphonique, for piano and orchestra
- Evocations, suite
- Hiver - Printemps, 2 symphonic poems
- In Memoriam, elegy for orchestra
- In the Night
- Poems of the Sea
- Proclamation, for trumpet and orchestra
- Scherzo fantasque, for piano and orchestra
- Sinfonia breve
- Suite hébraïque, for viola and orchestra
- Suite modale, for flute and strings
- Suite symphonique
- Symphony for Trombone and Orchestra
- Symphony in C sharp minor
- Symphony in E flat major
- Violin Concerto
- Voice in the Wilderness, symphonic poem for cello and orchestra
Stage
- Macbeth Opera
Vocal
- America: An Epic Rhapsody, for chorus and orchestra
- Avodath Hakodesh, for baritone, chorus, and orchestra
- Poèmes d'automne, 4 songs for mezzo and orchestra
- Prelude and 2 Psalms, for soprano and orchestra
- Psalm 22, for alto and orchestra
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