Robert Helps
Robert Eugene Helps[1] (b. Passaic, New Jersey, United States, September 23, 1928; d. Tampa, Florida, United States, November 24, 2001) was an American pianist and composer.
Career
[edit]Helps studied at the universities of Columbia (1947–49) and Berkeley (1949–51) He was one of the most distinguished pupils of Abby Whiteside and perhaps the most well-known practitioner of her theories of rhythm and of a technique directed from the humerus rather than the fingers. He studied composition with Roger Sessions, who exerted a strong influence on his career, and whose music he often performed and recorded.[2] He cultivated a lifelong interest for Frédéric Chopin's Études as well as Leopold Godowsky's Studies on Chopin's Études which informed both his piano playing and his composition.
Helps taught piano at the New England Conservatory of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Princeton University, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Manhattan School of Music, and the University of South Florida. At the end of his life he divided his time between the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of South Florida. When in California he resided in Berkeley, a city with which he felt a strong affinity.
Awards and recognition
[edit]Helps was a recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. In 1976 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His music has been released on the Naxos, [3] CRI, Desto, and Albany labels.
The University of South Florida's Special Collections [4] holds the Robert Helps Archive. The university also sponsors a Robert Helps Festival and awards an annual Robert Helps Prize for young composers.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Harvard Dictionary of Music.
- ^ Kozinn, Allan. "Robert Helps, 73, Concert Pianist And a Wide-Ranging Composer", The New York Times, December 2, 2001. Accessed November 22, 2007.
- ^ "Recordings by Robert Helps 21884 | Now available to stream and purchase at Naxos".
- ^ "Music Research Collections - Arts Collections - Campus Guides at University of South Florida Libraries". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
- ^ "Archived copy". helpsprize.arts.usf.edu. Archived from the original on 11 December 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
[edit]- Robert Helps Web Monument
- Robert Helps CV
- New York Times Obituary, December 2, 2001
- Robert Helps Collection at the University of South Florida
- Robert Helps interview, January 23, 1988
| International | |
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- 1928 births
- 2001 deaths
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 20th-century American pianists
- 20th-century American classical composers
- 20th-century American LGBTQ people
- American classical pianists
- American male classical composers
- American male classical pianists
- Classical musicians from New Jersey
- Columbia University alumni
- LGBTQ classical composers
- American LGBTQ composers
- Manhattan School of Music faculty
- Musicians from Passaic, New Jersey
- Musicians from Tampa, Florida
- New England Conservatory faculty
- Princeton University faculty
- Pupils of Roger Sessions
- Stanford University Department of Music faculty
- University of California, Berkeley faculty
- University of South Florida faculty