Ornstein Leo Ornstein

Leo Ornstein (born Yuda-Leyb Gornshteyn; c. December 11, 1895 – February 24, 2002) (also Лев Орнштейн, Lev Ornchteïn) was a Russian-American composer and pianist of the early twentieth century. His performances of works by avant-garde composers and his own innovative and even shocking pieces made him a cause célèbre on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ornstein was the first important composer to make extensive use of the tone cluster. As a pianist, he was considered a world-class talent. By the mid-1920s, he had walked away from his fame and soon disappeared from popular memory. Though he gave his last public concert before the age of forty, he continued writing music for another half-century and beyond. Largely forgotten for decades, he was rediscovered in the mid-1970s. Ornstein completed his eighth and final piano sonata in September 1990 at the age of ninety-four, making him the oldest published composer in history (a mark since passed by Elliott Carter).

Major Works

• Wild Men's Dance (aka Danse Sauvage; ca. 1913–14)
• Three Moods (ca. 1914)
• Poems of 1917 (10) (1917)
• A la Chinoise (pre-1918)
• Suicide in an Airplane (ca. 1918–19; frequently misdated 1913)
• Impressions of the Thames (aka Impressions de la Tamise; 1920)
• Arabesques (9) (1921)
• Piano Sonata No. 4 (1924)
• Piano Sonata No. 5, "Biography" (1974)
• Piano Sonata No. 6 (1981)
• Piano Sonata No. 7 (1988)
• Piano Sonata No. 8 (1990)

Organized List

• S001 – Nocturne
• S002 – At Twilight
• S003 – Piano Pieces
• S004 – Nocturne No. 2
• S005 – Three Moods
• S006 – Suicide in an Airplane
• S007a – An Allegory
• S008 – Barcarolle
• S009 – 6 Lyric Fancies

Early Published (050-099)

• S050 – Serenade
• S051 – Scherzino
• S052 – Dwarf Suite
• S053 – Impressions of the Thames
• S054 – Wild Men's Dance
• S055 – Cossack Impressions
• S056 – Impressions of Notre Dame
• S057 – Three Preludes
• S058 – Suite Russe
• S059 – A la Mexicana
• S060 – A la Chinoise
• S061a – Poems of 1917
• S062 – Arabesques
• S063 – In the Country
• S064 – Two Lyric Pieces
• S065 – Musings of a Piano
• S066 – Memories from Childhood
• S067 – Six Water Colors
• S068 – Piano Sketch Books
• S069 – Prelude Tragique
• S070 – Pygmy Suite
• S071a – Moment Musical (after Schubert)
• S072 – Nine Miniatures
• S073 – Piano Piece
• S074 – Piano Piece
• S075 – Piano Piece

Named and Dated (100–149)

• S100 – Bagatelle
• S101 – Tarantelle Diabolique
• S102a – A Long Remembered Sorrow
• S103 – Mindy's Piece
• S104b – Evening's Sorrow
• S105 – Some New York Scenes
• S106 – A Morning in the Woods
• S107 – Burlesca (A Satire)
• S108 – Ballade
• S109 – Valse Diabolique
• S110 – A Dream Almost Forgotten
• S111a – Three Tales
• S114 – Just a Fun Piece
• S115 – A Small Carnival
• S116 – Solitude
• S117 – The Recruit and the Bugler
• S118 – An Autumnal Fantasy
• S119 – An Autumn Improvisation
• S120 – Barbaro: A Pantomime

Named and Undated (150–199)

• S150 – A Reverie
• S151 – A Chromatic Dance
• S152 – The Deserted Garden
• S153 – Nocturne No.I
• S154 – To A Grecian Urn
• S155 – Tarantelle
• S156 – A Moment of Retrospect

Metaphors (200–299)

• S200a – Sixteen Metaphors

Impromptus (300–319)

• S300a – Four Impromptus

Intermezzos (320–329)

• S320a – Four Intermezzos

Journal Pieces (330–349)

• S330 – Six Journal Pieces

Legends (350–359)

S350 – Four Legends

Sonatas (360–379)

• S360 – Sonata No. 4
• S361 – Sonata No. 5 (Biography)
• S362 – Sonata No. 6
• S363 – Sonata No. 7
• S364a – Sonata No. 8

Vignettes (380–399)

• S380 – Nine Vignettes
• Waltzes (400–439)
• S400 – Seventeen Waltzes
• Fantasy Pieces (440–459)
• S440a – Three Fantasy Pieces
• Four Hand (including the 2-piano version of the piano concerto) (550–559)
• S550 – Piece Pour Piano
• S551 – Valse Buffon
• S552 – Seeing Russia with Teacher
• S553 – Piano Concerto – 2 Piano version