Judd Woldin
Judd Woldin | |
---|---|
Birth name | Edwin Judd Woldin |
Born | Manhattan, New York | May 30, 1925
Genres | Musical theatre |
Occupation(s) | Composer |
Judd Woldin (May 30, 1925 – November 27, 2011) was an American composer, most notable for his musical Raisin.
Biography
Edwin Judd Woldin was born in Somerville, New Jersey. At the age of eight, he began taking piano lessons. In high school, he was attracted to Jazz, and was even working professionally at the time.[1]
He attended Rutgers University, and received his B.A. in 1958 and his M.A. in 1960. He had started a doctoral program at Columbia University, but left to write the dance music for a Broadway musical based on James Thurber's Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated. After having toured with Don Elliott and then Lionel Hampton, Woldin attended Black Mountain College, studying painting with Josef Albers and composition with Heinrich Jalowetz. He then attended the University of New Mexico to study 12-tone music with Ernst Krenek (the composer of Johnny Spielt Auf.[1]
Woldin then joined the
His other work includes Petticoat Lane, loosely based on the novella
Lorenzo, a musical based on Mozart librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, premiered at the George Street Playhouse in 1982. It was co-written by Richard Engquist.[1]
Little Ham was written with
In 1992, a concert version of Jonah, about the
The Prince and The Pauper, written with Marc Elliot, was based on
.Judd Woldin died after an eight-year bout with cancer on November 27, 2011, at the age of 86. [2]
Works
Musicals
- 1973 - Raisin (lyrics by Robert Brittan, book by Robert B. Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg)
- 1978 - Pettycoat Lane
- 1982 - Lorenzo (co-librettist Richard Engquist)
- 1987 - Little Ham (co-librettist Engquist)
- 1992 - Jonah
- 1993 - The Prince and the Pauper (music by Woldin and Marc Elliot, lyrics by Elliot)
Play
- 2002 - Murder in Baker Street
Film scores
- 1962 - Railway with a Heart of Gold[3]
- 1964 - Light Fantastic
- 1967 - Poppycock
- 1968 - Nobody Ever Died of Old Age
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Judd Woldin Biography. Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bruce Weber (December 4, 2011). "Judd Woldin, 'Raisin' Score Composer, Dies at 86". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-900317-07-1.
- Bibliography
- Contemporary Authors Online, Detroit: Gale, 2002, ISBN 978-0-7876-3995-2