Luna Alcalay

Luna Alcalay (21 October 1928 – 9 October 2012)^[1] was a Croatian-born Austrian pianist, music educator and composer, described as "one of the most internationally renowned Austrian composers."^[2]

Luna Alcalay
Born	(1928-10-21)21 October 1928 Zagreb, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Died	9 October 2012(2012-10-09) (aged 83) Vienna, Austria

Biography

Alcalay was born in Zagreb, Croatia, to a Jewish family.^[3] She studied piano under Bruno Seidlhofer and composition under Alfred Uhl at the Vienna Academy of Music and received a scholarship in 1958 to continue her studies in Rome.^[4] She attended the Darmstadt Summer Course.^[5]

After completing her studies, Alcalay returned to Vienna, where she became a professor of piano at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts.^[6][7] She died in 2012, at the age of 83, in Vienna.

Composition prizes

• Darmstadt 1963 and 1964
• Gaudeamus Competition 1967^{[citation needed]}
• Berlin 1972
• International ISCM competition Italy 1973
• ORF Steiermark 1973
• "Preis der Stadt Wien" 1992^[4]

Works

Selected works include:

• Apostroph (violin solo)
• Apostrophen (violoncello solo)
• Gyroskop for viola solo (1998)
• un sogno à tre for flute, viola and harp (1990)
• relatif à la sonorité (string trio)
• Touches (two pianos)
• conversations à trois (woodwind trio)
• L'intérieur des pensées (string quartet)
• Applications (for sixteen strings)
• Pas de deux (two clarinets)
• Trio (alto saxophone, drums, double bass)
• Syntax (percussion)
• En circuit · Der alte Friedhof in Prag (mezzo-soprano and ensemble)
• Bagatellen (piano solo)
• Transparenzen(piano trio)
• Sentenzen (violin concerto)
• Quasi una Fantasia (violin and piano)
• Touches (piano concerto)
• Der übergangene Mensch (Music drama)
• A Game for Two (percussion (2 players))
• Due sentenze (mezzo-soprano, oboe d'amore, piano)
• 3 poems (marimba)
• En passant (flute solo)^[4]
• Ich bin in sehnsucht eingehüllt ("I'm wrapped in longing"), Scenic reflections on love poems by Selma Meerbaum (1984), written for Gunda König and Dieter Kaufmann's K&K Experimental Studio for their series of performances called "Music and Eroticism – Amor, Terror, Psyche"^[5]

Alcalay's work has been recorded and issued on CD, including:

• Der Tod des Trompeters/Heiligenlegende (Audio CD, December 1, 1995)
• Vienna Modern Masters VMM3020