Few sources, however, are available in English.

Materials that might be used to study Tansman’s biography and music include primary sources such as interviews, letters and reviews reposited in the Tansman Archives in Paris as well as a large volume of periodical articles dating back to the 1920s available in Polish and French. Indeed, most of the currently available information about Alexandre Tansman originates from reference sources such as The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians David Ewen’s Composers Since 1900 and Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Studies devoted to Tansman and written outside Poland include the 1931 biography by Irving Schwerke and two American doctoral dissertations: one by Susan Marie Tusing and the other by Lorraine Butterfield. It is in Polish, however, and until a translation is made or a new study written, no comprehensive biography will be available in English. The second volume of Janusz Cegiella’s groundbreaking biography of Tansman has just been published.

When one comes to understand Tansman’s music and his life story, it becomes evident that he was a witness to, as well as a participant in, the course of musical history throughout most of the twentieth century. One such composer is Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986). There are, however, many composers from this century who have fallen into relative obscurity and yet have created a wealth of exceptional music. By now, the lives and music of such well-known and influential composers as Schoenberg, Ravel, Bartók, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Bernstein have been extensively researched. Introduction: A Case For Alexandre TansmanĪs the twentieth century comes to a close, it is now possible to assess with some distance the events of the past hundred years and to evaluate the achievements of those individuals who helped shape musical history. Recollections: Illustrious Contemporaries Return to France: Creative Maturity (1946-1986)ĩ. Years of Exile in Los Angeles (1941-1946)Ĩ. Early Childhood and Youth in Poland (1897-1919)ħ. Part II: Alexandre Tansman In His Own WordsĤ. Compiled, Translated and Introduced by Jill Timmons and Sylvain Frémaux

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