Marion Bauer

Full biography Marion Bauer

Marion Eugénie Bauer (1882-1955) was a highly prolific and versatile American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic. She was active in shaping and expanding the modernist and experimental music scene in America during the early twentieth century. Bauer was born in Walla Walla, Washington, on August 15, 1882, and started studying music at the age of six. She went on to study composition, counterpoint, and fugue under the guidance of Abby Whiteside and at the Conservatoire Americain in Fontainebleau, France.

As a composer, Bauer wrote for a variety of ensembles such as piano, chamber, symphonic orchestra, solo voice, and vocal ensembles. Her works tended toward modernist techniques such as polytonality, polyrhythm, and atonality. Some of her well-known works include her Sonatina for oboe and piano, Three Songs for voice and piano, and the Suite for small orchestra. Bauer was highly regarded as a teacher, serving on the faculty of New York University, the Juilliard School, and the Dalcroze Institute, among others.

In addition to her compositional and teaching work, Bauer was also a prolific writer and music critic. She wrote articles for several music publications, including the Musical Leader and the Musical Quarterly. Her writing focused on advocacy for new music, analyzing new composers and their works, and exploring the relationship between music and poetry. Bauer also co-wrote several books on music with her longtime partner, Ethel Peyser.

Despite her significant contributions to the American music scene, Bauer's music is not widely performed today and her legacy has been somewhat overlooked. However, there has been renewed interest in her work in recent years, and recordings of her compositions are now available for streaming and purchase. Bauer's life and music serve as an example of the talent, resilience, and diversity of voices in American classical music.