Jack Gottlieb

GOTTLIEB, JACK

Jack Gottlieb, 80, a New Rochelle-born composer, author, and educator whose work bridged the secular and sacred; the classical and popular, died Wed., Feb. 23 at home in New York City. He had suffered from prostate cancer.

Mr. Gottlieb's contributions to American music were being widely celebrated, including a full concert and talk at the Library of Congress in December. As the current Leonard Bernstein Scholar-In-Residence of the New York Philharmonic, his lecture-demonstration "Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish: How Yiddish Songs and Synagogue Melodies Influenced Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and Hollywood," will be presented March 30. Mr. Gottlieb will receive a posthumous honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in New York, where he was the first full time professor of music at the School of Sacred Music.

From 1958 to 1966, he served as Leonard Bernstein's assistant at the Philharmonic. He edited three Bernstein books and was senior member of the Leonard Bernstein Office. Mr. Gottlieb, who remained close to the composer until his death in 1990, provided a detailed look in "Working With Bernstein," published in 2010. The memoir recounts a life of frenzied travel, mixing with movie stars and Mr. Gottlieb's thorough understanding of Bernstein's music.

Along with Bernstein, whom he met at Tanglewood in the early 1950s, mentors included Aaron Copland and Max Helfman, who would help shape him into an important composer. Mr. Gottlieb filled a singular niche, moving music normally heard only in synagogue into the concert hall, effectively delivering Jewish heritage to a wide audience. His sacred work "Love Songs for Sabbath" was presented at the College of St. Catherine in Saint Paul, Minn., perhaps the first full synagogue service under Catholic auspices.

Publications include "Songs of Godlove," a 40-year anthology. His "Love Songs for Sabbath" is part of the Naxos Milken Archive of Jewish Music series. Secular compositions included operas and cabaret, theater and choral songs. In 2002, the Library of Congress chose his "Presidential Suite" for its "I Hear America Singing" web site.

Mr. Gottlieb's keen interest in exposing Jewish influences in popular and theater music inspired his lecture, from "Shtetl to Stage Door," and performance, "Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish." The show was followed by a book of the same name, published in 2004. He filled another significant role: advocate for a generation of cantors and Jewish musicians.

Artists to perform his work include Bernstein, members of the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Jennie Tourel, Tovah Feldshuh and the Gregg Smith Singers. He was past president of the American Society of Jewish Music and received many awards, recently from the Zamir Choral Foundation.

Born Oct. 12, 1930 to Morris and Esther Gottlieb, he grew up on Lincoln Street and attended public schools. His father, who ran Town Hand Laundry, enjoyed Yiddish song writing and taught himself the mandolin. As a child, Mr. Gottlieb asked his sister Irene, 11 years his elder, how to play the piano as she practiced. An early photo shows him using spoons to "play" bottles filled with water.

He received his BA from Queens College, MFA from Brandeis University and DMA from the University of Illinois, where he devoted his dissertation to Bernstein. In addition to his faculty appointment at Hebrew Union, Mr. Gottlieb served as music director of Temple Israel in St. Louis and was composer in residence nine times at the MacDowell Colony.

Mr. Gottlieb is survived by a sister, Irene Kaplan, of Silver Spring, Md.; a nephew, Oren Kaplan; three nieces; Tova Kaplan, Elizabeth Anderson and Jane Gottlieb; six grand nieces and nephews; numerous cousins. His brother, David Gottlieb, of Edgemont, passed away in November.

A concert of his work will be presented next year. New York City's Temple Emanu-El will feature his sacred music, at its Friday evening service, March 11th and on Saturday morning. These may be heard at www.emanuelnyc.org/simple.php/wor_broadcast

Contributions in Jack Gottlieb's name may be made to an organization that promotes American culture.