From New York to St. Petersburg
a Musical Discovery

Irving Schlein was an American composer who lived and worked his entire life in New York City (see Biography). He was a 1930 Juilliard graduate and studied composition with Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, Wallingford Riegger and Roger Sessions. In a 1947 competition, with Paul Hindemith as one of three jurors, Schlein’s "Dance Overture" won First Prize. He produced a large body of work comprising hundreds of compositions across diverse musical genres.

From 2001 to early 2008, Irving Schlein’s music came to life through a unique collaboration with many of the finest musicians in St. Petersburg, Russia. Nearly all of Schlein’s musical repertoire was transcribed from their original manuscripts to electronic form. And dozens of recording sessions produced 14 CDs, including all his chambers works, many piano concertos and symphonies, and works for horn, flute, strings and woodwinds. This “musical discovery” was the brainchild of his late son, Peter Schlein.

This website provides a snapshot into the world of Irving Schlein. A few key highlights include:

Compositions: Complete listings of all works, including option to examine scores, sample recordings, and download and purchase MP3 files

Videos: View selections of recordings with members of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic

Performances: Past, recent and scheduled performances.

-World premiere of Rhapsody and Dance, from the “Sonata Hebraica”, at the 36th International Viola Congress (6 June 2008)
-World premiere of Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts (18 June 2008)

Slave Songs of the United States: In 2007, Hal Leonard® published an updated edition of Schlein’s piano accompaniments to an 1867 collection of 136 slave songs.

Recording Unorthodoxy: Our orchestral recordings have yielded fascinating results  by eliminating large string sections, we have produced greater balance between strings and winds/percussion, and enhanced the precision and clarity of all instruments.

Please contact info@schlein.org with any questions or comments.