Anis Fuleihan

Anis Fuleihan (April 2, 1900 - October 11, 1970) was a Cypriot-born American composer, conductor and pianist.^[1]

A native of Kyrenia, Fuleihan belonged to a Christian Lebanese family; he attended the English School in that town before coming to the United States in 1915.^[1] He settled in New York City, taking further piano lessons with Alberto Jonas; he also taught himself composition at this time. His debut of "Oriental Fantasies" at the Aeolian Hall in 1919 was well received.^[2] He became a United States citizen in 1925.^[1]

Fuleihan toured the USA and the Middle East from 1919 until 1925, living for a time in Cairo before returning to the United States in 1928.^[1] Resettling in New York, he began to compose music for ballets put on by various contemporary dance organizations; he also found work as a conductor for radio at this time. Beginning in 1932 he worked for G. Schirmer, continuing in this capacity until 1939.^[1] In 1945 he began to teach at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana;^[1] in 1953 he assumed the directorship of the Beirut Conservatory in Lebanon.^[1] In 1962 he went to Tunis as part of a program organized by the State Department;^[1] in 1963 he organized the Orchestre Classique de Tunis, remaining there until 1965.^[1]

As a composer, Fuleihan attracted the attention of Eugene Goossens, who premiered his Mediterranean Suite,^[1] and who assisted in his reception of a Guggenheim Fellowship. He obtained several commissions and teaching posts in the Middle East.^[1] Fuleihan's music generally avoided serial structures, and was heavily influenced by Middle Eastern folk music.^[1] One of his works is a concerto for theremin, premiered by the New York Philharmonic under Leopold Stokowski in 1945;^[1] the soloist was Clara Rockmore.^[3]

A short biography mentioning the film in which Fuleihan's Theremin Concerto is played is here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1148763/[]

Fuleihan died in Palo Alto, California in 1970.

References