Murray Harold Blumenfeld

Murray Harold Blumenfeld died November 1, 2014. Born October 15, 1923 in Seattle, Washington. Son of the late Herman and Margaret “Peg” Blumenfeld. Brother of Jeanne Aaronson and the late Carolyn “Carrie” (late Monte) Lopata. Dear uncle of Dr. Lee Lopata, Loren Lopata, the late Heidi (Allen) Sherman, Matt (Laurie) Aaronson, Jeff (Renee) Aaronson, and Lynne Taylor.

Harold was educated at the Eastman School of Music, Yale University, where he studied with Paul Hindemith, and the University of Zurich. He trained as a conductor with Robert Shaw and Leonard Bernstein. Professor Blumenfeld joined the faculty of Washington University Music Department in 1950 and retired in 1989. He served as Director of Opera Theatre of St. Louis (1962-66), and led Washington University’s Opera Studio (1960-71). In the sixties he was a music critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Los Angeles Times, Opera News and Opera Magazine. Harold received awards from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He created over 30 musical compositions, including the opera Seasons in Hell which premiered at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. In 2002 he completed a full–length opera Borgia Infami, based on the lives, passions, and crimes of the infamous Borgia family of Italy. Harold was in the Signal Corp during World War II, serving as an interpreter, given his ability to speak many languages. He was present at the liberation of the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp, which was the first camp liberated by the U.S. Army. After the war he remained in Europe working in counter intelligence identifying members of the Nazi Party. The Washington University Gaylord Music Library holds the collection of Harold’s letters and musical manuscripts.

Contributions to the Gaylord Music Library, Campus Box 1061, #1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO 63130. A memorial celebration will be held in 2015.