Leonid Hoffman – Composer
...Magnificent connoisseur of Schoenberg’s study of harmony and form, a brilliant analyst and a teacher-practitioner...
Leonid Hoffman was born in Moscow. Studied as pupil of Philip Herschkowitz, composer and theoretician, a student of Alban Berg and Anton Webern. Hoffman became one of the greatest expert of the study of Schoenberg.
He was professor at Moscow State Academy named after Maymonid, has been teaching harmony in Schoenberg's way, counterpoint, theory and analysis of form; professor in Russian State Humanitarian University. Gave cycle of lectures on history of Russian culture in University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Lectures on theory and analysis of form of New Viennese School in Colorado College.
As theoretician published many articles on music (The Principal Theme in the 1st Movement of the Fifth Piano Sonata by Beethoven; Dr. Anton Webern etc); and the book of theoretical works by Philip Hershkovitz.
He wrote orchestral compositions, chamber works, songs, choir works ; he is master of instrumentation, created transcriptions (Berg's Piano Sonata, for viola and orchestra; Schoenberg's Six Little Piano Pieces, op.19 for chamber orchestra; Pyotr Tchaikovsky's The Seasons and Sergei Prokofiev's Violin Sonata for string orchestra).
His music played at international festivals all over the world (Moscow, Toronto, Venice, Vilnius, Hong Kong, Kuhmo, Omsk, Colorado, and Virginia). He has contributed to the Taiwanese project Performing Classical Music on Classical Italian Instruments.
