From Schelomo to the solo cello suites: how Ernest Bloch’s late works complicate the narrative of the “Jewish composer”

Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) is most often described as a “Jewish” composer. His music for cello mostly reflects that label, with the exception of the three Suites for Solo Cello. Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1880, Ernest Bloch’s career started amidst an increasing emphasis on national identity and cultural heritage in Europe. It is within this context that Bloch adopted an intentionally Jewish voice in his music. It was the immense success of this music solidified his legacy. However, the narrative of Ernest Bloch the “Jewish” composer is an over-simplification of his compositional style and identity—an identity with which he had a lifelong tumultuous, and often difficult, relationship.

The Suites for Solo Cello were written in 1956-57 in Agate Beach, Oregon, which was Ernest Bloch’s home during the last 18 years of his life. By the time he was composing in Oregon, he had gained substantial international recognition, but he preferred to remain on the periphery of the trending musical scene. The Suites for Solo Cello lack the overt connections to Jewishness that were clear in his earlier music for the instrument. Instead, they reflect an elemental connection with nature and a search for authenticity. This thesis explores the narrative of Ernest Bloch the “Jewish” composer as it evolves over the composer’s lifetime. Analyses of the Suites for Solo Cello, which reflect a lifetime of influences and reveal the most mature version of Bloch’s musical language, are placed within the context of his life, identity, and musical legacy.