A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Lang, Benjamin
[1]LANG, Benjamin Johnson, a well-known pianist, organist, teacher, and conductor at Boston, U.S., was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1840. His father was his first teacher, and Lang's advancement was so rapid that when but 11 years of age he was appointed organist at a church in his native city. Among his teachers were Alfred Jaell and Gustav Satter. Lang became a resident of Boston while a young man, and his home has ever since been in that city. He has been organist to the Handel and Haydn Society since 1859, with the exception of a season when he was abroad, he has conducted the Apollo and Cecilia Clubs since their formation, and he was organist at the South Congregational Church (Unitarian) for many years until Jan. 1888, when he was appointed organist at the King's Chapel. His pupils on the pianoforte and organ have been many, and several of them have become distinguished as teachers and players. Lang has brought out for the first time in Boston many cantatas, etc., as Mendelssohn's 'Walpurgisnacht,' 'Loreley,' and 'Hymn of Praise,' Haydn's 'Seasons,' Schumann's 'Paradise and the Peri,' and Berlioz's 'Faust.' The concerts were his own ventures, as were also several series of orchestral and chamber-music concerts given by him, at which important novelties were presented. The same earnestness to make his hearers acquainted with unfamiliar works, in old as well as new schools, has also been exhibited on his appearances as a pianist or organist in concerts. Lang was an influential member of the concert committee of the Harvard Musical Association so long as that organization gave symphony concerts. His compositions are not many. The best known are songs for single voices and part-songs, performed at concerts of the Apollo Club. None have been published. Lang has on several occasions played in Germany, generally at concerts on his own account.
[ F. H. J. ]
- ↑ Copyright 1889 by F. H. JENKS.