Ruth Schonthal was born in Hamburg to Viennese parents. She began composing at the age of five and became the youngest student ever admitted to Berlin’s Stern Conservatory. In 1935, Schonthal and her family were forced to flee Nazi Germany because of their Jewish heritage, relocating to Stockholm. There, she studied composition with Ingemar Liljefors and piano with Olaf Wibergh at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. At just fourteen years old, she had her first sonatina published.
In 1941, shortly before completing her studies, the family was again compelled to flee due to escalating political tensions. Their journey took them through Moscow and Japan before they ultimately settled in Mexico City. In 1942, she married Oscar Manuel Ochoa, with whom she had a son, Benjamin, in 1944. The marriage ended in divorce in 1946.
While living in Mexico City, Schonthal studied with Manuel Ponce and, at the age of nineteen, gave a highly acclaimed piano recital at the Palacio de Bellas Artes featuring her own compositions, including her First Piano Concerto. Among those in attendance was the distinguished German composer Paul Hindemith, who secured a scholarship for her to study at Yale University. Schonthal entered the Yale School of Music in 1946, studying composition with Hindemith, and graduated with honors in 1948.
In 1950, she married painter Paul Bernhard Seckel and settled in New York, eventually making her home in New Rochelle, where she lived for most of her life. The couple had two sons, Bernhard and Alfred Seckel, the latter becoming a noted authority on visual illusions.
Throughout her career, Schonthal received commissions for chamber music, operas, orchestral works, and compositions for organ and piano. She taught composition and music theory at New York University until 2006 and maintained an active private teaching studio. Among her students was the future composer Lowell Liebermann, and from 2003 to 2005 she also taught a young Stephanie Germanotta, who later achieved international fame as Lady Gaga.
Like many composers of her generation, Schonthal pursued a variety of musical activities to support herself and her family. In addition to composing concert works, she wrote music for television and advertising, performed as a pianist in clubs and venues throughout New York, and taught piano and composition privately. Her music reflects a lifetime shaped by displacement, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to artistic expression.
Recordings
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Works List:
- Theme & Variations for Solo Flute