Leo Ornstein, originally from Ukraine, was on his way to becoming a renowned concert pianist in 1913. However, due to antisemitic persecution, his family had been forced to leave Russia in 1906. After arriving in New York, he received a scholarship to what would later become the Juilliard School, where he trained for a concert career.
During this time, Ornstein began to perceive inner sounds that inspired him to write his own, initially dissonant, works. His musical inspirations soon gained recognition, and he became the enfant terrible of the modern music scene, polarizing the music world. With the beginning of the 1920s, his style underwent a profound transformation, shaped by the anxiety he felt in his music.
From then on, Ornstein increasingly distanced himself from strict modernism and embraced a more expressive style. In the late 1920s, he composed both his piano quartet and his string quartet, both of which were critically acclaimed. His intuitive compositional style was reflected in works characterized by their emotional depth and distinctive character. As a composer, he combined lyrical elements with a modern musical language.
With his Piano Quintet, in which he also played the piano, Ornstein demonstrated his virtuosity. His String Quartet No. 2, on the other hand, is less well documented but is described as multifaceted and lyrical. In his compositions, Ornstein favored dialogue between the instruments and avoided strict counterpoint.
His works did not follow a fixed musical order but thrived on a lyrical approach. The final movement of the String Quartet, in particular, showcases his ability to generate emotional tension. After a long creative hiatus, Ornstein returned to music in his later years and, at the age of 98, wrote his eighth piano sonata. He died in 2002 at the age of 108.