Brandeis Magazine

Murray Sachs, of Newton, Mass., a professor emeritus of French and comparative literature at Brandeis and a recipient of the French government’s highest education honor, died on May 14. A literary scholar, author, editor, translator, teacher and Francophile, he served as a professor at Brandeis from 1961-96. He also taught at Columbia; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Detroit; and Williams. The French government awarded him the Palmes Académiques for his scholarship, including “The Career of Alphonse Daudet: A Critical Study,” “The French Short Story in the 19th Century: A Critical Anthology” and many other works. Known in his field as a deeply engaged and generous scholar, he frequently read and commented on other people’s manuscripts, and contributed numerous essays, reviews and encyclopedia entries. He leaves his wife, Miriam; his daughter, Deborah; his son, Aaron; his sister, Belle; and six grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to support the Murray Sachs Prize for Outstanding Work and Dedication in French and Francophone Studies, sponsored by Brandeis’ Department of Romance Studies. Checks made out to Brandeis with “In memory of Murray Sachs” in the memo line may be sent to MS 012, Donor Relations, Brandeis University, P.O. Box 549110, Waltham, MA 02454-9110. Gifts may also be made online at giving.brandeis.edu. Harold Shapero, of Natick, Mass., a classical music composer, pianist and professor emeritus of music at Brandeis, died in his sleep on May 17, following complications from pneumonia. He was 93. He was identified with the American “Stravinsky school” of neoclassical composers that included lifelong friends and fellow Brandeis faculty members Arthur Berger, Leonard Bernstein and Irving Fine. Harold joined the Brandeis faculty in 1951 and spent 37 years teaching in the Department of Music. He helped develop the university’s renowned electronic-music studio and taught music theory and composition. He served as the department’s chair during the 1960s and mentored a number of students, including Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Richard Wernick ’55; composer and editor Benjamin Boretz, MFA’57; pianist, harpsichordist, conductor and composer Joel Spiegelman, MFA’56; and composer Sheila Silver, MA’74, PhD’76. His compositions were recognized with numerous accolades, among them the Prix de Rome, a Naumburg Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Fulbright Fellowship and a Koussevitzky Music Foundation Commission. A graduate of Harvard University, Harold was taught by Walter Piston, Paul Hindemith and Nadia Boulanger, among others. He was a mainstay at the MacDowell Colony during the 1940s, when he completed his “Serenade in D,” and an early student at Tanglewood, where Aaron Copland presented a performance of his “Nine-Minute Overture.” Harold is survived by his wife, Esther (Geller), and his daughter, Pyra (Hannah). Gifts in his honor may be made to Brandeis’ Department of Music, MS 122, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, or online at giving.brandeis.edu. Kenneth Waltz, a former Brandeis professor of politics and one of the most influential international-relations scholars of his generation, died on May 13. He also taught at Columbia; the University of California, Berkeley; and Swarthmore. After retiring from his position at Berkeley, he returned to Columbia as an adjunct professor and became a senior research scholar at the Institute of War and Peace Studies. He served as president of the American Political Science Association and was a recipient of the group’s James Madison Award for distinguished scholarly contributions to political science. He authored numerous books, including “Man, the State and War,” “Theory of International Politics” and “Foreign Policy and Democratic Politics,” and co-authored, with Scott Sagan, “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons.”