Podcast appearances and mentions of Eugene Ormandy

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring trumpet legend and women's trumpet trailblazer Marie Speziale, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here: "Marie Speziale trumpet interview" *Note to listeners and viewers: we're rebalancing our podcast release schedule, to alternate The Other Side of the Bell with our other two podcasts: Trombone Corner and The Horn Signal. Hence the back-to-back episode of TOSOTB this week!  If you haven't already, check out our other two shows for more fantastic interviews with horn-playing legends!   Trombone Corner The Horn Signal     About Marie Speziale:   Acknowledged as the first woman trumpeter in a major symphony orchestra, Marie Speziale retired from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1996 after having served as Associate Principal Trumpet for thirty-two years (1964-1996).   A graduate of the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati (CCM), Ms. Speziale studied with Robert Price, Eugene Blee and Arnold Jacobs. Her tenure with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) included playing with the Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. She performed under the batons of Igor Stravinsky, George Szell, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Eugene Ormandy, Eric Leinsdorf, Max Rudolf and so many more.   In addition to solo appearances with the Cincinnati Symphony, Cincinnati Pops and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestras, she was featured on NBC's Today Show at age 15, in an impromptu jam session with Duke Ellington shortly after joining the orchestra, and with Dave Brubeck on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show, the CSO European tour, and at the Interlochen Arts Academy. While a student at CCM, she recorded sound tracks for James Brown, whose career was launched by the historic King Records in Cincinnati.   Marie served on the CCM faculty, 1964 -1973, on the faculty at Miami University of Ohio, 1973 - 1979, and returned to CCM as Adjunct Associate Professor, 1979 - 2002. She was appointed Professor of Music at Indiana University 1999, serving there until a year after her 2001 appointment as Professor of Trumpet and Brass Department Chair at the prestigious Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.   In 1999, Marie was one of six Americans (and the only American woman) to be invited by the Tokyo International Music Festival to perform in its first Super World Orchestra. In addition to the National Trumpet Competitions, she has served as adjudicator for the ITG, IWBC and the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music competitions.   In 1996, Ms. Speziale performed with the Monarch Brass on its inaugural tour. She conducted the Monarch Brass at the 1997 and 2014 conferences, and played, toured and recorded with Monarch Brass Quintet and Monarch Brass Ensemble until retiring from playing.   President of IWBC, 1997 - 2001, Marie hosted the 2000 conference at CCM and served on the Board of Directors.   Ms. Speziale has won many awards and honors, including Leading Women in the Arts Award from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition of Women's Organizations, the Outstanding Woman of the Year in Music Award from the Tampa Tribune, the SAI Chapter, Province and National Leadership Awards, the Pioneer Award from the International Women's Brass Conference, the Golden Rose Award from the Women Band Directors International, the Woman of Excellence Award from the Italian Club of Tampa, the Distinguished Alumna Award from CCM and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Cincinnati.   In 2018, Marie was inducted into the Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame as part of their recognition of the Symphony Jazz Quintet, of which she was a founding member. She was presented with the prestigious Honorary Award from the International Trumpet Guild at their 2018 conference. In 2019, Ms. Speziale was one of 100 women recognized by Cincinnati Arts Wave in their Celebration of Women in the Arts: Power of Her.   Marie Speziale retired as Professor Emerita from Rice University in 2013. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and the Emeritus Board of the IWBC.   Podcast listeners! Enter code "podcast" at checkout for 15% off any of our Gard bags! Visit trumpetmouthpiece.com for more info.     Episode Links: International Women's Brass Conference, May 19-24, Hartford, Connecticut. Register: myiwbc.org Sign up sheet for valve alignments: bobreeves.com/iwbc International Trumpet Guild Conference, May 27-31, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Sign up sheet for valve alignments: bobreeves.com/itg William Adam Trumpet Festival, June 19-22, Clarksville, Tennessee. williamadamtrumpet.com  Sign up sheet for valve alignments: bobreeves.com/williamadam   Podcast Credits: “A Room with a View“ - composed and performed by Howie Shear Podcast Host - John Snell Cover Art - courtesy of Marie Speziale Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg  

The Horn Signal is proudly brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. Join hosts John Snell and Preston Shepard as they interview horn players around the world.  Today's episode features Robert Watt, former Assistant Principal Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.   Robert Lee Watt was born in Neptune, New Jersey the 4th child of seven. His father, Edward Watt Jr. played trumpet professionally in a Jazz ensemble, “The New Jersey Squires of Rhythm.” When Robert was eight years old he got curious about his father's trumpet, kept high on a shelf. Too short to reach it, Robert conscripted his little brother Tony to help. But with Tony on his shoulders he lost his balance, causing both of them to fall to the floor, trumpet in hand.  Robert then attempted to fix the dents in the instrument by using a hammer. The badly damaged trumpet was the way Robert's father discovered his interest in horns. After a serious reproach, Robert's father tried to teach him trumpet. However, it wasn't until years later that Robert discovered the instrument he really wanted to play.    While helping his father clean out a room in the basement Robert discovered some old 78 recordings. The curious Robert gave the old recordings a spin. It was the “William Tell Overture” on hearing the French horns on that recording he asked his father what instrument came in after the trumpet. His father informed him that it was a “French horn” “A middle instrument that never gets to play the melody like the trumpet…why, do you like that horn?” His father asked. Robert replied, “It gives me chills when I hear it, I love it. That's what I want to play.” His father informed the young Robert that it really wasn't the instrument for him. Explaining that it was an instrument for thin-lipped white boys. “Your lips are too thick to play that small, thin, mouthpiece. You'd be better suited for the trumpet like you father.”  Upon reaching high school Robert seriously pursued the French horn. Approaching the band director of his high school in Asbury Park, Robert was again told that his lips were too thick to play the French horn. After being persistent, the band director gave Robert an old French horn that barely worked.  Nevertheless, Robert advanced quickly and was soon winning auditions for honor bands and orchestras throughout the state of New Jersey, bringing great honor to his high school. After high school Robert was accepted to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he majored in music and studied French horn with Harry Shapiro of the Boston Symphony. Mr. Shapiro took great interest in Robert pushing him hard. At the end of his first year Mr. Watt was asked to perform the Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1, with the Boston Pops Orchestra under Arthur Fiedler. The following summer he received a fellowship to the Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood. Returning to the Conservatory for his third year Mr. Watt was informed by the president's office that the Conservatory had financial problems and that all scholarships would be canceled for the coming year. At the end of his junior year at the Conservatory Mr. Watt was informed by his French horn teacher that it was time for him to audition for a position in a major symphony orchestra. On the advice of his teacher, Mr. Watt chose Los Angeles and Chicago. When Mr. Watt returned from his audition journey, he had made the finals at both auditions. Two months later The Los Angeles Philharmonic offered him the position of Assistant First Horn. Making him the first African American French horn player hired by a major symphony orchestra in the United States. Mr. Watt joined the ranks of only a handful of African Americans playing in symphony orchestras in these United States. According to the American Symphony Orchestra League, that represented less than 2% of the total, out of twenty-six top orchestras. Mr. Watt held his position until 2007, a career spanning 37 years.  Mr. Watt performed several times as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and several orchestras in the Los Angeles area as well as the Oakland Symphony performing the Richard Strauss Second Horn Concerto While a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Mr. Watt has performed with principal and guest conductors that included: Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Eric Leinsdrof, Carla Maria Giulini, Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Henry Lewis, James De Priest, Michael Tilson Thomas, Herbert Blumstedt, Andre Previn, Marin Alsop, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Christoph Von Dohnányi. Included among the many world renown artists he has performed with were:     Yo-Yo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Wynton Marsalias, Henry Mancini, Gladys Night, Isaac Hayes, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Barry White, Rihanna, Paula Abdul, Herbie Hancock, Lalo Schifrin, The Carpenters, Benny Carter, Quincy Jones, Bon Jovi, Elton John and film composer, John Williams. He has played on film scores of: Spiderman II, Rush Hour, Mission Impossible, Spike Lee's “Miracle at St. Anna, Golf and many others.  Mr. Watt has played the music for the Twentieth Century Fox cartoons, The Simpsons, American Dad, Family Guy and King of the Hill for the past three years. He played on the five hour TV special “The Jacksons, an American Family” under Harold Wheeler, and played for several years for the TV program “Startrek Voyager.” In the late 80's Mr. Watt helped organize an African American Brass Quintet, “The New Brass Ensemble” which performed throughout the United States and abroad.  Mr. Watt has done public speaking lecturing on music and African history in the Los Angeles area. He was hired as guest professor at Los Angele City College teaching the course, “Music of Black Americans”. Recently Mr. Watt executive produced a short film in memory of his friend Miles Davis. The film is based on the musical composition “Missing Miles” by Todd Cochran, commissioned by Mr. Watt, for French horn and piano. The short film was chosen by the Pan African Film Festival and the Garden State Film Festival.  Mr. Watt is a licensed airplane pilot with an instrument rating. He is a saber fencer and he speaks German and Italian.

Sometimes when I look back on past episodes of Countermelody, I surprise myself with how good they were, even in the early days when I was still trying to figure everything out. This episode, first posted as a bonus episode five years ago is a good example of that. Earlier that season I had coined the term “Full-Figured Baroque” to describe the “old-fashioned” style of Baroque performance that I personally prefer to what one currently hears in churches and concert halls around the world and on recordings. This episode was devoted to Baroque music composed specifically for the Christmas season, recorded between 1940 and 1992, and performed in deliciously non-period style, replete with deliberate tempi, judiciously applied vibrato, and stately ritardandi. There is a special focus on the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah and Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium and assorted cantatas for the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany season. Singers include Janet Baker, Tom Krause, Jerry Hadley, Margaret Marshall, Francisco Araiza, Russell Oberlin, Helen Watts, William Warfield, John Shirley-Quirk, Peter Schreier, Heather Harper, Shirley Verrett, Edith Mathis, Hermann Prey, Marga Höffgen, Agnes Giebel, Kurt Equiluz, Florence Quivar, Aksel Schiøtz, Kirsten Flagstad, Christa Ludwig, Edith Mathis, Brigitte Fassbaender. Ernst Haefliger, Jennifer Vyvyan, Anna Reynolds, Judith Blegen, Fritz Wunderlich, Elly Ameling, Peter Schreier, and Gundula Janowitz. Conductors include Neville Marriner, Raymond Leppard, Colin Davis, Karl Richter, Lorin Maazel, Helmut Winschermann, Vittorio Negri, Karl Münchinger, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Eugene Ormandy, Adrian Boult, Andrew Davis, and Eugen Jochum, among others. Don't miss out on this full-figured Christmas treat! Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Merry Christmas! On this episode of Catholic Forum, after a news update from The Dialog, we will present Bishop William Koenig's annual Christmas message to the people of the Diocese of Wilmington and some beautiful Christmas hymns from John Michael Talbot's The Birth of Jesus CD and The Glorious Sounds of Christmas CD by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Eugene Ormandy and the Temple University Concert Choir. 

durée : 00:19:57 - Disques de légende du mardi 12 novembre 2024 - Dans les dernières années de son long mandat (44 ans !) à la tête de l'Orchestre de Philadelphie, le chef hongrois livrait en 1973 une version de la 3ème symphonie de Saint-Saëns qui a fait date.

durée : 01:28:45 - Disques de légende du mardi 12 novembre 2024 - Dans les dernières années de son long mandat (44 ans !) à la tête de l'Orchestre de Philadelphie, le chef hongrois livrait en 1973 une version de la 3ème symphonie de Saint-Saëns qui a fait date.

durée : 00:19:57 - Disques de légende du mardi 12 novembre 2024 - Dans les dernières années de son long mandat (44 ans !) à la tête de l'Orchestre de Philadelphie, le chef hongrois livrait en 1973 une version de la 3ème symphonie de Saint-Saëns qui a fait date.

durée : 01:28:45 - Disques de légende du mardi 12 novembre 2024 - Dans les dernières années de son long mandat (44 ans !) à la tête de l'Orchestre de Philadelphie, le chef hongrois livrait en 1973 une version de la 3ème symphonie de Saint-Saëns qui a fait date.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) - Sinfonia n. 15 in la maggiore, op. 1411.       Allegretto2.       Adagio 8:27  3.       Allegretto 4.       Adagio  23:50The Philadelphia OrchestraEugene Ormandy, conductorAbout Sinfonia n. 15 in la maggiore, op. 141

Betty Allen has been featured on countless omnibus Countermelody episodes, but it's time for her to get her own episode! Born in Ohio on 17 March, 1927, she died at the age of 82 on 22 June 2009. Not only did Betty Allen possess a voice of significant power and amplitude, she was a superb musician who channeled her soul into her singing, using her superb technique to convey depth of meaning in all the music she sang. She also had a wide repertoire, excelling in opera, concert, and recital. Though her recorded legacy is relatively small, it is superb and significant. Today's episode samples a cross-section of her recordings, both live and studio, and includes collaborations with Leonard Bernstein, Nicolai Gedda, Eugene Ormandy, Carmen Balthrop, Horst Stein, Leontyne Price, Virgil Thomson, John DeMain, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Richard Bonynge, and Adele Addison. She was a powerful force for good in the musical world, as an educator and advocate as well, succeeding Dorothy Maynor in leading the Harlem School of the Arts, where she served as both executive director and president. Many currently active singers have been touched by the stringent generosity of this fine artist, and it is my honor to pay tribute to her today. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford.

This August I shall be supplementing each new episode published with a first-time general posting of bonus episodes which were originally available only for my Patreon subscribers. Today, in the first of my “new reissues,” I present “George Shirley Revisited,” a supplement to the tribute I posted three years ago, and which I now offer as a belated 90th birthday salute. In this episode, I offer further examples of the great tenor's eclectic repertoire and interpretive depth. Guest vocalists include Shirley Verrett and Elisabeth Söderström and conductors include Pierre Boulez, Thomas Schippers, Eugene Ormandy, Colin Davis, Antal Doráti, Jesús López Cobos, and Igor Stravinsky himself. Composers sampled include Jules Massenet, Howard Swanson, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss, Johann Sebastian Bach, Richard Wagner, Norman Dello Joio, Felix Mendelssohn, Vally Weigl, Joseph Haydn, and James Dashow, whose Second Voyage, a setting of John Ashberry scored for tenor voice and recorded electronic sounds, was commissioned for George Shirley by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1976. I also include a number of rare recordings that George Shirley and Wayne Sanders made in 1973 for Music Minus One's Laureate Series and that, to my knowledge, are among his rarest recordings. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

This week on Sinica, I chat with University of Melbourne transnational historian Pete Millwood about his outstanding book Improbable Diplomats: How Ping-Pong Players, Musicians, and Scientists Remade U.S.-China Relations. The road to normalization is told too often with a focus only on the Nixon-Kissinger opening and official diplomatic efforts culminating in the final recognition of the PRC in January 1979, but there's much more to the story than that, and Millwood tells it deftly, drawing on extensive archival research as well as interviews with many of those directly involved.3:33 — Transnational history 4:44 — The early, “pioneering” trips to China in the 1950s and ‘60s and China's shift in invitations 11:14 — The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR) in the 1960s 16:27 — The role of the Committee of Concerned Asia Scholars (CCAS)20:43 — Why Nixon's opening to China was seen as so surprising, and the impact of the UN's shift in recognition from the ROC to the PRC on American thinking 24:57 — The Glenn Cowan and Zhuang Zedong ping-pong diplomacy story 31:21 — Edgar Snow's meeting with Mao33:43 — The return leg of ping-pong diplomacy and the National Committee's “baptism by fire”36:33 — The significance of the Philadelphia Orchestra's tour of China with Eugene Ormandy 42:23 — Jiang Qing and the controversy around the cancelled performing arts tour in the U.S. in 1975 46:03 — Kissinger's thinking in the early 1970s after the first communiqué 48:48 — The U.S.-China People's Friendship Association 50:42 — How scientific cooperation smoothed the process toward normalization under the Carter administration, the state of play in '77, and how Frank Press CSCPRC argued for greater reciprocity 1:02:25 — The politics in China in regards to the grander bargain and the decentralization of exchanges 1:05:43 — The disbandment of the CSCPRC and the reinvention of the NCUSCR 1:08:58 — Pete's suggestion for continuing academic and cultural exchange 1:12:51 — How Pete got interested in such an American and China-centric topic 1:18:02 — Pete's current projects Recommendations:Pete: Island X: Taiwanese Student Migrants, Campus Spies, and Cold War Activism by Wendy Cheng; Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong by Louisa Lim (also available as an audiobook read by the author) Kaiser: We Met in Beijing, a book of poems by Anthony Tao See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

durée : 00:15:30 - Disques de légende du lundi 10 juin 2024 - Les concertos pour piano de Mendelssohn par Rudolf Serkin et le Columbia Symphony Orchestra, sous la direction de Eugene Ormandy.

Once again we have reached the climax of the penitential season of Lent, the most theologically significant week in the Christian calendar, namely Holy Week. Even for those who are not observant Christians, this period, standing as it does on the threshold of spring, the season of rebirth, can be a time of meditation and remembrance. To help support this contemplative moment I have compiled selections from some of the larger oratorios and liturgical works composed during the Romantic era performed by some of the greatest classical vocalists of the last century. Composers include Brahms, Dvořák, Rossini, Schubert, Franck, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Elgar; singers include sopranos Margaret Marshall, Leontyne Price, Pilar Lorengar, Judith Raskin, and Elizabeth Harwood; mezzo-sopranos Betty Allen, Alfreda Hodgson, and Shirley Verrett; tenors David Rendall, Alejandro Ramírez, and Richard Lewis; and bass-baritones Tom Krause and Franz Crass led by conductors Andrew Davis, Eugene Ormandy, James Conlon, George Szell, Rafael Kubelik, Michel Corboz, and Herbert von Karajan. No matter what your faith or belief system, there is an outpouring of beautiful music and singing contained in this episode that will fully engage your mind and spirit. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford.  

This Countermelody episode is the last in my miniseries featuring artists from Baltimore. It is also the last in my new episodes for Black History Month 2024 featuring “Forgotten Divas.” Today I offer to you the absolutely divine soprano of Veronica Tyler (1939-2020), who fits all three categories. In the 1960s, Veronica Tyler was a name on everyone's lips: she appeared on three different episodes of Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts, she was the second prize winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1966, the first time this venerable contest had featured singers, she was a featured artist at the New York City Opera, where, in their first season at Lincoln Center, she sang a Pamina in The Magic Flute of such humanity and transcendent vocal beauty that audiences were transported into another world. She sang under conductors Leopold Stokowski, Erich Leinsdorf, Zubin Mehta, Eugene Ormandy, Carlo Maria Giulini, Robert Shaw, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Later on she made a belated Met debut in 1985 as Serena in their premiere production of Porgy and Bess, but gradually her high profile appearances became fewer and fewer and eventually she disappeared from view. Her death on 21 March 2020 was only announced three months later, and with little fanfare. But during her heyday, Veronica Tyler was among the most elegant, compelling, and ingratiating lyric sopranos in the business. I have scoured the archives to bring to light some of the artist's most beautiful performances, some of them virtually unheard for decades, including a 1980 album of spirituals that ranks among the best of this repertoire ever committed to disc. What inexpressible joy it brings me to present to you the unforgettable Veronica Tyler! Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford.

SynopsisComing of age in the first half of the 20th century were two exceptionally talented children of the wealthy Austrian steel magnate Karl Wittgenstein: Ludwig Wittgenstein became a famous philosopher and Paul Wittgenstein a concert pianist.Paul served in the Austrian army in World War I, and, for a concert pianist, suffered a horrific injury: the loss of his right arm. Undaunted, he rebuilt his career by commissioning and performing works for piano left-hand. The family fortune enabled him to commission the leading composers of his day, including Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel and Sergei Prokofiev.Unfortunately, even the Wittgenstein fortune couldn't protect the family from the racial laws of Nazi Germany, given the family's Jewish heritage. In 1938, he left for the United States after Austria's Anschluss with the German Reich.In America, he commissioned a concert work from young British expatriate Benjamin Britten, also living in America at the time, and gave the premiere performance of Britten's Diversions for piano left-hand and orchestra on today's date in 1942, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy. Wittgenstein later confessed that of all his commissions, Britten's work came the closest to fulfilling his needs and wishes.Music Played in Today's ProgramBenjamin Britten (1913-1976) Diversions; Peter Donohoe, piano; City of Birmingham Symphony; Simon Rattle, cond. EMI 54270

SynopsisOn today's date in 1941, the final orchestral work of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff received its premiere performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Eugene Ormandy.It was an orchestral suite, Symphonic Dances, and was originally planned as a triptych depicting the passage of time, with its three sections to be titled “Midday,” “Twilight” and “Midnight.” For this new work, Rachmaninoff recycled music from an older one: an unfinished ballet from 1915.Rachmaninoff was an unabashed and unrepentant Romantic at heart, with his musical style grounded in the late 19th-century tradition. Oddly enough, in all other matters Rachmaninoff was modern — even trendy. When living in Russia, he owned the first automobile in his rural part of the country. After settling in Switzerland, the home he built on Lake Lucerne was designed in the ultra-modern Bauhaus style, and Rachmaninoff liked to zoom around the lake in a snappy little speedboat.And, when in New York City, rather than sipping borscht at the Russian Tea Room, he would more likely be seen at a corner drug store, indulging in a quintessential American treat: ice-cream sodas.Music Played in Today's ProgramSergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Symphonic Dances; Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 96

durée : 00:58:37 - Une heure, un compositeur : Eugene Ormandy dirige Sergueï Rachmaninov - par : Aurélie Moreau - « … Chaque fois que j'écris, c'est avec le son de Philadelphie dans mes oreilles. Aussi, qu'il me soit permis de dédier mes Danses symphoniques au meilleur orchestre au monde, et à son chef, Eugene Ormandy… » Sergueï Rachmaninov aux USA, en 1940. - réalisé par : Laurent Lefrançois

durée : 00:15:10 - Disques de légende du jeudi 02 novembre 2023 - Considéré comme l'un des meilleurs pianistes de son époque, Sergueï Rachmaninov est en tant que compositeur l'un des derniers grands représentants du romantisme dans la musique classique russe.

SynopsisOn this date in 1973, Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in music by Mozart, Brahms, and the American composer, Roy Harris. The program was nothing out of the ordinary, but the concert took place in Beijing and marked the FIRST time an American orchestra had performed in Communist China. The orchestra was invited to China following the famous visit of President and Mrs. Nixon and secretary of state Henry Kissinger.In the audience for one of these historic concerts was a young student of traditional Chinese music named Tan Dun. When Tan heard the Philadelphians perform Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, a work he had never heard before, he decided then and there to become a composer himself. In 1986, Tan Dun came to New York City, and since then has managed to combine elements of East and West into his own musical works.In 1987, for example, he composed a violin concerto titled Out of Peking Opera, which draws on both Chinese and European traditions. In addition to prestigious awards and commissions from major foundations and orchestras, in March of 2001, Tan Dun won an Oscar for his film score to the Ang Lee film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.Music Played in Today's ProgramLudwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Symphony No. 5 Royal Philharmonic; René Leibowitz, cond. Chesky 17Tan Dun (b. 1957) Out of Peking Opera Cho-Liang Lin, violin; Helsinki Philharmonic; Muhai Tang, cond. Ondine 864

Hear Aaron summarize the 1966 Columbia release --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/powellguitar/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/powellguitar/support

Synopsis This lush, late-Romantic score, composed in 1904, had to wait until 1962 for its premiere performance, when, on today's date that year, the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Eugene Ormandy performed it in Seattle during an international festival devoted to its composer, Anton Webern. For most music lovers, the Austrian composer is a shadowy, vaguely mysterious figure. If they know anything at all about him, it is that he was a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg, that he wrote a small body of very short and very condensed atonal scores, and that in 1945 he was shot by accident by an American soldier in the tense days following the end of World War II. The early orchestral score that received its belated premiere on today's date in 1962 was titled In the Summer Wind, completed when Webern was just 19 years old. It's very much in the style of Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, and early Schoenberg. To earn a living, Webern worked as a conductor of everything from Viennese operettas to worker's choral unions. His conducting career came to a halt when the Nazis annexed Austria in 1938, and until his untimely death in 1945, Webern lived by doing routine work for a Viennese music publisher. Music Played in Today's Program Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945) Im Sommerwind Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph von Dohnanyi, conductor. London 436 240

Tracklist :Two Shell - mum is callingKAYTRAMINÉ - 4EVA (ft. Pharrell Williams)David Bowie, Eugene Ormandy & The Philadelphia Orchestra - Peter and The Wolf, Op. 67: IntroductionKelela - Contact Björk - BacheloretteLeopold Stokowski & The Philadelphia Orchestra - The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a : Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy Chilly Gonzales - White KeysWeyes Blood - AndromedaPino Donaggio - Good Scream / End Credits Giorgio Moroder - Tony's ThemeBurt Bacharach - Something BigThomas Bangalter, Romain Dumas, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine - Mythologies: X. L'Accouchement Galaxy 2 Galaxy - AmazonPhoenix - Winter Solstice Paul Williams - Simple ManNancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Synopsis The Russian émigré composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff was himself the soloist on today's date in 1927 in the first performance of his Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Rachmaninoff had premiered his Third Concerto in New York in 1909, and he'd been thinking about writing another one for over a decade. In the meantime, his life had been disrupted by both the Russian Revolution and the exhausting business of earning a living as a touring virtuoso pianist. In 1926, Rachmaninoff finally felt he could afford to take some time off and put a Fourth Piano Concerto down on paper. In its original form, it turned out to be a much longer work than even Rachmaninoff thought practical. He joked to a friend that its movements would have to be "performed on successive nights, like Wagner's Ring operas." Rachmaninoff made a number of cuts before the Philadelphia premiere, but even so, the new work was not well received, and so Rachmaninoff kept cutting. Audiences and critics still remained cool, and Rachmaninoff eventually shelved the work for a time—quite a time. In 1941 he prepared a "final cut" version, which ended up considerably shorter than his other three Piano Concertos, and recorded it with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Music Played in Today's Program Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) Piano Concerto No. 4 Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Cleveland Orchestra; Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor. London 458 930

Episode 255, About Coffee, is filled with music and commentary about the world's most popular hot beverage. Performers include Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding, Johnny Cash, The Bluegrass Student Union, Eugene Ormandy, Garrison Keillor, Mary Mack,... Read More The post Episode 255, About Coffee appeared first on Sam Waldron.

Synopsis On this day in 1934, an excited crowd of locals and visitors had gathered in Hartford, Connecticut, for the premiere performance of a new opera entitled Four Saints in Three Acts. The fact that the opera featured 16 saints, not 4, and was divided into 4 acts, not 3, was taken by the audience in stride, as the libretto was by the expatriate American writer, Gertrude Stein, notorious for her surreal poetry and prose. The music, performed by players from the Philadelphia Orchestra and sung by an all-black cast, was by the 37-year old American composer, Virgil Thomson, who matched Stein's surreal sentences with witty musical allusions to hymn tunes and parodies of solemn, resolutely tonal music. Among the locals in attendance was the full-time insurance executive and part-time poet, Wallace Stevens, who called the new opera (quote): "An elaborate bit of perversity in every respect: text, settings, choreography, [but] Most agreeable musically… If one excludes aesthetic self-consciousness, the opera immediately becomes a delicate and joyous work all around." The opera was a smashing success, and soon opened on Broadway, where everyone from Toscanini and Gershwin to Dorothy Parker and the Rockefellers paid a whopping $3.30 for the best seats—a lot of money during one of the worst winters of the Great Depression. Music Played in Today's Program Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) Four Saints in Three Acts Orchestra of Our Time; Joel Thome, conductor. Nonesuch 79035 On This Day Births 1741 - Belgian-born French composer André Grétry, in Liège; 1932 - American composer and conductor John Williams, in New York City; Deaths 1709 - Italian composer Giuseppe Torelli, age 50, in Bologna; 1909 - Polish composer Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, age 32, near Zakopane, Tatra Mountains; Premieres 1874 - Mussorgsky: opera “Boris Godunov”, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, with bass Ivan Melnikov in the title role, and Eduard Napravnik conducting; This was the composer's own revised, nine-scene version of the opera, which originally consisted of just seven scenes (Julian date: Jan.27); 1897 - Kalinnikov: Symphony No. 1 (Gregorian date: Feb. 20); 1904 - Sibelius: Violin Concerto (first version), in Helsinki, by the Helsingsfors Philharmonic conducted by the composer, with Victor Novácek as soloist; The revised and final version of this concerto premiered in Berlin on October 19, 1905, conducted by Richard Strauss and with Karl Halir the soloist; 1907 - Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 1 in Vienna, with the Rosé Quartet and members of the Vienna Philharmonic; 1908 - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in St. Petersburg, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Jan. 26); 1909 - Liadov: “Enchanted Lake” (Gregorian date: Feb. 21); 1910 - Webern: Five Movements, Op. 5, for string quartet, in Vienna; 1925 - Cowell: "Ensemble" (original version for strings and 3 "thunder-sticks"), at a concert sponsored by the International Composers' Guild at Aeolian Hall in New York, by an ensemble led by Vladimir Shavitch that featured the composer and two colleagues on "thunder-sticks" (an American Indian instrument also known as the "bull-roarer"); Also on program was the premiere of William Grant Still's "From the Land of Dreams" for three voices and chamber orchestra (his first concert work, now lost, dedicated to his teacher, Edgard Varèse); 1925 - Miaskovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7, in Moscow; 1934 - Virgil Thomson: opera "Four Saints in Three Acts" (libretto by Gertrude Stein), in Hartford, Conn.; 1942 - Stravinsky: "Danses concertantes," by the Werner Janssen Orchestra of Los Angeles, with the composer conducting; 1946 - Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3 (completed by Tibor Serly after the composer's death), by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting and György Sándor as the soloist; 1959 - Elie Siegmeister: Symphony No. 3, in Oklahoma City; 1963 - Benjamin Lees: Violin Concerto, by the Boston Symphony, with Erich Leinsdorf conducting and Henryk Szeryng the soloist; 1966 - Lou Harrison: "Symphony on G" (revised version), at the Cabrillo Music Festival by the Oakland Symphony, Gerhard Samuel condicting; 1973 - Crumb: "Makrokosmos I" for amplified piano, in New York; 1985 - Earle Brown: "Tracer," for six instruments and four-track tape, in Berlin; 1986 - Daniel Pinkham: Symphony No. 3, by the Plymouth (Mass.) Philharmonic, Rudolf Schlegel conducting; 2001 - Sierra: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting; Others 1875 - American composer Edward MacDowell admitted to the Paris Conservatory; 1877 - German-born (and later American) composer Charles Martin Loeffler admitted to the Paris Conservatory; 1880 - German opera composer Richard Wagner writes a letter to his American dentist, Dr. Newell Still Jenkins, stating "I do no regard it as impossible that I decide to emigrate forever to America with my latest work ["Parsifal"] and my entire family" if the Americans would subsidize him to the tune of one million dollars. Links and Resources On Virgil Thomson More on Thomson

I lead off my new episodes for Black History Month 2023 with one of the most glorious voices ever captured on recordings, Dorothy Maynor (03 September 1910 – 19 February 1996), one of the most glorious lyric soprano voices ever captured on recording. Discovered by Serge Koussevitzky in the late 1930s and championed by him and a host of other conductors (including Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy), she became renowned as a recitalist but, because of restrictions of the era placed upon Black singers, never sang on any operatic stage. Nevertheless, her studio recordings of arias by Mozart, Debussy, and Charpentier are legendary. Our appreciation of Maynor the singer is greatly enhanced by the presence of live radio recordings as well as a recently-issued live 1940 song recital from the Library of Congress. It is one of the great injustices of musical history that gifted Black singers of Maynor's caliber from that era were outrightly denied the opportunity to perform in staged opera performances at venues like the Metropolitan Opera. Dorothy Maynor nonetheless persevered and left an incredible legacy, and not just a vocal one: in 1963, the year of her retirement from singing, she founded the Harlem School of the Arts, for which, before she stepped down as President in 1979, she raised more than $2 million dollars for the construction of a new facility for the institution. She also was the first African American singer to perform at a presidential inaugural (both for Harry S. Truman in 1949 and Dwight D. Eisenhower four years later), as well as the first African American to sit on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Opera. This episode features Maynor in live, studio, and radio recordings of repertoire by Bach, Handel, Schubert, and Mendelssohn, as well as some of the finest recordings of spirituals ever made. Also heard are the songs of three Black composers, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Cecil Cohen, and R. Nathaniel Dett, the latter of which Maynor studied with at the Hampton Institute, whose work Maynor frequently programmed on her recitals. The episode opens with a joyous birthday tribute to next week's subject, Martina Arroyo, whose 1974 album of spirituals was backed by the Choir of the Harlem School of the Arts conducted by Maynor herself. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Songs include: Many Happy Returns of the Day, River of No Return, Return to Paradise, Return Trip, If You Never Return & Lemminkainen's Return. Performers include: Bing Crosby, Marylin Monroe, Buddy Johnson, Eugene Ormandy, Nat King Cole and Arden & Ohman.

Synopsis In 1933, Aaron Copland introduced Roy Harris to Serge Koussevitzky, the famous conductor of the Boston Symphony in those days. Now, Koussevitzky was one of the great patrons of American music and was always looking for new American music and new American composers. Roy Harris had been described to him as an "American Mussorgsky," which probably intrigued the Russian-born conductor. When Koussevitzky learned that Harris had been born in a log cabin in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, no less – well, perhaps he hoped the 41-year old Harris might produce music equally all-American in origin. "Write me a big symphony from the West," asked Koussevitzky, and Harris responded with a three-movement orchestral work titled: "Symphony, 1933," which had its premiere performance on today's date in 1934 with the Boston Symphony under Koussevitzky's direction. Koussevitzky loved it. "I think that nobody has captured in music the essence of American life -- its vitality, its greatness, its strength -- so well as Roy Harris," enthused the famous conductor, who recorded the piece at Carnegie Hall in New York just one week after its premiere. And it was Koussevitzky's Boston Symphony that would subsequently premiere Harris's Second, Third, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies as well. Music Played in Today's Program Roy Harris (1898 – 1979) Symphony 1933 (No. 1) Louisville Orchestra; Jorge Mester, conductor Albany 012 On This Day Births 1924 - American composer Warren Benson, in Detroit, Michigan; Deaths 1795 - German composer Johann Christioph Friedrich Bach, age 62, in Bückeburg 1993 - American composer and teacher Kenneth Gaburo, age 66, in Iowa City; Premieres 1732 - Handel: opera "Ezio" (Julian date: Jan.15); 1790 - Mozart: opera, "Così fan tutte," in Vienna at the Burgtheater; 1873 - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 7); 1882 - Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 7); 1905 - Schoenberg: symphonic poem "Pelleas und Melisande," in Vienna, with the composer conducting; 1908 - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 8); 1911 - Richard Strauss: opera, “Der Rosenkavalier,” in Dresden at the Hofoper, conducted by Ernst von Schuch, with vocal soloists Margarethe Siems (Marschallin), Eva von der Osten (Octavian), Minnie Nast (Sophie), Karl Perron (Baron Ochs), and Karl Scheidemantel (Faninal); 1920 - Prokofiev: "Overture on Hebrew Themes," in New York by the Zimro Ensemble, with the composer at the piano; 1922 - Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 3 "Pastoral," by the Royal Philharmonic, London, Sir Adrian Boult conducting; 1934 - Roy Harris: Symphony No. 1, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1952 - Ernst von Dohnányi: Violin Concerto No. 2, in San Antonio, Texas; 1957 - Bernstein: "Candide" Overture (concert version), by New York Philharmonic conducted by the composer; The musical "Candide" had opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City on December 1, 1956; 1957 - Poulenc: opera, "Les dialogues des carmélites" (The Dialogues of the Carmelites) in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala, Nino Sanzogno conducting; 1962 - Diamond: Symphony No. 7, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1966 - Dominick Argento: Variations for Orchestra and Soprano (The Masque of Night"), at the St. Paul Campus Student Center of the University of Minnesota, by the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra, Thomas Nee conducting, with soprano Carolyn Bailey; A second performance took place on Jan. 27th at Coffmann Memorial Union on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota; 1967 - Frank Martin: Cello Concerto, in Basel, Switzerland; 1994 - Elisabetta Brusa: “La Triade” for large orchestra, by the Tirana (Albania) Radio and Television Orchestra, Gilberto Serembe conducting; 1994 - Christopher Rouse: Cello Concerto, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by David Zinman, with Yo-Yo Ma the soloist; 1995 - Joan Tower: "Duets for Orchestra," by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Christoph Perick conducting. Links and Resources On Roy Harris

Synopsis On today's date in 1909, Richard Strauss's opera Elektra had its premiere in Dresden. The libretto, a free adaptation of the grim, ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles, was by the Austrian poet and playwright Hugo von Hofmannsthal. In ancient Greek tragedies, violence occurred off-stage, and for his libretto, Hofmannsthal honored that tradition. But the music of Strauss evoking the tragedy's violence unleashed a huge orchestra with a ferocity that stunned early listeners. After its American premiere, one New York critic wrote of “a total delineation of shrieks and groans, of tortures physical in the clear definition and audible in their gross realism . . .Snarling of stopped trumpets, barking of trombones, moaning of bassoons and squealing of violins.” Even Strauss himself later admitted Elektra (quote) “penetrated to the uttermost limits of … the receptivity of human ears,” and what he called his “green horror” opera might cause him to be type-cast as a purveyor of creepy-crawly music. And so, Strauss prudently suggested to Hofmansthal “Next time, we'll write a MOZART opera.” Almost two years later to the day, on January 26, 1911, their “Mozart” opera, Der Rosenkavalier, or the The Rose Bearer premiered. It's set in 18th century Vienna, and for this opera Strauss included anachronistic, but eminently hummable waltz tunes. Music Played in Today's Program Richard Strauss (1864 –1949) Elektra Alessandra Marc, sop.;Vienna Philharmonic; Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor. DG 453 429 Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier Waltz Suite Philadelphia Orchestra; Eugene Ormandy, conductor. Sony 60989 On This Day Births 1851 - Flemish composer Jan Blockx, in Antwerp; 1886 - German composer and conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, in Berlin; 1911 - American composer and pianist Julia Smith, in Denton, Texas; 1913 - Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski, in Warsaw; 1921 - American composer and conductor Alfred Reed, in New York City; Premieres 1817 - Rossini: opera, "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella), in Rome at the Teatro Valle; 1902 - Franz Schmidt: Symphony No. 1, in Vienna; 1909 - R. Strauss: opera "Elektra," in Dresden at the Hofoper, conducted by Ernst von Schuch, with soprano Annie Krull in the title role; 1946 - R. Strauss: "Metamorphosen," in Zürich; 1957 - Walton: Cello Concerto, by the Boston Symphony conducted by Charles Munch, with Gregor Piatigorsky the soloist; 1963 - Karl Amadeus Hartmann: Symphony No. 8, by the West German Radio Symphony, Rafael Kubelik conducting; 1987 - Paul Schoenfield: "Café Music" for piano trio at a St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concert. Links and Resources On Richard Strauss More on Richard Strauss

Synopsis In 1935 Aaron Copland finished a new orchestral work that was to be premiered by the Minneapolis Symphony and its young conductor Eugene Ormandy. The work was entitled Statements for Orchestra, and consisted of six short movements, each with a descriptive title, namely: Militant, Cryptic, Dogmatic, Subjective, Jingo, and Prophetic. The Jingo movement alludes to the popular tune Sidewalks of New York – where Copland completed the orchestration of his new score. The last two movements were premiered by the Minneapolis Symphony early in 1936, first on an NBC radio broadcast, then on one of the orchestra's subscription concerts. The conductor, however, was not Ormandy but rather Dimitri Mitropoulos, who would become the Music Director of the Minneapolis Symphony the following year. And it was Mitropoulos who would lead the first complete performance of all six of Copland's Statements on today's date in 1942 during a concert by the New York Philharmonic. The new piece got good reviews, and Copland quoted with pride one given by his friend and colleague Virgil Thomson, which called the music “succinct and stylish, cleverly written and very, very personal …“ Much to Copland's surprise this music never really caught on with orchestras or audiences. “To my disappointment,” wrote Copland, “Statements remains one of my lesser-known scores.” Music Played in Today's Program Aaron Copland (1900 –1990) Statements London Symphony; Aaron Copland, conductor. Sony 47232

Synopsis On New Year's Eve, 1948, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra gave the first performance of the Symphony No. 5 by the American composer George Antheil. Now, in his youth, Antheil was something of a wild man, composing a Ballet mechanicque for a percussion ensemble that included electric bells, sirens, and airplane propellers. It earned him a reputation, and Antheil titled his colorful 1945 autobiography what many called him: "The Bad Boy of Music." But the great Depression and World War II changed Antheil's attitude. Rather than write for small, avant-garde audiences, Antheil found work in Hollywood, with enough time left over for an occasional concert work, such as his Symphony No. 5. In program notes for the premiere, Antheil wrote: "The object of my creative work is to disassociate myself from the passé modern schools and create a music for myself and those around me which has no fear of developed melody, tonality, or understandable forms." Contemporary critics were not impressed. One called Antheil's new Symphony "nothing more than motion-picture music of a very common brand" and another lamented its "triviality and lack of originality," suggesting it sounded like warmed-over Prokofiev. The year 2000 marked the centennial of Antheil's birth, and only now, after years of neglect, both Antheil's radical scores from the 1920s and his more conservative work from the 1940s is being performed, recorded and re-appraised. Music Played in Today's Program George Antheil (1900-1959) Symphony No. 5 (Joyous) Frankfurt Radio Symphony; Hugh Wolff, conductor. CPO 999 706 On This Day Births 1894 - Anglo-Irish composer Ernest John Moeran, in Heston, Middlesex; 1899 - Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, in Santiago, Papasquiaro; 1962 - American composer Jennifer Higdon, in Brooklyn, New York; Deaths 1950 - French composer Charles Koechlin, age 83, in Canadel, France; 1970 - British composer Cyril Scott, age 91, in Eastbourne, England; Premieres 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 122 ("Das neugeborne Kindelein") performed on the Sunday after Christmas as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1842 - Lortzing: opera "Der Wildschütz" (The Poacher), in Leipzig at the Stadttheater; 1865 - Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg, with Balakirev conducting (Julian date: Dec. 19); 1879 - Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta "The Pirates of Penzance," at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York, with the composer conducting (see also Dec. 30 above); 1943 - Martinu: Violin Concerto (No. 2), by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting and Micsha Elman the soloist; 1948 - Antheil: Symphony No. 5, by Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1948 - Howard Hanson: Piano Concerto, by the Boston Symphony with the composer conducting and Rudolf Firkusny the soloist. Links and Resources On George Antheil More on Antheil

On this episode of Catholic Forum we celebrate the Light of Christ coming into the world at Christmas. We will hear some great Christmas hymns from the CDs, "Songs of Angels: Christmas Hymns and Carols" by the Robert Shaw Chamber Singers and "The Glorious Sound of Christmas" by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Temple University Concert Choir. Also, we will hear Bishop William Koenig's Christmas message to the people of Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore. Merry Christmas from the Diocese of Wilmington!

Every December, Americans celebrate their memorable cultural icons when the Kennedy Center bestows its annual honors to those in the performing arts for their lifetime contributions. Since 1978, the Honors have been presented annually each December to five honorees followed by a gala celebration. The original strategy was that these unique individuals were people who have contributed to society, not someone who happens to have a pop record hit at the moment. The intention was not to do just another award show. Do you recall the first host? It was Leonard Bernstein in 1978. And the White House got involved by inviting the Honorees first to the White House for an initial presentation by the President. For 2022, who are the Honorees? Well, George Clooney, Amy Grant, Gladys Knight, Tania Leon and U2. In this podcast, we'll focus on two ceremonies held at the White House. The first, 40 years ago in 1982 honored George Abbott, Eugene Ormandy, Lillian Gish, Benny Goodman, and Gene Kelly. Then, in the second half of the podcast, the President honored in 1984, Lena Horne, Arthur Miller, Gian Carlo Menotti, Isaac Stern and Danny Kaye. And in the second half of the podcast, I'll share a bit about those who were offered the honor but declined.

The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Temple University Concert choir made a Christmas album together in 1962. Conducted by Eugene Ormandy, this record sold more than a million copies that season, going on to become "the fastest-selling classical set in history," according to the Record Industry Association of America. This collection continues to sell well and receives regular airplay to this day. So join us as we listen to The Glorious Sound of Christmas.

Music includes: When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain, Mountain Dew, The Old Man of the Mountain, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Mountain Top Blues and In the Hall of the Mountain King. Performers include: Al Jolson, Kate Smith, Bessie Smith, Grandpa Jones, Flat and Scruggs and Eugene Ormandy.

Synopsis In 1939, Dale Carnegie published a self-help book entitled How to Win Friends and Influence People, suggesting you could change people's behavior to you by changing YOUR behavior toward them. We're not sure if Carnegie's book was ever translated into Russian, but we'd like to cite the case of the famous Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich as an example of one way to influence a particular composer. In Rostropovich's day, the greatest living Soviet composers were Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. In 1949 Prokofiev wrote a Cello Sonata for the 22-year old Rostropovich, and also dedicated his 1952 Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra to him. Not surprisingly, Rostropovich hoped Shostakovich might write something for him, too, and so asked that composer's wife, Nina, how to ask him. She replied the best way was NEVER to mention the idea in the presence of her husband. She knew Shostakovich was following the cellist's career with interest, and if the idea of writing something for Rostropovich was his own, rather than somebody else's, it stood a better chance of becoming reality. Rostropovich followed her advice, and – surprise surprise – on today's date in 1959, gave the premiere performance with the Leningrad Philharmonic of a brand-new cello concerto specially-written for him by Dmitri Shostakovich. Music Played in Today's Program Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Cello Concerto No. 1 in Eb, Op. 107 –Philadelphia Orchestra; Eugene Ormandy, cond. (Sony 7858322)

durée : 00:28:14 - Les chefs hongrois à la conquête de l'Amérique (3/4) : George Szell - par : Christian Merlin - Ils s'appellent Fritz Reiner, George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Dorati, tous sont venus de Hongrie. A eux seuls ou presque, de Philadelphie à Cleveland en passant par Chicago, ils ont bâti la vie orchestrale des Etats-Unis. - réalisé par : Marie Grout

durée : 00:28:19 - Les chefs hongrois à la conquête de l'Amérique 4/4 Antal Dorati - Ils s'appellent Fritz Reiner, George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Dorati, tous sont venus de Hongrie. A eux seuls ou presque, de Philadelphie à Cleveland en passant par Chicago, ils ont bâti la vie orchestrale des Etats-Unis.

durée : 01:58:18 - Les chefs hongrois à la conquête de l'Amérique - Ils s'appellent Fritz Reiner, George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Dorati, tous sont venus de Hongrie. A eux seuls ou presque, de Philadelphie à Cleveland en passant par Chicago, ils ont bâti la vie orchestrale des Etats-Unis.

durée : 00:28:10 - Les chefs hongrois à la conquête de l'Amérique (2/4) : Fritz Reiner - par : Christian Merlin - Ils s'appellent Fritz Reiner, George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Dorati, tous sont venus de Hongrie. A eux seuls ou presque, de Philadelphie à Cleveland en passant par Chicago, ils ont bâti la vie orchestrale des Etats-Unis. - réalisé par : Marie Grout

durée : 00:11:42 - Disques de légende du mardi 27 septembre 2022 - John Williams et l'orchestre de Philadelphie dirigé par le chef Eugene Ormandy

durée : 00:28:20 - Les chefs hongrois à la conquête de l'Amérique (1/4) : Eugene Ormandy - par : Christian Merlin - Ils s'appellent Fritz Reiner, George Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Antal Dorati, tous sont venus de Hongrie. A eux seuls ou presque, de Philadelphie à Cleveland en passant par Chicago, ils ont bâti la vie orchestrale des Etats-Unis. - réalisé par : Marie Grout

Synopsis Today we remember the Russian composer Reinhold Glière, who died in Moscow on today's date in 1956. These days Glière is probably best known for the popular “Russian Sailor's Dance” from his ballet “The Red Poppy.” Glière was born in Kiev in 1875, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he later became professor of composition. That was after the Russian Revolution, and Glière could count among his students Sergei Prokofiev and Nikolai Miaskovsky. With the success of works like “The Red Poppy,” Glière is often cited as the founder of Soviet ballet. Glière also wrote several symphonies, all intensely Russian in color and character. The most famous of these is his Third, subtitled “Ilya Murometz” after a legendary Russian folk hero. Glière was also intrigued by the folk music of the far eastern republics of the then USSR, incorporating folk themes from the Soviet Union's Trans-Caucus and Central Asian peoples into some of his orchestral scores. He was a very prolific composer, but apart from a handful of very popular works, most of Glière's operas, ballets and orchestral works remain largely unfamiliar to most music lovers in the West. Music Played in Today's Program Reinhold Glière (1875 – 1956) –Russian Sailors' Dance, from The Red Poppy (Philadelphia Orchestra; Eugene Ormandy, cond.) BMG 63313 Reinhold Glière (1875 – 1956) –Symphony No. 3 (Ilya Murometz) (London Symphony; Leon Botstein, cond.) Telarc 80609

In 1973, Western music was banned in the People's Republic of China. But in a remarkable breakthrough cultural exchange, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted a tour of closed-off China, becoming the first American orchestra to visit the communist nation. Jennifer Lin's "Beethoven in Beijing: Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra's Historic Journey to China" provides a fabulous photo-rich oral history of this boundary-breaking series of concerts the orchestra performed under famed conductor Eugene Ormandy. Lin draws from interviews, personal diaries, and news accounts to give voice to the American and Chinese musicians, diplomats, journalists, and others who participated in and witnessed this historic event. "Beethoven in Beijing" is filled with glorious images as well as anecdotes ranging from amusing sidewalk Frisbee sessions and acupuncture treatments for sore musicians to a tense encounter involving Madame Mao dictating which symphony was to be played at a concert. A companion volume to the film of the same name, "Beethoven in Beijing" shows how this 1973 tour came at the dawn of a resurgence of interest in classical music in China—now a vital source of revenue for touring orchestras. Jennifer Lin is an award-winning journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker. She created and codirected the feature-length documentary Beethoven in Beijing, which premiered on PBS's Great Performances in 2021. For 31 years, she worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer as a reporter, including posts as a foreign correspondent in China, a financial correspondent on Wall Street, and a national correspondent in Washington, DC. She is the author of "Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family," and coauthor of "Sole Sisters: Stories of Women and Running."

Synopsis We tend to think of the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak as a 19th century composer – but he lived a few years into the 20th and one of his major works, his opera “Rusalka,” had its premiere in Prague on today's date in 1901. We also think of Dvorak as primarily a composer of symphonies and chamber works, but forget that in his final years, Dvorak devoted himself chiefly to opera – and for reasons that might surprise us today. In a 1904 interview, given just two months before his death, Dvorak said:  “Over the past five years I have written nothing but operas. I wanted to devote all my powers, as long as the dear Lord gives me health, to the creation of opera … because I consider opera to be the most suitable medium for the Czech nation and the widest audience, whereas if I compose a symphony I might have to wait years before it is performed.” Dvorak was gratified that his opera “Rusalka” was a big success at its 1901 premiere and would subsequently become one of his most popular works with Czech audiences, but ironically, outside Czech-speaking lands, most of his other operas, unlike his symphonies, are rarely performed. Music Played in Today's Program Antonin Dvořák (1841–1904) — O Silver Moon, fr Rusalka (Renée Fleming, soprano; London Symphony; Sir Georg Solti, cond.) London 455 760 On This Day Births 1732 - Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn, in Rohrau; 1872 - Russian ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev, in Gruzino, Novgorod district (Julian date: Mar. 19); Deaths 1880 - Polish composer and violinist Henryk Wieniawski, age 44, in Moscow; 1901 - British composer Sir John Stainer, age 60, in Verona, Italy; Premieres 1723 - Handel: Concerto in F (HWV 331) (Julian date: March 20); 1739 - Handel: Organ Concerto in A (HWV 296a) (Julian date: March 20); 1745 - Rameau: opera-ballet, "Platée," at Versailles; 1784 - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 16 in D, K. 451, in Vienna, with composer as soloist; 1794 - Haydn: Symphony No. 100 ("Military"), conducted by the composer on his 62nd birthday, at the Hanover-Square Concert Rooms in London; 1841 - R. Schumann: Symphony No. 1 ("Spring"), by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Felix Mendelssohn conducting; 1901 - Dvorák: opera "Rusalka," in Prague at the National Theater; 1913 - Webern: "Six Pieces" for orchestra, in Vienna; 1932 - Chávez: ballet "Horsepower," in Philadelphia; 1947 - Ulysses Kay: "Short Overture," in New York City; 1949 - William Grant Still: opera "Troubled Island," in New York City; 1951 - R. Strauss: "Munich Waltz," posthumously in Vienna; This music was originally written for the 1939 film; 1961 - Françaix: "L'Horloge de Flore," by oboist John de Lancie, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 2001 - Peter Lieberson: Piano Quintet, at Carnegie Hall, by pianist Peter Serkin with the Orion String Quartet; Others 1837 - Franz Liszt and Sigismond Thalberg, the two reigning virtuosi of their day, perform a sort of pianistic "duel" at a benefit concert in aid of Italian refuguees at the Parisian salon of Princess Cristina Belgiojso-Trivulzio. Links and Resources On Antonin Dvořák Video of Renee Fleming singing "Song to the Moon," from "Rusalka"

John A. Arneaux plays "Richard III" at the Academy of Music, then mysteriously exits the American stage. His co-star, the actor Henri Strange, remains - and strives to create a Shakespeare theater for Philadelphia's Black audiences. The second half of a two-part story.Guest VoicesJohn A. Arneaux: Aaron BellReporter: Bill Van HornR. Henri Strange: Davon JohnsonYoung Woman: Journee LutzTransition and background music for this episode was from the album:The Music of Francis Johnson and His Contemporaries; Early 19th Century Black Composers, performed on original instruments by The Chestnut Band Company & Friends - Diane Monroe, violin, conducted by Tamara Brooks.Additional music from The New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorak, recorded by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, 1956.For additional  images and information see our website's blog post and bibliography: "The Happy Possessor of a Noble Ambition": https://www.aithpodcast.com/blog/the-happy-possessor-of-a-noble-ambition-blog-post-and-bibliography-for-episode-26/Want to know even more great stuff about Philly theater history and can't wait for the next episode? We post stories every day on our Facebook page and our Twitter feed. Follow us there for a daily dose of Philly theater!Website: www.AITHpodcast.comFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AITHpodcastTwitter: https://twitter.com/schmeterpitzOur email address: AITHpodcast@gmail.comTo become a Patreon Patron of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcastPLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS  - or even easier, right on our website! https://www.aithpodcast.com/reviews/new/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/AITHpodcast)

En los suburbios de París, un día como hoy hace 128 años, en 1893 falleció el compositor Charles Gounod, el gran operista francés. Gounod entró al Conservatorio de París a los 18 años, y a los 21 ya iba camino a Roma como alumno laureado con el codiciado Premio de Roma. Autor, de las óperas Fausto, Romeo y Julieta, hoy día es recordado, sobre todo por su Ave Maria, construido sobre el primer preludio del Clave Bien Temperado de Bach. Sin embargo, hay una pequeña obra, Marcha para una marioneta muerta que con una duración de menos de cinco minutos fue seleccionada por Alfred Hitchcock como cortina para su famosísimo programa Alfred Hitchcock presenta. Hoy la escucharemos de manos de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Filadelfia dirigida por Eugene Ormandy.

It's always a pleasure to catch up with friend-of-the-show Rob Cowan, especially when he comes armed with chunky historic boxsets from the golden age of conducting. This time we were listening to recently released collections of recordings by Artur Rodzinski in New York, Rafael Kubelik in Chicago, and Eugene Ormandy in Philadelphia. As ever it was a delight to share in Rob's vast knowledge of recordings and pick out highlights from the sets.If you are enjoying the Presto Music Podcast please like and subscribe to it on your preferred platform, and maybe even give us a short review.  And we would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for future topics, and also guests who you would like us to talk to. Please email us at info@prestomusic.com