On this date in 1945, Arturo Toscanini conducted the premiere of Elie Siegmeister’s “Western Suite” in a concert broadcast with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Its cowpoke lyricism and buckaroo high spirits struck a bulls-eye with audiences and critics in a cowboy-mad America. Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” had been given its premiere in 1939 (the same year as John Ford’s “Stagecoach”) and “Rodeo” followed in 1942. Pulp magazines and dime-store novels fed the western craze, and cinemas were teeming with broad vistas and portrayals of the quiet dignity of the cowboy.

While hardly his most innovative or personal work, the “Western Suite” served to put Siegmeister on the map. According to the composer, he had only a few of his compositions published up until that time. The day after the performance, three publishers were vying for his work. “The piece had a lot of earthy, touchy quality about it,” he said, “which is, I think, one of the characteristics of a great deal of American music. There is a kind of lusty feeling, with sometimes a roughness, a harshness, or whatever you want to call it.”

Already in 1939, he had formed the American Ballad Singers, hoping to replicate the experience he had had when he first witnessed the English Singers, six touring musicians who introduced the madrigal to New York. It was like an epiphany for Siegmeister, and he determined to bring our native folk tradition alive in a similar fashion for the American public. Americana was at its peak during those years, with folk singers like Burl Ives and, soon after, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger very much on the rise. The American Ballad Singers tapped into the zeitgeist and toured the country to enthusiastic reviews.

Though Siegmeister wrote orchestral works like “American Holiday” (1933), “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight” (1937), the “Ozark Suite” (1943) and “Prairie Legend” (1944), and an opera (he composed eight) called “Night of the Moonspell” (1974-6), which transposed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to Louisiana, homespun Americana hardly encapsulates the whole of his output.

True, American jazz was frequently an influence. He also wrote a string quartet on Jewish themes. But there were plenty of abstract pieces, as well, including eight symphonies, a number of concertos and plenty of chamber music.

In addition, he wrote successful books on music, including “Treasury of American Song” (1940-43), “The Music Lover’s Handbook” (1943, revised in 1973), and “Harmony and Melody” (1985). He helped found the American Composers Alliance, with the aim of publishing and promoting music by American composers, in 1937. Later, he served on the board of directors of ASCAP, from 1977 until his death in 1991.

By coincidence, Siegmeister’s “American Sonata” (1944) will be performed tonight by pianist Cecile Licad, on a recital hosted by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. Also on the program will be sonatas by Alexander Reinagle (who wrote a number of pieces for George Washington), Edward MacDowell and Charles Tomlinson Griffes. The concert will take place at the American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut Street, at 8 p.m.

FUN FACT: The theme from Siegmeister’s only film score, “They Came to Cordura” (1959), is the signature music for my show, “Picture Perfect.” You can hear the passage at 43 seconds into the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwYWx8gtjBo

Siegmeister’s “Western Suite”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tzyS1klaRo

As part of the fascinating Toscanini broadcast, which also features music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Vittorio Rieti and Paul Creston (the “Western Suite” begins at the 40 minute mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufiigg8_DMI

Interview with Siegmeister by Bruce Duffie:
http://www.kcstudio.com/sieg2.html

Interview with Siegmeister by David Dubal!

PHOTOS: Elie Siegmeister (right) with pulp western from 1945