The eeriest thing about Peter Mennin is not that he was born in Erie, PA, but that his music is now almost never performed. His Symphony No. 3 was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize in 1950. Good luck ever hearing it unless it’s on a recording.

Mennin’s studies with Norman Lockwood at the Oberlin Conservatory were interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the U.S. Army Air Force. Later, he studied with Howard Hanson at the Eastman School. He completed his Third Symphony on his 23rd birthday to fulfill his PhD requirements. The work immediately catapulted him to fame.

He lost the Pulitzer to Gian Carlo Menotti and the opera “The Consul.” However, a performance of the symphony by the New York Philharmonic paved the way for his appointment to the composition faculty of the Juilliard School.

Mennin was also a successful administrator. In 1958, he was named director of the Peabody Conservatory. In 1962, he became Juilliard’s president, a position he held until his death in 1983. In that capacity, he oversaw the school’s move from Claremont Avenue to Lincoln Center. He introduced both the drama and dance departments, he commenced the Master Class Program, and he attracted many high-profile artists as teachers.

In all, he composed nine symphonies (the first two were later withdrawn); also concertos for piano, cello, and flute, sundry orchestral pieces (including “Concertato: Moby Dick”), chamber works, choral pieces, and instrumental music.

Mennin was born to Italian immigrants one hundred years ago today. His brother was the composer Louis Mennini, who retained the family surname.

I just found the Albany Symphony Ochestra’s CD of Mennin’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6, with “Concertato: Moby Dick,” at Princeton Record Exchange only last week. The price: $1.00. That’s a penny a year. Somebody give this guy some performances, already!

Buon Centenario, Peter Mennin!

Symphony No. 3, with Dimitri Mitropoulos and the New York Philharmonic

John Ogdon plays the Piano Concerto

Fantasia for String Orchestra

“Concertato: Moby Dick”

“Folk Overture”

In the Erie Hall of Fame

How nice it would have been to acknowledge this important anniversary by sharing some of Mennin’s music over the radio, had my shows not been dropped by WWFM!

PHOTO: An eerie Octo-Mennin, courtesy of Gordon Parks