LEOPOLD!
Raise a stein to Stoky on his birthday, and then join me tomorrow for a transcendent recording of the “Good Friday Spell” and “Act III Synthesis” from Wagner’s “Parsifal.” It will be a Good Friday make-good, sometime between 4 and 6 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Happy birthday, Leopold Stokowski!
October 15 – beware the Ides of October!
With Hallowe’en fast descending on raven wings, what better time to don your black frock coat and brood over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore? I’ll conclude my shift early this evening on The Classical Network (the 6:00 hour) with music inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe.
For the birthday of Arcady Dubensky (1890-1966), we’ll hear “The Raven,” a “melo-declamation” for narrator and orchestra. The work was given its premiere by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski at the Academy of Music in 1932. The performance was preserved on an experimental recording made by RCA Victor, on 35mm optical film, and issued as a special 78 rpm 2-record set. Included was the original poem, and monochrome engravings of Stokowski and Poe were etched into the shellac. The speaker will be Benjamin de Loache.
The fact that I will be in an hour earlier than usual enhances the atmosphere of eerie premonition. It should give us plenty of time also to observe the birthdays of composers Dag Wiren and Jaan Rääts, clarinetist and composer Bernhard Crusell, philosopher and composer Friedrich Nietzsche, and conductor Karl Richter.
Again, the Poe-inflected works will be heard in the final hour. Nothing assuages guilt and madness like laudanum and Edgar Allan Poe music. Join me one hour earlier today, from 3 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
He came to love and revere his adopted country as only an outsider could.
Just in time for Independence Day, we’ll have music by immigrant-turned-naturalized-American-citizen, Ernest Bloch. Bloch, born in Switzerland, is probably best remembered for his music on Jewish themes, including the rhapsody for cello and orchestra, “Schelomo,” the suite for violin and piano “Baal Shem,” and the humanitarian oratorio, “Sacred Service.”
With a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe, Bloch decided to make the United States his permanent home. His epic rhapsody, “America,” was written, according to the composer, “in love for this country, in reverence to its past, in faith in its future.” He dedicated the work to Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman.
Bloch first conceived the idea for the piece in 1916, as his steamer entered New York Harbor. The conflict of the First World War gave further impetus to the composition of what he envisioned as an American anthem, but it wasn’t until 1925 that the work began to take concrete form.
For modern listeners, it’s possible that this symphony in all but name crosses the line at times into the Realm of Hokey, with its quotations of “Pop Goes the Weasel” and “Yankee Doodle” – it is certainly a time capsule – however, Bloch’s heartfelt conviction and his love for his adopted country remain palpable.
Hear Bloch himself, full of patriotic fervor, introduce this homage to his adopted land. Leopold Stokowski conducts the Symphony of the Air. I hope you’ll join me for “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Bloch was also interested in the visual arts, especially photography, and developed a close friendship with Alfred Stieglitz, which you can read about here:
http://ericjohnsonphoto.com/ernest-bloch-and-alfred-stieglitz-a-sunday-morning-conversion/
When the sun sets this evening, June 23, you had better be prepared to deal with Chernobog! That’s right, it’s St. John’s Eve – the eve of the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist.
“Dracula” fans might be interested to know that none other than Bela Lugosi struck demonic poses for Disney animators for several days as a model for the climactic sequence of “Fantasia.” He would ultimately be replaced by Wilfred Jackson. Still, how cool is that?
Of course, Leopold Stokowski conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra on the film’s soundtrack. The master of ceremonies, Deems Taylor, sets the scene incorrectly, stating that it occurs on Walpurgis Night (April 30). Chernobog could care less about Walpurgis Night. He’s kickin’ it up for St. John!
Watch the clip here, and relive your childhood anxiety:
With the exception, perhaps, of his own transcriptions of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Leopold Stokowski recorded more Wagner with the Philadelphia Orchestra than any other single composer.
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll revisit some of Stoky’s early recordings, originally issued on 78s, including the controversial “Liebesnacht,” the original version of his symphonic synthesis after “Tristan und Isolde” – an arrangement that infuriated listeners, with its inconclusive ending – and the “Liebestod,” which he undertook by popular demand, in order to provide a more satisfactory conclusion.
We’ll also hear baritone Lawrence Tibbett, in a role he never sang on stage, in a superb recording of “Wotan’s Farewell and Magic Fire Music.”
That’s “Magic Fire” – Leopold Stokowski’s early Wagner recordings with the Philadelphia Orchestra” – this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
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