It was on this date in 1897 that John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever” was given its premiere in Philadelphia. Sousa composed the piece, in large part, on Christmas Day, 1896. He knocked it off in a New York hotel room in just a couple of hours.
Though the first performance was enthusiastically received, it wasn’t until the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898 that sales went through the roof. This was precipitated in part by the composer organizing a pageant involving hundreds of performers, complete with flag-bearing soldiers and a ravishing beauty decked out in red, white and blue.
With a dash of canny showmanship, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” surfed the wave of wartime patriotism to world-wide and lasting renown.
I find it fascinating that Germaine Tailleferre waited out World War II in Philadelphia. And yet I can never seem to find out very much about what she did while in exile.
Tailleferre was the only female member of Les Six, that loose collective of composers who rose to prominence in Paris in the late ‘teens and 1920s, under the guiding hand of Jean Cocteau. Her famous peers included Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, and Georges Auric. Louis Durey, a hard-line communist who went on to set poems by Ho-Chi Minh and Mao Zedong, is the one nobody remembers. (I wonder why.)
Tailleferre was strong-willed from the beginning. Her birth name was Taillefesse, but she changed it to spite her father, since the old man opposed her musical studies. However, she took piano lessons with her mother and was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. It was there that she met her future colleagues and that the prizes began to pile up. She also earned the friendship and received the support of Maurice Ravel.
In 1925, she married Ralph Barton, an American caricaturist, and moved to New York. Two years later, the couple returned to France, then divorced. Her career thrived in the 1920s and ‘30s. With the outbreak of World War II, however, she beat it back to the United States, leaving most of her scores at her home in Grasse, and, as I said, passed the war years in Philadelphia.
After the war, she again returned to France, where she resumed her career. As she got older, her pieces tended to be shorter, as she suffered from arthritis. She also wrote a lot for children and young pianists. She composed virtually right up until the time of her death in 1983, when she was 91 years-old. She wrote so much, in fact, that a lot of the music of her later years has never been published, and fresh discoveries from her output are being recorded all the time.
Happy birthday, Germaine Tailleferre! If anyone has any information on her activities in Philadelphia, I would be most curious to know.
The Concertino for Harp and Orchestra:
The lovely and wistful “Arabesque” for clarinet and piano:
So do I have the flu, or just a really bad cold? After a day like yesterday, who cares? All I know is that I felt terrible. But in the worlds of radio and journalism, no one can stay sick for long. So after a full day spent flat on my back, I am once again propped up in front of the microphone. Rolf Charlston is on vacation, so I’ll be at the helm this morning, spinning classical on WRTI from 6 to noon.
Listen locally, in the Philadelphia area, at 90.1 FM or online at wrti.org. A full list of translators here: http://wrti.org/wrti-coverage-map
I’ll have plenty of citrus and chicken broth at the ready.
NOW PLAYING: Sibelius, Incidental music to “King Kristian II”
I just learned that today is the birthday of my friend, composer Robert Moran. I first encountered Bob’s music while I was scouring the bins at the now-defunct Tower Records Classical Annex, at 6th and South Sts., in Philadelphia. At a point, the suite, “Arias, Interludes and Inventions,” from his opera “Desert of Roses,” came out over the speakers, and my heart broke a little bit. I added it to my collection immediately.
A number of years later, unbeknownst to me, Bob was browsing in my bookshop. I think he tried to pay with a credit card, which is the kiss of death when dealing with Classic Ross Amico. I inquired if he happened to be the composer, and we’ve been pals ever since. Naturally, I had my recording of “Desert of Roses” on hand, and Bob penned me a very nice inscription.
Happy birthday, Bob. Whether you’re writing for Houston Grand Opera, 39 autos, giant puppets, or electric popcorn popper, the music is always vital and worth getting to know.
An aria from “Desert of Roses”:
Selections from “Trinity Requiem”:
“Obrigado” for Iowa Percussion:
Bob, looking groovy in merry prankster mode, introducing his “Lunchbag Opera” for the BBC:
When you’re finished listening to Marvin Rosen’s dance party (on Classical Discoveries, from 5:30 to 11 a.m., on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com), consider sharing your second cup of coffee with me, over at WRTI. I’ll be spinning the platters from 10 to 2, on 89.1 FM (Philadelphia) or at wrti.org. A full list of frequencies available at the station’s website.
PHOTO: A cautionary tale about the importance of minding the volume on your headphones
