As teased in yesterday’s post, here’s my article in the Princeton weekly U.S. 1, out today.
I really wanted to write about Princeton composer Frank Lewin and his “Mass for the Dead (Requiem for Robert F. Kennedy).” The work will be revived by Princeton Pro Musica at Princeton University Chapel on Saturday, May 9, at 4 p.m., as part of an all-American concert, which will also include Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” The Requiem was first heard there 57 years ago, during a memorial service for RFK, in 1969.
As an added bonus for me, I got to interview the composer’s daughters, radio host Naomi Lewin, whose syndicated show, “Classics for Kids,” follows my light music show “Sweetness and Light,” Saturday mornings on KWAX; and her sister, documentary filmmaker Miriam Lewin, who once worked at the Opera Company of Philadelphia, where I briefly interned in the ‘90s (after she had already left), and who has the distinction of having introduced supertitles to opera.
I must say, this is the quickest turnaround, from submission to publication of a piece, I ever experienced. Usually, arts writers are requested to get their work in days in advance. For U.S. 1, I think it’s usually about a week. But this an interim editor. Once production hits a bump or I exceed my quota by a million words, maybe the deadline will get pushed up. As it stands, I’m pretty happy with it.
Physical editions of the paper are available in vending machines and at local businesses through next Tuesday. But if you just can’t wait, you can always access the article here:
https://www.communitynews.org/princetoninfo/artsandentertainment/princeton-pro-musica-revives-frank-lewin-s-requiem-for-rfk/article_c6c148b4-1539-4ced-b932-109339bf7b26.html
PHOTOS: Frank Lewin (seated) prepares his Kennedy Mass with soprano Sylvia Jones and tenor Leo Goeke; RFK funeral train passes through Princeton Junction on June 8, 1968