Tag: U.S. Army

This week on “The Lost Chord,” to coincide with Armed Forces Day, we’ll listen to Marc Blitzstein’s “Airborne Symphony.”

The programmatic work, a quasi-oratorio, was written on a commission from the U.S. Army, while the composer was serving in its Air Force. It traces the evolution of flight from its conception in theory to its use in modern warfare.

The piece was envisaged by Blitzstein as a big symphony on the theme of “the sacred struggle of airborne free men of the world… to crush the monstrous fascist obstructionist in their path.” Begun in 1943, at the height of World War II, it would not be completed until 1946, after the conflict had ended.

Leonard Bernstein, a lifelong admirer of the composer (he mounted a performance of Blitzstein’s pro-labor musical, “The Cradle Will Rock,” while still at student at Harvard, and dedicated his own opera, “Trouble in Tahiti,” to him), conducted the premiere virtually while the ink was still wet on the page.

He recorded the piece twice. We’ll hear the second of those recordings, from 1966, with Orson Welles the narrator, vocal soloists, the New York Philharmonic, and the men of the Choral Arts Society.

It may not be the most profound of Bernstein’s recordings, but it surely is one of the most unusual. I hope you’ll join me for “Flight of Fancy” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu

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PHOTO: Blitzstein and Bernstein, dining al fresco