Notable Dvořák and Ellington concerts in New York

Synopsis

On today’s date in 1894, during the New York Herald’s clothing fund drive, readers of that newspaper would have seen this announcement of a concert that evening at Madison Square Garden: “Hear Stephen Foster’s ‘Old Folks at Home’—rendered tonight for charity as it has never been before—In Dvorak’s own arrangement—sung entirely by Negroes—in aid of the Clothing Fund.”

Dvorak was in New York, teaching at Mrs. Jeannette Thurber’s National Conservatory of Music. The Herald’s review of the January 23rd concert credited Mrs. Thurber with the idea of showcasing the talented black students of her Conservatory, writing, “She threw open the doors of her establishment to pupils of ability, no matter what their race, color, or creed. Her efforts were ably seconded by Dr. Dvorak. The famous Bohemian has studied the Negro race, their songs, their folk lore, and saw that in their intellectual make-up there lay, ignored or unknown, the germs of an original musical organization, the foundation of a truly national school of music.”

49 years later to the day—on January 23, 1943—many would have agreed with Dvorak’s prediction as Duke Ellington and his orchestra presented their first concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, offering the premiere performance of Ellington’s “Black, Brown, and Beige” Suite—with all proceeds again going to benefit a charity: the Russian war relief fund.

Music Played in Today's Program

Stephen Foster (arr. Dvořák) Old Folks at Home Eva Urbanova, sop.; Prague Radio Symphony; Vladimir Valek, cond. Clarton 00113

Duke Ellington (1899-1974) Light, from Black, Brown and Beige Suite American Composers Orchestra; Maurice Peress, cond. MusicMasters 60176

On This Day

Births

• 1752 - Italian composer Muzio Clementi, in Rome;

• 1878 - English composer Rutland Boughton, in Aylesbury;

Deaths

• 1837 - Irish composer John Field, age 54, in Moscow (Julian date: Jan.11);

• 1908 - American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell, age 47, in New York;

• 1981 - American composer Samuel Barber, age 70, in New York;

Premieres

• 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 73 ("Herr, wie du willst, so schicks mit mir") performed on the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24);

• 1729 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 156 ("Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe") probably performed in Leipzig on the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's fourth annual Sacred Cantata cycle (to texts by Christian Friedrich Henrici, a.k.a. "Picander") during 1728/29;

• 1895 - MacDowell: Suite No. 2 (":Indian"), at the old Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, by the Boston Symphony, with Emil Paur conducting; On the same program, MacDowell appeared as the soloist in his own Piano Concerto No. 1;

• 1933 - Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2, in Frankfurt, with Hans Robaud conducting and the composer as soloist;

• 1936 - Chavez: "Sinfonia India," on a radio broadcast by the Columbia Symphony, conducted by the composer;

• 1948 - Diamond: Symphony No. 4, by the Boston Symphony, Leonard Bernstein conducting;

• 1963 - Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 7, by the Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell conducting;

• 1973 - Elliott Carter: String Quartet No. 3, in New York City, by the Juilliard String Quartet; This work won the Pulitzer Prize for music in that year (This was Carter's second Pulitzer Prize);

• 1999 - Thea Musgrave: "Three Women," in San Francisco, by the Women's Philharmonic, A. Hsu conducting;

Others

• 1894 - Czech composer Antonin Dvorák presents a concert of African-American choral music at Madison Square Concert Hall in New York, using an all-black choir, comprised chiefly of members of the St. Philip's Colored Choir; On the program was the premiere performance of Dvorák's own arrangement of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home," which featured vocal soloists Sissierette Jones and Harry T. Burleigh;

• 1943 - Duke Ellington and his orchestra present their first concert at Carngie Hall in New York, presenting the "official" premiere of Ellington's "Black, Brown and Beige" Suite (This work had received its world premiere at a trial performance the preceding day at Rye High School in Rye, New York).