William Schuman, Chairman of the Board

Synopsis

By the time of his death in 1998, pop singer Frank Sinatra was such a domineering figure in his field that he was known as “The Chairman of the Board.” By the time of his death in 1992, the same nickname might have applied to the American composer William Schuman, who was, at various times, director of publications for G. Schirmer, president of the Juilliard School, president of Lincoln Center, and on the board of many other important American musical institutions. William Schuman even looked the part of a distinguished, well-dressed CEO. Oddly enough, he came rather late to classical music.

Schuman was born on today’s date in 1910, and, as a teenager in New York City, was more interested in baseball than music, even though his dance band was the rage of Washington High School. It was with some reluctance that 19-year old Billy Schuman was dragged to a New York Philharmonic concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The program included a symphony by someone named Robert Schumann, and Billy was pretty impressed. A few years later, in 1933, when he heard the First Symphony of the contemporary American composer Roy Harris, Schuman was hooked, and soon was writing concert music himself. By 1941, when his Third Symphony premiered, Schuman was recognized as a major talent, and in 1943 he was awarded the first Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Music Played in Today's Program

William Schuman (1910-1992) Symphony No. 3 New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor. Sony Classical 63163

Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) Symphony No. 1 (Spring) Berlin Philharmonic; James Levine, conductor. DG 435 856

Roy Harris (1899-1979) Symphony No. 1 Louisville Orchestra; Jorge Mester, conductor. Albany/Louisville First Edition 012

On This Day

Births

• 1875 - Italian opera composer Italo Montemezzi, in Vigasio (near Verona);

• 1901 - Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, in New Orleans; Uncertain of the exact day (or year), Armstrong and his manager came up with the idea of saying he was born on the 4th of July in the year 1900;

• 1910 - American composer William Schuman, in New York; He won the first Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1943 for his Walt Whitman cantata, "A Free Song";

• 1912 - American composer David Raksin, in Philadelphia, Pa.; He wrote more than 100 film scores, including the 1944 film noire classic "Laura";

Deaths

• 1930 - German opera composer and conductor Siegfried Wagner, age 61, in Bayreuth; He was the son of the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner, and little Siegfried's birth was celebrated musically in the elder Wagner's "Siegfried Idyll";

Premieres

• 1940 - Milhaud: "Le Cortège funèbre" (Funeral March), on a CBS Radio broadcast conducted by the composer;

• 1972 - Wuorinen: Violin Concerto, for amplified violin and orchestra, at the Tanglewood Festival in Mass., by violinist Paul Zukofsky and the Boston Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting;

• 1976 - Menotti: Symphony No. 1 ("The Halcyon"), at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting;

• 1998 - Danielpour: Bassoon Quintet, by bassoonist Stephen Walt and the Muir String Quartet, in Williamstown, Mass.;

• 2001 - John Tavener: "Song of the Cosmos," at a Proms Concert in London, by soprano Patricia Rozario, baritone Father Meliton, The Bach Choir and the BBC Philharmonic, Hill conducting;

Others

• 1705 - In Arnstadt, J.S. Bach and a bassoonist named Johann Heinrich Geyersbach cross paths late a night and an argument ensues; Geyerbach threatens Bach with a stick and Bach draws his sword; Both are hauled up before the city magistrate and reprimanded for their behavior (See also: August 9 and 14, 1703)

• 1782 - Mozart marries Constanze Weber at St. Stephen's in Vienna, with the grudging consent of Mozart's father, Leopold.

• 1967 - The scheduled local premiere at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires of Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera's opera "Bomarzo" is cancelled by the military government due to the opera's unacceptable level of sex and violence depicted on-stage; The work had received its world premiere performance on May 19th in Washington, DC.