Synopsis
In the 1930s and 40s, radio’s so-called Golden Age, Deems Taylor was the dominant voice of classical radio. Taylor was both the broadcast announcer of the New York Philharmonic on the CBS Network, and the opera commentator for NBC. He was also the voiceover narrator in the famous Disney animated film Fantasia.
In his day, Taylor was also a successful composer, producing a wide variety of music ranging from orchestral works to grand operas, including two that were commissioned by and staged at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera in New York: The King’s Henchman, composed to a libretto by Edna St. Vincent Millay premiered there in 1927, and Peter Ibbetson, based on a novel by George du Maurier, in 1931. He was also a fine writer and critic on musical topics, and was the author of several books.
Taylor was born in New York City on today’s date in 1885 and died there in 1966. The year after his death, ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, established the annual Deems Taylor Awards to acknowledge outstanding coverage of music topics — and in the interest of full disclosure, this program, Composers Datebook was one of the recipients of that award.
Music Played in Today's Program
Deems Taylor (1885-1966): Through the Looking Glass; Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, conductor; Delos 3099
On This Day
Births
1723 - German composer and gamba player Carl Friedrich Abel, in Cöthen
1821 - Italian composer, doublebass player and conductor Giovanni Bottesini, in Crema
1858 - Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, in Lucca
1874 - Austrian composer Franz Schmidt, in Pressburg (Bratislava)
1883 - French-born American composer Edgard (or Edgar) Varèse, in Paris
1885 - American composer and critic Deems Taylor, in New York City
1900 - British composer Alan Bush, in Dulwich, South London
1901 - Russian-born American conductor and arranger André Kostelanetz, in St. Petersburg
Deaths
1745 - Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, 66, during the night of December 22-23, in Dresden
1950 - American composer and conductor Walter Damrosch, 88, in New York City
Premieres
1808 - Beethoven: Symphonies 5 and 6 along with the Choral Fantasy and the Piano Concerto No. 4, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, with composer as conductor and piano soloist
1837 - Lortzing: opera Zar und Zimmermann (Csar and Carpenter), in Leipzig at the Stadttheater
1888 - Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3, in Budapest
1906 - Glazunov: Symphony No. 8, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Dec. 9)
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.
