Dr. Bob Prescribes John Philip Sousa Marches
November
7th,
2023
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), recording an NBC radio broadcast 1929 Though he composed many other works – including six operettas - John Philip Sousa’s great and enduring fame rests on his 136 marches. His first march, Review, was published in 1873; his final march, Library of Congress, begun in 1931, was left incomplete at his…
Music History Monday: The March King
November
6th,
2023
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) in 1900 We mark the birth on November 6, 1854 – 169 years ago today – of the American composer, conductor, and violinist John Philip Sousa. Born in Washington, D.C., Sousa died in Reading, Pennsylvania on March 6, 1932, at the age of 77. Timing, Location, Life Experience, and Talent We…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Schubert, String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, “Death and the Maiden”
October
31st,
2023
“Death and the Maiden” by Marianne Stokes (1900) Today is Halloween. Surprise, right? As if you didn’t know. For today’s Dr. Bob Prescribes, I had considered recognizing the date by writing a post on “appropriately ghoulish concert works for your Halloween party.” I began assembling a list of the usual horrific suspects – Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie…
Music History Monday: Franz Schubert: An Unfinished Symphony; An Unfinished Life
October
30th,
2023
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) in 1824 We mark October 30, 1822 – 201 years ago today – as being the day on which Franz Schubert began what is now known as his Symphony No. 8 in B minor, the “Unfinished Symphony.” Lost just months after Schubert completed the two movements that make up the “Unfinished,” the…
Dr. Bob Prescribes The Jazz Singer
October
24th,
2023
Al Jolson (1886-1950) in The Jazz Singer (1927) The First “Talking Picture”? For as long as I’ve been aware of the movie The Jazz Singer, its title has always been preceded or followed by the phrase, “the first talking picture,” meaning the first major, full-length commercial film to contain spoken dialogue. This is true but…
Music History Monday: Al Jolson and the Painful Legacy of Blackface
October
23rd,
2023
Al Jolson (1886-1950) We mark the death on October 23, 1950 – 73 years ago today - of the Lithuanian-American singer and actor Al Jolson. Born “Asa Yoelson” on May 26, 1886, in the village of Srednik, in what was then the Russian Empire and what is today Lithuania, he died of a massive heart…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Arnold Schoenberg, Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21 (1912)
October
17th,
2023
The crowning glory of Schoenberg’s “emancipation of dissonance” period is Pierrot Lunaire. In terms of its importance and influence on the literate music of the twentieth century, Pierrot Lunaire stands second only to Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which Stravinsky completed six months after Schoenberg (1874-1951) finished Pierrot. 1912 was, truly, a miraculous year…
Music History Monday: Mathilde Made Him Do It!
October
16th,
2023
A few, necessary words before moving on to today’s post. Our hearts bleed for the events currently playing out in Israel and Gaza. Frankly, there are no words. Today is also the 14th anniversary of my wife Diane’s death; she died at the age of 35 on October 16, 2009. Again, there are no words.…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Camille Saint-Saëns, Symphony No. 3, “Organ Symphony” (1886)
October
10th,
2023
Camille Saint-Saëns and the Organ Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) at the organ Saint-Saëns was almost certainly the greatest organist of his time and among the greatest who has ever lived. From 1857 until 1877 – from the age of 22 to 42 - he held the extremely prestigious position of organist at Paris’ most chic La…
Music History Monday: The Parrot
October
9th,
2023
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) We mark the birth on October 9, 1835 – 188 years ago today – of Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns, in Paris. He died in that magnificent city on Beethoven’s 151st birthday – on December 16, 1921 - at the age of 86. The Nose Physically, the adult Camille Saint-Saëns was – literally - an…