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Stoky and the All-American Youth Orchestra�sail to South America and back

July - September 1940

April 12, 2025

Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies�San Jose State University

Helen Kotas

to

Marion Lychenheim and “all the Gals”

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Helen Kotas

Helen Kotas Hirsch

(1916-2000)

Marion Lychenheim

�Marion L. Bloch, Marion B. Squires�(1891-1983)

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Marion Lychenheim and Helen Kotas

The All-American Youth Orchestra

Lessons and Correctives

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Helen Kotas, or Kotasová, <8> was born in 1916 into a Czech-American family that had settled in suburban Chicago. Her public school education led her into bands and summer camps, during the course of which she switched from cornet to horn at the suggestion of her high school band director. Not long after, she was given an artist-level instrument—a double horn by the great Chicago horn maker Carl Geyer—by her older sister Beatrice, usually called Bea, and here called Beaty. Her rise was consistent and meteoric. She was a well-known solo player in her early teens and progressed through the area orchestras—including the Chicago Civic—meanwhile earning a degree in psychology from the University of Chicago in 1936. Shortly after the events at issue here, Helen Kotas became principal horn in the Chicago Symphony (though continuing for a time to play for the Woman’s Symphony as well). She was named to the All-American Youth Orchestra in mid-May 1940, participating in the South American tour of July–September 1940 and the American tour of 1941.

There followed a full and occasionally dramatic career in the playing and teaching of the French horn, for the most part in and around Chicago. She was deeply attached to Chicago by family history, personality, and, eventually, by marriage to the University of Chicago professor Edwin Hirsch. Her career is well documented elsewhere: begin with the Wikipedia article and continue with the DMA document by Heather Lewis Thayer of University of North Texas and several posts from the Chicago Symphony blog.

At the University of Chicago, Kotas was, by the way, the college roommate of Dena Epstein, noted music librarian and pioneering ethnomusicologist. At age 84, Helen was on her way to a luncheon for alumni of the Chicago Symphony when she was struck by a car while crossing the street to catch her bus. She died from her injuries a few weeks later.

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Morris Topchevsky�(1899-1947)

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1942-43

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July 1, 1940�Stella Roberts, viola�Marion Lychenheim, bassoon�Lois Bichl, cello (founder)�Mildred Bush, clarinet�Ethel Hand, viola�Winifred Cree, viola�Ruth Meyers, oboe�Goldie Gross, cello�Emily Poska, clarinet�Shirley Chalmers, clarinet (fr. 1941)�Bernice Little, violin�Dorothy Thomas, oboe�Mary Coleman, double bass�Evelyn Davis, concertmaster�Lilian Poenisch, clarinet (founder)�Emmy Gernand, cello�Caroline Solfrank, flute�Genevieve Kaleth, trumpet�Norma Zuzanek, percussion�Blanche Kryl Weber, cello �Laura Lydia Sexton, double bass�June [Nowack] DeVine, bassoon�Marion Bridgman, flute

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The All-American Youth Orchestra

The grandes lignes of AAYO story will be known to many of you: how Stokowski conceived the project, soon gaining the support of Secretary of State Cordell Hull and the National Youth Authority; how the selection process drew something like 15,000 applicants between the ages of 15 and 25; how Stokowski himself traveled through the country to hear the 500 finalists: five for every one of the 100 open positions; how some 90 players, joined by perhaps 18 leading members of the Philadelphia Orchestra eventually gathered in Atlantic City and in only two weeks emerged as what nearly everybody agreed was a dazzling ensemble; how they then played inaugural concerts extending from a preview in Atlantic City to a farewell gala in New York; how they traveled by sea and land to Buenos Aires and Montevideo by way of Rio, returning in a little over six weeks to find Mrs. Roosevelt and Franklin, Jr. waiting for them at the dock. Villa-Lobos himself had been their escort in Rio; Magda Tagliaferro had joined them in his piano fantasy, MomopreKWA-Se; Guiomar Novaes had them to over to her sumptuous home after one of the concerts in São Paulo.

1940 and 1941 were milepost years for Stokowski himself: the end of his dominance in Philadelphia and the rise of Eugene Ormandy, Fantasia, leaving RCA for Columbia, investigation by a committee of the House of Representatives, where it was alleged that the tour was a “Tool of Soviet Propaganda” and the maestro himself pink. There was deepening rivalry with Toscanini and RCA. Conceiving and populating the AAYO and taking it to South America was his major work of those years, and he and many others rightly regarded it as industrial and personal treachery when Toscanini and the NBC Symphony scheduled a very similar South American itinerary just before his own. On the other hand this gave South Americans the opportunity to hear both leading conductors of the free world within a few weeks of each other.

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Violin Paul Shure�Jacques Margolies John Coppin Leonard Sorkin Veda Reynolds Roberta Groninger Rena Robbins Julius Schulman Betty Jane Atkinson Marvin Limonick Herbert Baumel Kay Rickert Harrison Reynolds George Zazofsky Irving Ilmer James Barron [sic] George Kast Milton Wohl Elizabeth Waldo Geraldine Peterson Thruston Johnson (as Thurston) Isadore Irwin Eisenberg Dorothy DeLay Elizabeth Rydner Marlyn Crittendon Robert Konrad Rex Clark Robert Gross	Viola Julian Salkin Harold R. Coletta Sam Singer Myer Bello Sanford Schonbach Milton Thomas Vincent Mauricci Dorothy Fennell William Schoen Ralph Hersh (as Herch) Norman Lamb Cello Joseph Druian Seymour Barab William Klenz Elizabeth Ann Stratton Channing Robbins Jean Schroeder Martha McCrory Mary Hughson Norman Goss Sam. Mayes Bass Ray Siegel Harold Siegel Henry Portnoi (as Portnoe) Samuel H. Hollingsworth Willis Page Ferdinand Maresh Harold Limonick	Flute Joseph Mariano (as Marino) Albert Tipton Sylvia Ruderman John Bitter Oboe Ralph Gomberg Ezra L. Kotzin Charles Gilbert Clarinet William McCormick Martin Zwick Emil Schmachtenberg Bassoon Sol Schoenbach Franklin M. Biskey Manuel Zegler __________ Hersh went to WQXR, New York; replaced by Albert Falcove. Hollingsworth dismissed in Atlantic City. Page went to Boston SO. Mariano went to Rochester SO, Eastman.	Horn Mason Jones William Sanberg Helen Kotas James Chambers Joseph Freni Warren W. Eason Trumpet James Tamburini Sydney Baker William B. Horner, Jr. Trombone Dorothy Ziegler Edward Kleinhammer Howard Cole Tuba Philip Silverman Percussion not named Harp Edna Phillips Lynn Wainwright __________ Musical America, July 1940 New York Times, June 14, 1940

All-American Youth Symphony Orchestra�1940 – AS ANNOUNCED

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Violin Paul Shure, concertmaster Jacques Margolies [Jack Margolis] John Coppin Leonard Sorkin Veda Reynolds Roberta Groninger Rena Robbins Julius Schulman Betty Jane Atkinson Marvin Limonick Herbert Baumel Kay Rickert Harrison Reynolds George [Abraham] Zazofsky Irving Ilmer James Baron [=Aaron Cohen?] George Kast [Julius Katz] Milton Wohl Elizabeth Waldo Geraldine Peterson [Charles] Thruston Johnson Irwin [Isador] Eisenberg Dorothy DeLay Elizabeth Rydner Marlyn Crittendon Robert Konrad Rex Clark Robert Gross David Madison Manuel Roth *member of the Philadelphia Orchestra	Viola Julian Salkin Harold R. Coletta Sam [Israel] Singer Myer Bello Sanford Schonbach Milton Thomas Vincent [Vincenzio] Mauricci Dorothy Fennell William Schoen Albert S. Falkove Norman Lamb Simon Asin Cello Joseph Druian Seymour Barab William Klenz Elizabeth Ann Stratton Channing Robbins Jean Schroeder Martha McCrory Mary Hughson Norman Goss Benjamin Gusikoff Emmet Sergeant Samuel H. Mayes Bass Ray Siegel Harold Siegel Henry Portnoi Ferdinand [Fernando] Maresh Harold Limonick Pietro [Peter] Mercurio Max Strassenberger *Anton Torello	Flute Albert Tipton Sylvia Ruderman�Ferdinand [Fernando] Morrone John Bitter Oboe Ralph Gomberg Ezra L. Kotzin Charles Gilbert (+ English horn) William [Irvin] Kosinski Clarinet William McCormick Martin [Marcus] Zwick Emil Schmachtenberg (+ bass) Robert McGinnis Bassoon *Sol Schoenbach Franklin M. Biskey Manuel Zegler (+ contrabassoon) Leopold Stokowsi, conductor Saul Caston, assistant conductor John Bitter, assistant conductor Michael Myerberg, manager Theodor Hauple, stage manager Glenn Pickett, Columbia engineer Adjutor R. Theroux, Col. engineer SOURCE:�Port of New York debarcations	Horn Mason Jones William Sanberg Helen Kotas James Chambers Joseph Freni Warren W. Eason Americus Tomei Trumpet James Tamburini Sydney Baker [Sidney Beckerman] Joseph E. Fischer Saul Caston Trombone Dorothy Ziegler Howard Cole Edward Kleinhammer (bass) Charles [Salom] Gusikoff (+violin) Tuba Philip Silverman Timpani George Gaber Percussion David Stevens [Stephens] Cloyd Duff Harp Edna Phillips Lynn Wainwright

All-American Youth Symphony Orchestra�1940 TOTAL (98) with “Key Men” and Ringers

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Violin Paul Shure, concertmaster Jacques Margolies John Coppin Leonard Sorkin Veda Reynolds Roberta Groninger Rena Robbins Julius Schulman Betty Jane Atkinson Marvin Limonick Herbert Baumel Kay Rickert Harrison Reynolds George Zazofsky Irving Ilmer James Baron George Kast Milton Wohl Elizabeth Waldo Geraldine Peterson Thruston Johnson Irwin Eisenberg Dorothy DeLay Elizabeth Rydner Marlyn Crittendon Robert Konrad Rex Clark Robert Gross *member of the Philadelphia Orchestra	Viola Julian Salkin Harold R. Coletta Sam Singer Sanford Schonbach Milton Thomas Vincent Mauricci Dorothy Fennell William Schoen Ralph Hersh Norman Lamb Albert S. Falkove Myer Bello Simon Asin Cello Joseph Druian Seymour Barab William Klenz Elizabeth Ann Stratton Channing Robbins Jean Schroeder Martha McCrory Mary Hughson Norman Goss Samuel H. Mayes Emmet Sergeant Bass Ray Siegel Harold Siegel Henry Portnoi Willis Page Ferdinand Maresh Harold Limonick Anton Torello	Flute Joseph Mariano Albert Tipton Sylvia Ruderman John Bitter Oboe Ralph Gomberg Ezra L. Kotzin Charles Gilbert (+ English horn) Clarinet William McCormick Martin Zwick Emil Schmachtenberg (+ bass clarinet) Robert McGinnis Bassoon *Sol Schoenbach Franklin M. Biskey Manuel Zegler (+ contrabassoon) Leopold Stokowsi, conductor Saul Caston, assistant conductor John Bitter, assistant conductor Michael Myerberg, manager	Horn Mason Jones William Sanberg Helen Kotas James Chambers Joseph Freni Warren W. Eason Trumpet James Tamburini Sydney Baker William B. Horner, Jr. Saul Caston Trombone Dorothy Ziegler Howard Cole Edward Kleinhammer (bass) Charles Gusikoff Tuba Philip Silverman Timpani George Gaber Percussion Charles Schmidt David Stevens Donald Synclair Harp Edna Phillips Lynn Wainwright

All-American Youth Symphony Orchestra�WOMEN (20)

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Violin Paul Shure, concertmaster Jacques Margolies John Coppin Leonard Sorkin Veda Reynolds Roberta Groninger Rena Robbins Julius Schulman Betty Jane Atkinson Marvin Limonick Herbert Baumel Kay Rickert Harrison Reynolds George Zazofsky Irving Ilmer James Baron George Kast Milton Wohl Elizabeth Waldo Geraldine Peterson Thruston Johnson Irwin Eisenberg Dorothy DeLay Elizabeth Rydner Marlyn Crittendon Robert Konrad Rex Clark Robert Gross *member of the Philadelphia Orchestra	Viola Julian Salkin Harold R. Coletta Sam Singer Sanford Schonbach Milton Thomas Vincent Mauricci Dorothy Fennell William Schoen Ralph Hersh Norman Lamb Albert S. Falkove Myer Bello Simon Asin Cello Joseph Druian Seymour Barab William Klenz Elizabeth Ann Stratton Channing Robbins Jean Schroeder Martha McCrory Mary Hughson Norman Goss Samuel H. Mayes Emmet Sergeant Bass Ray Siegel Harold Siegel Henry Portnoi Willis Page Ferdinand Maresh Harold Limonick Anton Torello	Flute Joseph Mariano Albert Tipton Sylvia Ruderman John Bitter Oboe Ralph Gomberg Ezra L. Kotzin Charles Gilbert (+ English horn) Clarinet William McCormick Martin Zwick Emil Schmachtenberg (+ bass clarinet) Robert McGinnis Bassoon *Sol Schoenbach Franklin M. Biskey Manuel Zegler (+ contrabassoon) Leopold Stokowsi, conductor Saul Caston, assistant conductor John Bitter, assistant conductor Michael Myerberg, manager	Horn Mason Jones William Sanberg Helen Kotas James Chambers Joseph Freni Warren W. Eason Trumpet James Tamburini Sydney Baker William B. Horner, Jr. Saul Caston Trombone Dorothy Ziegler Howard Cole Edward Kleinhammer (bass) Charles Gusikoff Tuba Philip Silverman Timpani George Gaber Percussion Charles Schmidt David Stevens Donald Synclair Harp Edna Phillips Lynn Wainwright

All-American Youth Symphony Orchestra�THE CHICAGO CONTINGENT (8)

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Violin Paul Shure, concertmaster Jacques Margolies John Coppin Leonard Sorkin Veda Reynolds Roberta Groninger Rena Robbins Julius Schulman Betty Jane Atkinson Marvin Limonick Herbert Baumel Kay Rickert Harrison Reynolds George Zazofsky Irving Ilmer James Baron George Kast Milton Wohl Elizabeth Waldo Geraldine Peterson Thruston Johnson Irwin Eisenberg Dorothy DeLay Elizabeth Rydner Marlyn Crittendon Robert Konrad Rex Clark Robert Gross *member of the Philadelphia Orchestra	Viola Julian Salkin Harold R. Coletta Sam Singer Sanford Schonbach Milton Thomas Vincent Mauricci Dorothy Fennell William Schoen Ralph Hersh Norman Lamb Albert S. Falkove Myer Bello Simon Asin Cello Joseph Druian Seymour Barab William Klenz Elizabeth Ann Stratton Channing Robbins Jean Schroeder Martha McCrory Mary Hughson Norman Goss Samuel H. Mayes Emmet Sergeant Bass Ray Siegel Harold Siegel Henry Portnoi Willis Page Ferdinand Maresh Harold Limonick Anton Torello	Flute Joseph Mariano Albert Tipton Sylvia Ruderman John Bitter Oboe Ralph Gomberg Ezra L. Kotzin Charles Gilbert (+ English horn) Clarinet William McCormick Martin Zwick Emil Schmachtenberg (+ bass clarinet) Robert McGinnis Bassoon *Sol Schoenbach Franklin M. Biskey Manuel Zegler (+ contrabassoon) Leopold Stokowsi, conductor Saul Caston, assistant conductor John Bitter, assistant conductor Michael Myerberg, manager	Horn Mason Jones William Sanberg Helen Kotas James Chambers Joseph Freni Warren W. Eason Trumpet James Tamburini Sydney Baker William B. Horner, Jr. Saul Caston Trombone Dorothy Ziegler Howard Cole Edward Kleinhammer (bass) Charles Gusikoff Tuba Philip Silverman Timpani George Gaber Percussion Charles Schmidt David Stevens Donald Synclair Harp Edna Phillips Lynn Wainwright

All-American Youth Symphony Orchestra�THE CALIFORNIA CONTINGENT (12)

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Within the troupe are four sibling pairs, and a half dozen wives; Tipton traveled with his mother. Also in the company was one invited critic, Glen Dillard Gunn of Chicago and Washington, a well-known writer with a good music appreciation text; and the recording engineers from Columbia Records, with their equipment trunks. The Gusikoff dynasty, to which Toscanini’s concertmaster Mischa Mischakoff also belonged, was further represented by their cousin Saul Caston, the associate conductor, born Solomon Gusikoff Cohen. There was one person of color, the trumpet player William Horner, Jr., although Sammy Mayes was part Cherokee, descended from Samuel Houston Mayes, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation for whom Mayes County, Oklahoma. <25 <26>

Stokowski appointed Miss Phillips, the harpist, without her prior knowledge, to be official chaperone of the women. She had reached the wise old age of 33. Nevertheless Miss Phillips was the only traveler seen to have violated the company-wide ban on alcohol. She’s the subject of a good read, Mary Sue Welsh’s One Woman in a Hundred: Edna Phillips and the Philadelphia Orchestra (2013).

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When I reached the Madison Hotel I found that there were already nine girls in two adjoining rooms with one bath in between. We were huddled like that until about 4:30 when all the fourth of July guests decided to leave. By that time all of us had baths, and were quite presentable.

The girls here with me are Sylvia Ruderman, the flute girl Dotty told us about; Elizabeth [Waldo], a violinist from Los Angeles and Curtis; Elizabeth [Rydner] from Seattle, also a violinist; Geraldine [Peterson] from Portland, also a violinist; Rena [Robbins] and Roberta [Groninger], violinists from L. A.; Dorothy Ziegler, the trombone player from Rochester, who lives in Iowa, and Lynn Wainwright, a harpist from Curtis who lives in Indiana. � They are all pretty nice but I like the harpist best. She and the trombone girl and I had dinner together. We are all looking forward to the first rehearsal tomorrow morning at 9:30. And incidentally we are all very clean. Already the bathrooms are overcrowded with our wash.

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The men who have come from Philadelphia are: Schonberg [recte Sol Schoenbach] the first bassoon—Manny Zegler is now playing contra and sounds like a fog horn. Schonberg is very good; he has a vibrato but it is very fast so you don’t mind it. [Robert] McGinnis is the first clarinet. [Charles] Gusikoff is playing trombone. I think Dorothy [Ziegler] will still play first and he’ll help her on the loud things. She plays beautifully on the piano and mezzo forte level and has a wonderful high register.

Mason Jones plays very well but not nearly as well as Phil. He doesn’t sing on his instrument and his tone is not good on the loud level. His attack is beautiful and he has wonderful technique. It’s very easy to play with him and a great relief after the two other boys.

Mason [Jones] plays well, but to me it seems a little lacking in interpretation and his tone is a little peculiar. I can’t quite describe it, but it seems sort of thick and when he makes a crescendo his tone becomes brassy. This is a minor matter, he really plays very well.

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I hope [Stokowski] noticed the difference between my tone and Mason’s. I like Mason’s less and less all the time and only hope I don’t acquire any part of it from playing with him. His tone is stuffy, thick, and impure. But I think that tonal quality means little to Stoky. If he thought much about it, I’m sure he wouldn’t have seven horn players whose tones are very different all in the same orchestra.

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I don’t think I told you that the night we played the Tschaikowsky 5th Sym., Stoky asked me to play first just before we began the slow movement. It went all right, and several of the players said it was fine, but he didn’t say anything. Anyway, I haven’t done anything to disgrace myself yet.

Very luckily I did nothing to disgrace either you or me for which I feel very good. In spite of everything, he is very easy to play for on recording and doesn’t make you the least bit uneasy. That may be because he has had so much experience in doing that work.

I expect if I accidentally miss a couple of notes tonight [21 July: the preview concert] I’ll have to take the next train back to Chicago so maybe I’ll see you before you think. I’m not exactly worried but I am sort of afraid.

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Stoky is a master at conducting impressionistic and sensual music. He always has a very definite idea about the coloring and atmosphere he wishes to produce and also how to get it.

In one spot in the second movement when we didn’t play the way he wanted, Stokey said it was too real. The playing should have more imagination, should not sound like solid objects—a table, chair, coca-cola, wall, etc., but escape from all those actualities into the realm of atmospheric beauty. He ended by saying “No more playing a la coca-cola.” We thought that was pretty good, anyway it expressed exactly what he wanted.

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The Brahms I thought went pretty well but Stoky’s conception is mediocre. He conducts other things much better. The Tristan Love Music sounded best.

We did the Beethoven 8th sym. and Stokey didn’t do it well at all. He has no feeling for a classical style and doesn’t seem to be able to conduct anything which doesn’t have a program behind it. We also did his arrangement of some music from Boris Godounoff and it was wonderful. That is the kind of thing he does well, but he doesn’t make music for the sake of actual music content—it is always for the story behind it. For that reason he doesn’t do a good job of Beethoven or Brahms and doesn’t even attempt Mozart or Haydn.

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… she’s not the kind of person I like very well. She seems like sort of a glamour girl and I can’t warm up to her. I can’t judge her flute playing because she plays 3rd flute and piccolo.

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“Sylvia Ruderman, a dainty little blonde from Los Angeles who adorns the flute section …”

“The California maidens found South American beaches as delightful as those at home.”

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Montevideo

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OTHER PROGRAM

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Lessons and Correctives

Reviewing the many later accounts of Stokowski and his All-American Youth Orchestra on tour, I find them largely anecdotal and often factually suspect. Much of the existing first-person narrative seems based on recollections offered up decades later by ranconteur-travelers who were better at spinning a good story than checking their facts: like the garrulous bassoonist Sol Schoenbach and the violinists Robert Gross and H. Creech Reynolds. Many of the errors amount to simple misrememberings, but there are some whoppers, too. Concerning the company’s arrival in Montevideo, for instance: “The Graf Spee had been bottled up and sunk that day by the British warships outside the harbor.” That actually happened in 1939, though they did sail past the wreck, with its superstructure still above water.

Not only that. A certain amount of received history is based on press releases soon superseded by the turn of events in the unsettled world of the Great Depression and a new world war. But Helen’s letters, supplemented by those of John Coppin published in the Sacramento Bee, offer essentially real-time chronologies—reliable documentation of the orchestra’s daily schedule, including concerts, rehearsals, and recording sessions. These suggest dozens of correctives to the standard accounts.

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Announced Actual

Embark July 5 Embark July 26�SS Washington SS Uruguay

Havana 2 ——�Curaçao ——�Caracas —— [Barbados: no concert]�Rio de Janeiro 2 Rio de Janeiro (August 7, 8)�São Paulo 2 São Paulo (August 8, 9, 10)� Buenos Aires (August 14, 16)�Montevideo 2 Montevideo (August 17, 18, 19) — total 3�Buenos Aires 4 Buenos Aires (August 20, 22)�Rosario (Argentina) Rosario (August 24, 25)�Montevideo ——� Buenos Aires (August 26, 27, 28, 29) — total 6�São Paulo (2) São Paulo (September 2)�Rio de Janeiro (2) Rio (September 3, 4) — total 3� Port of Spain, Trinidad (September 11)�Bahia (Brazil) ——�St. Thomas ——�San Juan 2 ——�Trujillo City Ciudad Trujillo (September 13)�New York August 27 New York September 18

One example: You will often read sentences like: “They performed in Havana, Curaçao, Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Rosario (Argentina), Montevideo, Bahia, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Trujillo City.” But they didn’t. That itinerary was released in early March 1940 and carried widely by the American papers. Helen’s letters and associated documents confirm the day-by-day itinerary of the group. <44>

By the way, no two published rosters of the group match. I’ve looked high and low for the embarcation records of the orchestra, to no avail. Then it occurred to me to check the arrival records in New York harbor, which are easily accessible on the web through the Ellis Island website. Sure enough, there they are on the SS Argentina, arriving home on September 17, 1940. They’re even entered in seating order. <45>

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Flutes

Oboes

Clarinets

Bassoons

Horns

Trumpets

Trombones

Tuba

Harps

Violins

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1940 recordings

DVORAK: New World Symphony

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5

BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4

SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 7 [unpublished]

RAVEL: Bolero

WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde -- Love Music

STRAVINSKY: Firebird Suite

STILL: Scherzo from Afro-American Symphony

WEBER, arr. Berlioz / Stokowski:

Invitation to the Dance

SHOSTAKOVICH, arr. Stokowski:� Prelude in E-flat Minor

BACH, arr. Stokowski: Little Fugue in G Minor

BACH, arr. Stokowski: Mein Jesu

God Bless America / Pledge of Allegiance /

Star-Spangled Banner

Columbia catalogue, October 1941

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from Edward Johnson: Stokowski: Essays in Analysis of His Art (London, 1973).

Recording Date	Record No.	Set No.	Composer/Title
4 Nov. 1940	11349/54	M.416	DVORAK: New World Symphony
13 Dec. 1940	11431/3	M.427	WAGNER: Tristan und Isolde -- Love Music
16 Nov. 1940	11444/9	M.432	TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique"
13/17 Dec. 1940	11481		WEBER: Invitation to the Dance
14 Nov. 1940	11522/4	M.446	STRAVINSKY: Firebird Suite +
		"	SHOSTAKOVICH: Prelude in E-flat Minor
14 Nov. 1940	11543/7	M. 451	BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 5 +
		"	BACH: Little Fugue in G minor
	11553/8	M. 452	BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 plus discs after 1940

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24 July 1940 (Wednesday)

Liederkranz Hall, New York City

4 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Ravel: Boléro

Columbia set X-174 (10 inches)

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 (“New World”)

Columbia set M-416

Shostakovich, arr. Stokowski:

Prelude in E-flat Minor

in Columbia set M-446

Wagner, arr. Stokowski:

Tristan und Isolde – Love Music

Columbia set M-427

Bach: Fugue in G Minor

in Columbia set M-452

Berlin: God Bless America

Spoken Pledge of Allegiance

(Goddard Lieberson),

Star-Spangled Banner

Columbia 17024-D

21 August 1940 (Wednesday)

Cinema Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Stravinsky: Firebird Suite

Columbia set M-446

William Grant Still:

Scherzo, from Afro-American Symphony

Columbia 11992-D

Wagner: Vorspiel and Liebestod

from Tristan und Isolde (twice, acc. to HK� and Coppin)

23 August 1940 (Friday)

Cinema Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

Columbia set M-432

30 August 1940 (Friday)

Cinema Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

10:00 a.m.

Weber, arr. Berlioz and Stokowski: Invitation to the Dance

Columbia 11481-D

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5

Columbia set M-451

J. S. Bach, arr. Stokowski:�Mein Jesu

Columbia 19004-D

22 September 1940 (Sunday)

Liederkranz Hall, New York City

Brahms: Symphony No. 4� Columbia set M-452

Sibelius: Symphony No. 7� (not published)

? retakes: �Wagner: Love Music�Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

“As I understand it, Stokey has been contracted by Columbia to make 100 sides and so far we have done about 60.”—Helen Kotas, 1 September 1940

Recording Sessions, 1940

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24 July 1940 (Wednesday)

Liederkranz Hall, New York City

4 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Ravel: Boléro

Columbia set X-174 (10 inches)

Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 (“New World”)

Columbia set M-416

Shostakovich, arr. Stokowski:

Prelude in E-flat Minor

in Columbia set M-446

Wagner, arr. Stokowski:

Tristan und Isolde – Love Music

Columbia set M-427

Bach: Fugue in G Minor

in Columbia set M-452

Berlin: God Bless America

Spoken Pledge of Allegiance

(Goddard Lieberson),

Star-Spangled Banner

Columbia 17024-D

⇒ 26 July 1940 ?

21 August 1940 (Wednesday)

Cinema Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Stravinsky: Firebird Suite

Columbia set M-446

William Grant Still:

Scherzo, from Afro-American Symphony

Columbia 11992-D

Wagner: Vorspiel and Liebestod

from Tristan und Isolde (twice, acc. to HK� and Coppin)

23 August 1940 (Friday)

Cinema Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

Columbia set M-432

30 August 1940 (Friday)

Cinema Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

10:00 a.m.

Weber, arr. Berlioz and Stokowski: Invitation to the Dance

Columbia 11481-D

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5

Columbia set M-451

J. S. Bach, arr. Stokowski:�Mein Jesu

Columbia 19004-D

⇒17 September 1940 ?

22 September 1940 (Sunday)

Liederkranz Hall, New York City

Brahms: Symphony No. 4� Columbia set M-452

Sibelius: Symphony No. 7� (not published)

? retakes: �Wagner: Love Music�Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6

“As I understand it, Stokey has been contracted by Columbia to make 100 sides and so far we have done about 60.”—Helen Kotas, 1 September 1940

Recording Sessions, 1940

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Rec. date	Columbia	Matrix no.	Released	Title	discs	sides
24 July 1940	set M-416	XCO 27707/17	Sept. 1940	Dvořák: New World Symphony	6	11
24 July 1940	17204-D	CO 27718/19	Sept. 1940	God Bless America / Pledge of Allegiance / Star-Spangled Banner	1	2
24 July 1940	set X-174	CO 27720/23	Sept. 1940	Ravel: Bolero (10”)	2	4
24 July 1940	set M-427	XCO 28645/50	Feb. 1941	Wagner: Love Music fr. Tristan und Isolde	3	6
24 July 1940	in set M-451	XCO 28651	Feb. 1941	Bach: Fugue in G Minor	½	1
24 July 1940	in set M-446	XCO 28652	Feb. 1941	Shostakovich: Prelude in E-flat Minor	½	1
26 July 1940	set M-452	XCO 30116/26	Feb. 1941	Brahms: Symphony No. 4	6	11
26 July 1940	set M-446	XCO 30087/91	Feb. 1941	Stravinsky: Firebird Suite	5	9
21 Aug. 1940	11992-D	CO 29250	Oct. 1944	Still: Scherzo fr. Afro-Ameri. Symphony	½	1
23 Aug. 1940	set M-432	XH 47/58	Feb. 1941	Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6	6	11
30 Aug. 1940	11481-D	XCO 29078/79	Feb. 1941	Weber: Invitation to the Dance	1	2
30 Aug. 1940	set M-451	XCO 30094/102	Feb. 1941	Beethoven: Symphony No. 5	5	9
21 Aug. 1940	19004-D	CO 30134/35	Feb. 1941	Bach: Mein Jesu	1	2
22 Sept. 1940			not released	Sibelius: Symphony No. 7		[6]
				Total published sides rec. in 1940		70

Recording Sessions, 1940

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John Bitter (associate conductor): “We gave occasional concerts, but, of course, we spent most of the time recording for Columbia.”

Robert Gross (violin): [In Buenos Aires] “We recorded for Columbia every morning. [Later:] We did more recording in Buenos Aires than we did in New York.”

Marlyn Crittendon (violin): We rehearsed for three hours every morning and then we made recordings of native music of every country which we visited.”

Robert Gross: “[In Buenos Aires] we recorded: the Beethoven Fifth and Sixth, the Tchaikovsky Sixth, the Shostakovich Fifth, then a number of transcriptions. About Pictures at an Exhibition I’m not positive whether we did it in Buenos Aires or New York. … I know that in Buenos Aires we did a number of Stokowski’s transcriptions: the G Minor Fugue, the Passacaglia and Fugue, and Arioso. We did the Khovanshina Entr’acte and the scenes that he put together from Boris Godunov. [On September 22, back in New York] “We did the Dvořák New World Symphony and the Love Music from Tristan, and I think that’s when we did the D Minor Toccata and Fugue.”

One caveat. One caveat. Accounts from the musicians emphasize how busy they were the whole time: one and often two rehearsals daily, concerts at night, and recording sessions said to have been “nearly every day.” I’m guessing that the several references to recording every day describe practice sessions and takes that never made it home. (Coppin, writing from Atlantic City in July, writes how Stokowski was “training us to record.”) Stokowski, seeking spontaneity in the recordings, was purposefully enigmatic about which repertoire would be done at a session. The “New World” Symphony was recorded when the orchestra was just two weeks old, on very little rehearsal; the musicians were expecting to do Stokowski’s arrangement of La Soirée dans Grenade that day, but apparently did not.

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Wagner, arr. Stokowski:

Love Music from Tristan und Isolde

(Columbia M-427, 1940)

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in memoriam

Robert Samson Bloch

thanks to Susan Erickson, Julia Bloch, Sarah Bloch Modrow�Susan Lamb-Cook

Frank Villella and Rosenthal Archives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra�Chicago Historical Society�

full transcript of the Helen Kotas letters and copy of this slide stack @�https://sites.google.com/view/dkholoman

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Bonus slides 1-2

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Tuesday night�July 9, [1940]

All the boys and girls from Curtis are beginning to give all of us Chicagoans a pain in the neck. You’d think they were God’s Gift the way they talk and act. They may know a lot, but not more than any of the rest of us and in many instances less.