Bloch's "Greatest Hit"

Synopsis

Today marks the anniversary of the first performance of the best-known work of the Swiss-born American composer, Ernest Bloch, whose "Hebrew rhapsody—Schelomo," for cello and orchestra, premiered at Carnegie Hall on May 3 in 1917. "Schelomo" is a vivid meditation on the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, which describes King Solomon reflecting sadly on the vanity of human endeavor—"Schelomo" being the original Hebrew pronunciation of Solomon.

"Schelomo" premiered just a year after Bloch came to the United States. In America, Bloch had found encouragement and remarkable acceptance of his music. His "Schelomo" was just one of several works premiered at an all-Bloch concert at Carnegie Hall arranged by The Society of the Friends of Music, and performed by an orchestra made up chiefly of New York Philharmonic members with the Philadelphia orchestra's principal cellist Hans Kindler as soloist.

"Schelomo" was originally written with the Russian cellist Serge Alexander Barjansky in mind, and was dedicated to him and his wife; but it was not until a concert in Rome in 1933, a fateful year for the Jews of Europe, that Bloch got to conduct the work with Barjansky as soloist.

Despite his success in America, Bloch tried to resume his career in Europe in the 1930s, but, discouraged by the rise of anti-Semitism and threats of war, he returned to American for good in 1938, where he continued to compose, conduct, and teach until his death in 1959.

Music Played in Today's Program

Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959) Schelomo Mischa Maisky, cello; Israel Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG 427 347

On This Day

Births

• 1886 - French organist and composer Marcel Dupré, in Rouen;

• 1920 - American composer and jazz pianist John Lewis, in LaGrange, Ill.;

Deaths

• 1704 - Austrian composer Heinrich Biber, age 59, in Salzburg;

Premieres

• 1831 - Hérold: "Zampa," at the Opéra-Comique in Paris;

• 1893 - Horatio Parker: oratorio "Hora Novissima," in New York City;

• 1917 - Bloch: "Schlemo" and "Israel" Symphony at Society of the Friends of Music Concert, Artur Bodanzky conducting;

• 1919 - Debussy: Clarinet Rhapsody (orchestral version), in Paris, with clarinetist Gaston Hamelin, at Pasdeloup Concert;

• 1929 - Poulenc: "Concert champêtre" for harpsichord and orchestra, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, by the Paris Symphony with Pierre Monteux conducting and Wanda Landowska the soloist;

• 1934 - Bernard Rogers: "Three Japanese Dances," in Rochester, N.Y.;

• 1943 - Cowell: "American Melting Pot" (Set for Chamber Orchestra), at Carnegie Hall in New York, by the Orchestrette of New York, Frédérique Petrides conducting;

• 1952 - Vaughan Williams: "Romance" for harmonica and orchestra, in New York City;

• 1958 - Walter Hartley: Concerto for 23 Winds, at the Eastman School in Rochester, N.Y., by the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Frederick Fennell conducting;

• 1963 - Cowell: Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harp, at the University of Miami, by John Bitter (flute), Julien Balogh (oboe), Hermann Busch (cello), and Mary Spalding (Mrs. Fabien) Sevitzky (harp); The work is dedicated to the conductor Fabien Sevitzky "in honor of his many services to American music";

• 1969 - Shostakovich: Violin Sonata, in Moscow, with David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter;

• 1989 - James MacMillan: "Visions of a November Spring" for string quartet, at University Concert Hall in Glasgowm Scotland, by the Bingham String Quartet;

Others

• 1971 - Debut broadcast of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" with an electronic theme by composer Don Voegeli of the University of Wisconsin (In 1974, Voegeli composed a new electronic ATC theme, the now-familiar signature tune of the program).