Synopsis
The name George Templeton Strong crops up frequently in both the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War and Ric Burns’ history of New York City. That George Templeton Strong was a lawyer and music lover who lived from 1820-1875, whose diary entries offer a detailed picture of daily life in New York City.
But there’s another member of the family we’d like to tell you about — the son of the famous diarist, George Templeton Strong, Jr., born in New York in 1856, and died in Geneva, Switzerland on today’s date in 1948.
The younger Strong became a fine oboist who played in various New York orchestras of his day. His father was not very happy about that. He wanted his son to study law. Moreover, Junior rebelled against his father’s ultra-conservative tastes in music: Strong Senior detested the music of Liszt and Wagner, whereas Junior, who became a composer, modeled his works on those very composers.
The sad father-son relationship is documented painfully in the final entries of the elder Strong’s diaries. After a bitter argument, Junior left home and moved to Europe, eventually settling in Switzerland, where he pursued a dual artistic career as composer and watercolorist.
Music Played in Today's Program
George Templeton Strong (1856-1948): Evening Dance from Suite No. 2; Moscow Symphony; Adriano, conductor; Naxos 8.559078
On This Day
Births
1922 - American composer and pianist George Walker, in Washington, D.C.
1932 - British composer Hugh Wood, in Parbold, near Wigan, Lancashire
1958 - Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, in Helsinki
Deaths
1729 - French composer and harpsichordist Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de LaGuerre, 64, in Paris
1948 - Expatriate American composer and watercolorist George Templeton Strong, 92, in Geneva
Premieres
1985 - Dave Brubeck: dramatic scene Voice of the Holy Spirit (Tongues of Fire), at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, with Richard Gloyd conducting
1990 - Michael Torke: Mass for baritone, chorus and orchestra, at the New York State Theater, with baritone William Stone, the Trinity Church Choir, and the New York City Ballet Orchestra, Gordon Boelzner conducting
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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.