Delaware County Symphony
Sebastian Grand, Music Director
Visual Program Notes - May 3
Celebrating America 250 Symphony Concert
Leonard Bernstein- Overture to Candide
Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, and music educator. As a composer, Bernstein wrote in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music, and pieces for the piano. The operetta, Candide, was first performed in 1956.
Bernstein at the piano, annotating a musical score in 1955.
Playbill from 1974 revival of Candide- Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7501091
Samuel Barber- Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 22
Samuel Barber was born in West Chester, PA and was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator. Barber joined the Army Air Corps during World War II and during that time, he was commissioned to write several works for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, including his Cello Concerto for Raya Garbousova in 1945. Enjoy this work, as our our Youth Concerto Competition winner, Julie Chen, performs this extremely challenging piece with grace and ease.
Samuel Barber in 1944
Raya Garbousova by http://www.montagnanabooks.com/Garbousovasignedphoto1938.jpg, PD-RU, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12096968
Aaron Copland- Lincoln Portrait
Lincoln Portrait, for speaker and orchestra, is a 1942 work by American composer Aaron Copland. It includes narrated excerpts from Lincoln's documents, notably the text of “The Gettysburg Address.”
Aaron Copland in 1962
In 1948, on the 85th anniversary of “The Gettysburg Address,” the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp honoring the event.
William Dawson- Negro Folk Symphony
William Dawson was an American composer, choir director, professor, and musicologist. The Negro Folk Symphony was composed in 1934 and revised in 1952. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra debuted the Negro Folk Symphony in November 1934.
William Dawson circa 1931 by J.W. Gushiniere - Original publication: Studio portraitImmediate source: [New York Public Library https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0d230230-4876-0130-98a9-58d385a7bbd0], Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74617089
Leopold Stokowski
