Edoardo di Giovanni: Tenor (Vanity Fair, 1915)This is a small VANITY FAIR profile regarding the Canadian opera singer Edward Johnson (a.k.a. Edoardo di Giovanni, 1878-1959) who turned a good many heads in the world of opera when he made his debut in 1908. He enjoyed a glorious career as a tenor singing both in Europe and the United States until he resigned from the stage in 1935, replacing Herbert Witherspoon as the general manager of New York's Metropolitan Opera, leaving that position in 1950.
This article, that pictures him costumed for his roll in Puccini's "Fanciulla del West" (The Girl of the Golden West) covers the highlights of his musical education as well as the grander moments of his career up until the year 1915.
*Listen to Various Recordings by Edoardo di Giovanni *
Sir Edward Elgar: Phonograph Advocate (Current Opinion, 1921)"Sir Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934), the noted composer, recently presided at the opening of the new headquarters of a gramophone company in London. Elgar is a great believer in the mechanical reproduction of music, and always conducts for records of his own works."
"What musicians want," he said, "is more listeners."
Sergie Rachmaninoff (Vanity Fair, 1919)An uncredited interview with the celebrated Russian composer, Sergie Rachmaninoff (Russian: Сергей Васильевич Рахманинов, Sergej Vasilevič Rakhmaninov, 1873 - 1943); his education, family and his work at the Moscow Conservatory as well as the Moscow Grand Theater. Attention is paid to his activities in the United States following his flight from the 1917 Russian Revolution.
*Listen to Rachmaninoff Perform Piano Concerto No. 2*
Soprano Dorothy Kirsten (Click Magazine, 1943)Illustrated with a black and white photograph of the 33 year-old soprano was this small notice announcing the discovery of Dorthy Kirsten (1910 - 1992) of Montclair, New Jersey. Kirsten went on to great heights, performing with the Metropolitan Opera for the next thirty years, she would also enjoy some popularity singing duets on the radio with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nelson Eddy, and Perry Como.
Beethoven and his Deafness (The Literary Digest, 1894)Musical historian W.S.B. Mathews considers the three musical styles of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) and entirely dismisses the possibility that his deafness in later years effected his compositions one jot:
"Then we come to a third style, embracing works written after Beethoven had become stone-deaf, and could, therefore, no longer correct his writing by the evidence of his ears...Seriously, the idea that Beethoven's style suffered from his being unable to hear is most absurd."
John Philip Sousa: The March King (The Literary Digest, 1897)This 1897 profile of composer John Philip Sousa (1854 – 1932) was written shortly after his triumphal return from Queen Victoria's Jubilee, where he was feted like a native son for all his glorious march compositions; particularly "The Washington Post March", which was performed while her household infantry passed in review:
"There is probably no composer in the world with a popularity equal to that of Mr. Sousa. Tho he sold his 'Washington Post' march outright for $35.00, his 'Liberty Bell' march is said to have brought him $35,000...At the age of twenty-six Mr. Sousa became the leader of the United States Marine Corps Band. In the twelve years of his leadership,he developed this unimportant organization into one of the best military bands in the world."
"The glory of Mr. Sousa is that he was the first to write in this style; that he has made himself a style; that he so stirred the musical world that countless imitations have sprung up after him."
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