by Daniel Hathaway
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On this day in 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the executive order that created the Works Progress Administration or WPA, which along with other federal programs, gave temporary assistance in the form of jobs to out-of-work Americans during the Great Depression.
Later that year, Nikolai Sokoloff, who had founded The Cleveland Orchestra along with Adella Prentiss Hugues and conducted the ensemble from 1918-1932, was put in charge of the Federal Music Project, which supported unemployed musicians, composers, opera projects, and orchestras in Cleveland and elsewhere. Sokoloff was soon criticized for favoring Eurocentric classical music — the focus of the project widened in 1936 when Charles Seeger was appointed assistant director.
Read a WQXR story that suggests five WPA-commissioned works that listeners should be aware of. One of them is Aaron Copland’s atmospheric Quiet City, a piece written for the short-lived play of the same name by Irwin Shaw that has become an icon of the Depression Era.
The original theater version of the work for trumpet, saxophone, clarinets and piano has recently been unearthed and recorded by composer and saxophonist Christopher Brellochs. Listen here. Or click here for Copland’s later orchestral version performed by the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein. A third choice is an arrangement featuring trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. All three conjure a poignant look at New York City — now much quieter than usual.
MARLBORO CANCELS SUMMER FESTIVAL:
A favorite summer getaway in the mountains for many professional musicians, Vermont’s Marlboro Festival has cancelled its 2020 session, originally scheduled to begin in mid-July. In their statement, co-artistic directors Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss wrote:
Throughout the summer, we will continue—by virtual and other means — to enable audiences to connect with Marlboro and its music-making. We will be sharing videos and recordings of past performances, artist interviews, photographs, and — in print and online—a special 70th Anniversary publication: A Cause That Transcends Time: Discovery and Renewal at Marlboro. Our website, marlboromusic.org, offers a trove of interesting material as well.
ONLINE & ON THE AIRWAVES TODAY:Today’s lineup includes another episode of the daily Lunchtime with the Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts, a virtual CIM oboe and piano recital by Adrian Gonzalez and Pin-Hsuan Huang featuring the rarely-heard Herbert Howells’ Sonata, and a contemporary opera from The MET’s HD Archives: Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin. See our Concert Listings for details.
