Description

ALBERT SPALDING (CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AUGUST 15, 1888 – MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY, MAY 26, 1953)

 

 

 

 

He was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 15, 1888. His mother, Marie Boardman, was a contralto and pianist. His father, James Walter Spalding, and uncle, Hall-of-Fame baseball pitcher Albert Spalding, created the A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. Spalding studied the violin privately in Manhattan, New York City and Florence, Italy, and at the conservatories in Paris and Bologna; the latter graduated him with honors when he was fourteen. Following his debut in Paris on June 6, 1906, he appeared successfully in London and Vienna. His first American appearance as soloist came with the New York Symphony on November 8, 1908. A year later he soloed with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra when that orchestra toured the United States. In 1916, he was recognized as a national honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the national fraternity for men in music. During World War I, Spalding served in the U.S. Army Air Corps (at one point as aide-de-camp to Major Fiorello La Guardia) and would eventually be awarded the Cross of the Crown of Italy. Not long after his return to the United States, he married Mary Vanderhoef Pyle on July 19, 1919, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. French violinist Jacques Thibaud and Andre Benoist, Spalding’s accompanist, provided the music for the ceremony. In 1920, Spalding appeared on the European tour of the New York Symphony. In 1922, he became the first American violinist to appear with the Paris Conservatory Orchestra; a year later he was the first American to serve on a jury at the Paris Conservatory, helping to award prizes to the graduating class of violinists. In February 1941, he premiered the violin concerto of Samuel Barber. Upon the United States’ involvement in World War II, Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle successfully urged Spalding to accept an assignment with the Office of Strategic Services. He was posted to London, for six weeks, and then served in North Africa until he was ordered to Naples where he was attached to the Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF. In 1944, Spalding gave a legendary concert to thousands of terrified refugees stranded in a cave near Naples during a bombing raid. Following a concert in New York on May 26, 1950, Spalding announced his retirement from the concert stage. Thereafter, he taught master classes at Boston University College of Music and, in the winter months, at Florida State University. His last recital, with pianist Jules Wolffers, at Boston University (15. 05. 1953), ten days later he died in Manhattan, New York City, at the age of 64.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

Alabama (Spalding) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82095 3759

Ave Maria (Gounod) Marie Rappold (soprano) Edison 82536 3815

Ave Maria (Schubert) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82258 8040

Canzonetta (Godard) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82212 5052

Caprice espagnol (Ketten) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82154 5759

Caprice viennois, op. 2 (Kreisler) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82067 3324

Carmen fantaisie (Bizet-Sarasate) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82245 8037

Cavatina (Raff) André Benoist (piano) Edison Test 1581

Chanson méditation (Cottenet)  André Benoist (piano) Edison 82206 5054

Concerto no. 2 Andante (de Bériot) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82250 7599

Drink to me only with thine eyes (Jonson) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82184 6951

Etchings (Spalding) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82250 8028

Eternamente (Mascheroni) Claudia Muzio (soprano) & Robert Gayler (piano) Edison 82243 7941

From the cottonfields (Spalding) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82222 7600

Hark! Hark! The lark (Schubert) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82307 9232

Humoreske (Dvořak) André Benoist (piano) Edison  82047 3757

Humoreske (Dvořak) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82047 2390

Humoreske (Dvořák) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82047 4579

 

Hungarian dance no. 1 (Brahms) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82263 2407

Hungarian dance no. 2 (Brahms) Edison 82093 3396

Hungarian dance no. 5 (Brahms)  André Benoist (piano) 82048 2399 Edison 7 24 1913 New York, New York

Hungarian dance no. 6 (Brahms) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82342 3375

Hungarian dance no. 7 (Brahms) Edison 82046 Edison 82046

Hungarian dance no. 8 (Brahms) Edison 82093 3395

Indian lament (Dvořák) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82239 8017

Kujawiak (Seconde mazurka) (Wieniawski) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82245 8018

Le cygne (The swan) (Saint-Saëns) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82316 9231

Liebesfreud (Kreisler) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82323 9393

Love sends a little gift of roses (Openshaw) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82308 9250

Marchéta (Schertzinger) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82316 9394

Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner-Wilhelmj) Morgenlich leuchtend André Benoist (piano) Edison 82117 3779

Melody in F (Rubinstein) André Benoist (piano) Edison 28285 5747

Minuet in G (Beethoven) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82284 5754

My old Kentucky home – Variations (Collins Foster) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82105 4097

Nocturne (Chopin-Wilhelmj) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82212 5752

 

Old folks at home (Collins Foster) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82215 7601

Orpheus (Gluck) Ballet music André Benoist (piano) Edison 82206 7004

Paderewski’s menuet (Paderewski) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82307 9230

Pierrot serenade Gigue (Randegger, Jr.) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82105 4111

Polonaise In A (Wieniawski) André Benoist (piano) 82048 2395 Edison

Romance (Svendsen) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82194 5058

Romance from 2nd concerto (Wieniawski) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82117 3323

Romance in A (Schumann) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82168 5756

Romanza andaluza (Sarasate) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82342 5059

Rondo capriccioso (Saint-Saëns) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82043 3758

Roses of Picardy (Wood) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82215 7595

Scherzo (Chabrier) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82168 5753

Scherzo-tarentelle (Wieniawski) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82188 6975

Schlummerlied (Schumann) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82284 5755

Schon rosmarin (Kreisler) L’arlesienne Intermezzo (Bizet) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82046 2409

Serenade (Drigo) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82263 8036

Serenade (Pierné) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82184 5053

 

Serenade (Schubert) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82222 7594

Serenade melancolique (Tchaikovsky) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82067 3393

Slavonic dance no. 2 in E minor (Kreisler) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82322 9251

Souvenir (Drdla) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82154 5062

Souvenir of Moscow (Wieniawski) André Benoist (piano) Edison 80071 4327

Souvenir poétique (Fibich) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82323 9395

Spanish Dance (Granados-Kreisler) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82194 5751

Spring song (Mendelssohn) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82135 5748

Thaïs (Massenet) Méditation André Benoist (piano) Edison 82043 3762

The angel’s serenade (Braga) Frieda Hempel (soprano) & Robert Gayler (piano) Edison 82240 8005

Träumerei (Schumann) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82188 5749

Valse bluette… Three poor mariners (Drigo-Auer; Quilter) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82192  7005

Valse capriccio (Wieniawski) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82308 9233

Valse sentimentale André Benoist (piano) Edison Test 6970

Valse triste (Sibelius) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82322 9252

Xerxses (Handel) Largo André Benoist (piano) & Robert Gayler (organ) Edison 82239 7612

Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Dance) (Sarasate) André Benoist (piano) Edison 82192 6950