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