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

 

 

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