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

 

 

Andante cantabile (Tchaikovsky) André Benoist (piano) 50100 XE21374-XE21375 Brunswick 1 31 1927 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 1

Ave Maria (Schubert) André Benoist (piano) 50066 XE15495-XE15496 Brunswick 4 9 1925 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 3

Canzonetta from Violin Concerto, Op. 35 (Tchaikovsky) André Benoist (piano) 50100 XE21376-XE21377 Brunswick 13 1 1927 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 1

Die Miestersinger (Wagner-Wilhelmj) Prize Song André Benoist (piano) 50138 XE26842-XE26843 Brunswick 3 6 1928 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 2

Guitarre (Moszkowski) André Benoist (piano) 15107 E15705-E15706 Brunswick 5 9 1925 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 3

Introduction and Tarantelle, Op. 43 (Sarasate) André Benoist (piano) 50099 XE21360-XE21361 Brunswick 12 8 1927 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 1

Minuet (Mozart) André Benoist (piano) 15127 E21380-E21381 Brunswick 1 31 1927 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 1

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen (White) André Benoist (piano) 15107 E15703-E15704 Brunswick 5 9 1925 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 3

Nocturne in E flat Op. 9, No. 2 (Chopin-Sarasate) André Benoist (piano) 50138 XE26844-XE26845 Brunswick 3 6 1928 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 2

Nocturne No. 12 in G major, Op. 37, No. 2 (Chopin-Spalding) André Benoist (piano) 50099 XE21358-XE21359 Brunswick 12 8 1927 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 1

On wings of song (Mendelssohn) (piano André Benoist) 50066 XE15707-XE15708 Brunswick 5 11 1925 New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 3

Passepied (Delibes, trans. Gruenberg) André Benoist (piano) 15211 E29989 Brunswick June 1929 New York, New York

Waltz in A major (Chopin) André Benoist (piano) 15127 E21378-E21379 1 31 1927 Brunswick New York, New York. 799 Seventh Avenue, Room no. 1

Zapateado, Op. 23, No. 2 (Sarasate) Andre Benoist (piano) 15211 E29990 Brunswick June 1929 New York, New York