Goldman_Band

Goldman Band

Goldman Band

American concert band which performed in New York City


The Goldman Band was an American concert band founded in 1918 by Edwin Franko Goldman from his previous New York Military Band.[1] Both bands were based in New York City.

Quick Facts Background information, Origin ...

It was Goldman's contention that the New York symphony and orchestra musicians in the summer bands of the time, rarely rehearsed and did not take these performances very seriously. He saw the potential for starting a really good wind ensemble.

The Goldman Band's first concert under that name was in 1920 at Columbia University. The program was representative of Goldman's choices in transcriptions and original works including compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Victor Herbert, Edward MacDowell, Johan Svendsen, Ambroise Thomas, Richard Wagner, and Karl Michael Ziehrer.

For ninety-three years the Goldman Band performed free public concerts at a variety of venues in New York City, including on the Green at Columbia, Central Park, Prospect Park,[1] and at the Guggenheim Bandshell at Lincoln Center. Famous instrumental and vocal performers appeared with the band along with guest conductors such as Percy Grainger and Vivian Dunn. Traditional and classical works were performed as well as new works for band. Goldman requested new works for band from European composers including Ottorino Respighi, Albert Roussel, and Jaromir Weinberger. With professional musicians and endowment funds from the Guggenheim Foundation, the band was able to perform in New York and also tour the U.S. and Canada and perform on radio and television.

The Goldman Band was widely considered the successor to the John Philip Sousa band. Many of Sousa's musicians went on to play with the Goldman Band including Henry Heidelberg (piccolo); Johnny Carr, Raymond Scott, Emil Preiss and Joseph Chaney (clarinet);Del Staigers, Oscar B. Short and George Fee (cornet); Wayne Lewis (euphonium) and William Bell (tuba player). [2]

In 1983, the Guggenheim Foundation withdrew funding to concentrate on social justice issues, and the band had to start fundraising from other sources, and shortened their season to thirty-five concerts over a seven-week period.

Conductors after Edwin Franko Goldman

After Goldman's death at age 78 in 1956, his son, Richard Franko Goldman, took the podium until 1979; the year before his death in 1980.[1] Ainslee Cox served as co-conductor with Goldman beginning in 1968, and was sole conductor of the band from 1979 until his death in 1988.[3] Gene Young succeeded Cox as director until 1997. He was followed by David Eaton (1997-2000), and the last conductor was Christian Wilhjelm.[4]

Some premieres

Over the years a large number of famous composers have written for the band.[4] The Goldman Band gave the first complete performance of Percy Grainger's composition Lincolnshire Posy in the summer of 1937. The first performance of Darius Milhaud’s Suite française, Op. 248 was performed by the Goldman Band on June 13, 1945. The first performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Theme and Variations for Full Band, op.43a, was performed by the Goldman Band on June 27, 1946, with Richard Franko Goldman conducting.[5] On June 23, 1947 the band and a chorus of 200 performed the American premiere of Hector Berlioz’s Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale. The band premiered Robert Russell Bennett's Rose Variations for cornet and band with James F. Burke (musician) as the cornet soloist. The band also premiered Bennett's last major composition for band, Autobiography, on June 22, 1977.

The band made numerous recordings for Capitol Records, American Decca, RCA Victrola, and New World Records.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation between 1930–1956, when the band consisted of 64 members, was four flutes, two oboes, one E-flat clarinet, one bass clarinet, nineteen clarinets (eight firsts, six seconds, five thirds), two alto saxophones, one tenor saxophone, one baritone saxophone, two bassoons, four cornets, four trumpets, five French horns[clarification needed], six trombones, two euphoniums, four tubas, two string basses, one harp, and three percussionists.

Cornet and trumpet soloists

Cornet solos were a featured attraction at most Goldman Band concerts. In 1960, Richard Franko Goldman began to use trumpet soloists in addition to cornet soloists. (Best viewed at 75% screen resolution.)

Ernest Williams
Waino Kauppi
Del Staigers
J. Frank Elsass
David C. Rosebrook
Leonard B. Smith
Raymond Crisara
James F. Burke
Syd Baker (Sydney Beckerman)
More information Soloist, Tenure ...

Cornet Trios, Quartets and Quintets

Cornet trios (and the occasional quartet or brass quintet) were also featured at many Goldman Band concerts. The trio of Leonard B. Smith (Musician), Frank Elsass and John "Ned" Mahoney were known as "The Three Aces".[524]

The Three Aces
More information Seasons, Cornet Trio/Quartet/Quintet ...

Cessation of operations

In April 2005, negotiations between the band's negotiating committee and the board of directors broke down after the committee failed to get an extension to play at their Memorial Day concert. The board of directors presented various offers with other band members; among them was a proposal to remove five musicians from the band to 48 players. According to then-secretary Mark Heter, the reduction "would not have cut any of the band's 45 tenured posts." The offer also included removing musicians from the board of directors, as well as eliminating the season guarantee from their concerts.[545] However, the committee declined their offer on May 22.[546] Five days later, on May 27, the Goldman Band ceased operations, ending 87 years of service.[546][547]


References

  1. Hinckley, David (June 7, 2004). "On the mall: Edwin Franko Goldman". New York Daily News.
  2. "Sousa Band Roster". 13 June 2012.
  3. "The Goldman Memorial Band - A Brief History". The Goldman Memorial Band Musician's Web Pages. Archived from the original on April 25, 2005. Retrieved December 25, 2005.
  4. "Arnold Schönberg - Catalogue of Works". Theme and Variations for Full Band, op.43a. Archived from the original on January 7, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2008.
  5. "Columbia Spectator 17 August 1917 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. "MUSIC; SUMMER CONCERTS IN THIS TOWN". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  7. "SUMMER CONCERTS ENDING". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  8. "MUSIC; A QUESTION OF DEBUTS". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  9. "HADLEY AT COLUMBIA". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  10. "Goldman Concert at N.Y.U. Tonight". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  11. Robyn Dewey Card (2009). "Women as classically-trained trumpet players in the United States". Researchrepository.wvu.edu. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  12. "MUSIC NOTES". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  13. "San Francisco Symphony Principal Musicians". www.stokowski.org. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  14. "MUSIC NOTES". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  15. "MUSIC NOTES". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  16. "1,500th Goldman Band Concert". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  17. "Entertainment Events". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  18. "Music: Concert in Park; Goldman Opens 40th Season on Mall". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  19. "MUSIC PROGRAMS OF THE WEEK; STADIUM CONCERTS LEWISOHN STADIUM city College". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  20. "CONCERT AND OPERA PROGRAMS FOR THE WEEK". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  21. "PROGRAMS OF THE WEEK; STADIUM CONCERTS LEWISOHN STADIUM City College". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  22. "CONCERT AND OPERA PROGRAMS FOR THE WEEK". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  23. "PROGRAMS OF THE WEEK". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  24. "Familiar Ingredients, Faithful Public". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  25. "Requiem". September 2012.
  26. "Facts Worth Knowing About Cornets, Trumpets etc" (PDF). Memopry.loc.gov. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  27. Heyman-Kantor, James (July 2005). "Goldman Band Shuts Down". Allegro. Associated Musicians of Greater New York. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  28. Sisario, Ben (May 27, 2005). "Goldman Band Closes Down". The New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  29. "The End". The Goldman Memorial Band Musician's Web Pages. Archived from the original on April 25, 2005. Retrieved December 25, 2005.

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