This Week in Classical Music: November 25, 2019.Virgil Thomson.The American composer Virgil Thomson’sbiography may be more interesting than his music, and the same probably could be said about his work as a music critic, but there’s no questioning him as a cultural figure of major influence.Thomson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on this day in 1896.As a youngster he studied music with several teachers; in 1913 he enrolled in college and when the US entered the Great War, he enlisted.Thomson never saw action and was discharged as soon as the war ended.In 1919 Thomson went to Harvard, were he studied music and worked as an accompanist to the Harvard Glee Club, which by then was turning into a serious choral ensemble.Through a friend, the poet and musician Samuel Foster Damon, he was introduced to the music of Erik Satie and the poetry of Gertrude Stein. In 1921 he went with the Glee Club on tour in France and stayed in Paris the following year.While in Paris, he studied with Nadia Boulanger, met his idol Satie and the members of Les Six.Graduating from Harvard in 1923, he went to New York to study at the Juilliard, but two years later left New York for Paris.Thompson stayed there till 1940.In 1926 he wrote "Sonata da Chiesa," scores for an unusual combination of instruments: the viola, clarinet, trumpet, horn and trombone.It was borderline atonal (John Cage liked it) and the last one to be written in this style: after that all of Thompson’s work was tonal, straightforward but very original and whimsical. Here’s the first movement, Choral, from the Sonata.In January of 1926 Thomson’s friend composer George Antheil took him to the home of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.Stein, a poet, a major art collector, hostess of a popular salon and overall an important cultural figure, was 20 year older than Thomson but she took to the young composer. Soon after, Thomson put to music Stein’s playful and abstract poem “Susie Asado” (here performed by the tenor Glenn Siebert with Phillip Bush on the piano); that marked the beginning of their long and fruitful collaboration.In 1927, on Thomson’s suggestion, Gertrude Stein wrote a piece she called “Four Saints in Three Acts”; Thomson used it to compose an opera. The main characters include Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Teresa of Ávila and a whole lot of other saints; the narrative is vague, the plot practically nonexistent: the text revolves around the sound of words.Nonetheless, Thomson loved it and set it to music, every word of it.Completed in 1928, it wasn’t staged till 1934.Maurice Grosser who produced it had to invent a story line.“Four Saints” premiered in Hartford, Connecticut – surprisingly, to great acclaim.Two week later it opened on Broadway and ran for six weeks.Difficult to imagine such a thing happening in the 21st century.
In 1940, with the war raging in Europe and the Germans occupying Paris, Thomson accepted an offer from the New York Herald Tribune, one of the best newspapers of the day, to become their chief music critic and moved to New York (Stein stayed behind in Vichy, France and unfortunately, became rather sympathetic to the Pétain regime).Thomson settled in the Chelsea Hotel, where he lived for the rest of his life: he died in his suite there in 1989 at the age of 92.He became the most influential critic in America, even though his reviews were often idiosyncratic and sometimes unfair.As Thomson put it, the reason his reviews were tolerated is that he wrote “musical descriptions more precise than those being used just then by other reviewers.”He continued composing and collaborating with Stein.Their final effort together was The Mother of Us All, based, rather vaguely, on the life of Susan B. Anthony, which Stein completed before her death in 1946.The opera premiered in May of 1947.Here’s the Overture, with Raymond Leppard conducting the Santa Fe orchestra.
Virgil Thomson, 2019
This Week in Classical Music: November 25, 2019. Virgil Thomson. The American composer Virgil Thomson’sbiography may be more interesting than his music, and the same probably could be said about his work as a music critic, but there’s no questioning him as a cultural figure of
major influence. Thomson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on this day in 1896. As a youngster he studied music with several teachers; in 1913 he enrolled in college and when the US entered the Great War, he enlisted. Thomson never saw action and was discharged as soon as the war ended. In 1919 Thomson went to Harvard, were he studied music and worked as an accompanist to the Harvard Glee Club, which by then was turning into a serious choral ensemble. Through a friend, the poet and musician Samuel Foster Damon, he was introduced to the music of Erik Satie and the poetry of Gertrude Stein. In 1921 he went with the Glee Club on tour in France and stayed in Paris the following year. While in Paris, he studied with Nadia Boulanger, met his idol Satie and the members of Les Six. Graduating from Harvard in 1923, he went to New York to study at the Juilliard, but two years later left New York for Paris. Thompson stayed there till 1940. In 1926 he wrote "Sonata da Chiesa," scores for an unusual combination of instruments: the viola, clarinet, trumpet, horn and trombone. It was borderline atonal (John Cage liked it) and the last one to be written in this style: after that all of Thompson’s work was tonal, straightforward but very original and whimsical. Here’s the first movement, Choral, from the Sonata. In January of 1926 Thomson’s friend composer George Antheil took him to the home of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Stein, a poet, a major art collector, hostess of a popular salon and overall an important cultural figure, was 20 year older than Thomson but she took to the young composer. Soon after, Thomson put to music Stein’s playful and abstract poem “Susie Asado” (here performed by the tenor Glenn Siebert with Phillip Bush on the piano); that marked the beginning of their long and fruitful collaboration. In 1927, on Thomson’s suggestion, Gertrude Stein wrote a piece she called “Four Saints in Three Acts”; Thomson used it to compose an opera. The main characters include Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Teresa of Ávila and a whole lot of other saints; the narrative is vague, the plot practically nonexistent: the text revolves around the sound of words. Nonetheless, Thomson loved it and set it to music, every word of it. Completed in 1928, it wasn’t staged till 1934. Maurice Grosser who produced it had to invent a story line. “Four Saints” premiered in Hartford, Connecticut – surprisingly, to great acclaim. Two week later it opened on Broadway and ran for six weeks. Difficult to imagine such a thing happening in the 21st century.
In 1940, with the war raging in Europe and the Germans occupying Paris, Thomson accepted an offer from the New York Herald Tribune, one of the best newspapers of the day, to become their chief music critic and moved to New York (Stein stayed behind in Vichy, France and unfortunately, became rather sympathetic to the Pétain regime). Thomson settled in the Chelsea Hotel, where he lived for the rest of his life: he died in his suite there in 1989 at the age of 92. He became the most influential critic in America, even though his reviews were often idiosyncratic and sometimes unfair. As Thomson put it, the reason his reviews were tolerated is that he wrote “musical descriptions more precise than those being used just then by other reviewers.” He continued composing and collaborating with Stein. Their final effort together was The Mother of Us All, based, rather vaguely, on the life of Susan B. Anthony, which Stein completed before her death in 1946. The opera premiered in May of 1947. Here’s the Overture, with Raymond Leppard conducting the Santa Fe orchestra.