“White-haired, bearded and thoroughly charming”: American contralto Rita Sebastian’s remembrances of performing with Florent Schmitt at Town Hall in New York City (1932).

March 1, 2022 · by Phillip Nones | in Chamber Music, Composers, Vocal Music | tagged Ada Soder-Hueck, Alfred Wallenstein, Alfred-Alphonse Bottiau, Arnold Schoenberg, Bernard Laberge, Claire Reis, Countess Mercati, Florent Schmitt, Garcia School, Glimmerglass Festival, Gunnar Johansen, Jascha Veissl, JoAnn Falletta, John Erskine, Kerob-Shal, Lazare Saminsky, League of Composers, Mabel Boll, Marie Manice Edgar, Olin Downes, Paul Claudel, Rita Sebastian Latham, Serge Koussevistzky, Temple Emmanu-El, Theodore Cella, Tristesse au jardin, Walter Damrosch | 1 Comment

One of the serendipitous aspects of music history is coming across rare and precious documents that have remained hidden for decades. Such an occurrence happened this past summer when JoAnn Falletta, music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, received a package in the mail containing a collection of documents pertaining to a recital given by […]