Goldman Band
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The Goldman band was formed by American musician and composer Edwin Franko Goldman in 1918 (see 1918 in music) from the earlier New York Military Band. Goldman had organized the New York Military Band in 1911[1]. Both bands were based in New York city.
It was Goldman’s contention that the New York symphony and orchestra musicians in the summer bands of the time rarely rehearsed and didn’t 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 and Prospect Park[1]. 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’s, the band was able to perform in New York and also tour the U.S. and Canada and perform on radio and television.
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[edit] Conductors after Edwin Franko Goldman
After Goldman’s death at age 78 in 1956, his son, Richard Franko Goldman, took the podium until his death in 1980[1]. Ainslee Cox followed him until his death in 1988, then Gene Young to 1997, then David Eaton to 2000, and the last conductor Christian Wilhjelm 2000-2005[2].
[edit] Some Premieres
Over the years a large number of famous composers have written for the band[2]. The Goldman Band gave the first complete performance of Percy Grainger's masterpiece 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[3]. 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 made numerous recordings for Capitol Records, American Decca, RCA Victrola, and New World Records.
[edit] Band 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 saxophones, one baritone saxophone, two bassoons, four cornets, four trumpets, five French horns, six trombones, two euphoniums, four tubas, two string basses, one Harp, three percussion.
[edit] The End of the Goldman Band
Due to a deeply divisive labor dispute, the Goldman Memorial Band ceased operations in the summer of 2005[4]. The Board of Directors had offered to guarantee 4 concerts for the first year of a three year agreement along with a reduction of the required minimum for each guaranteed concert from 53 musicians to 48 over three years. The members of the band were represented by a committee of five band members and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802. The voting members rejected the 11th hour agreement though the officials from Local 802 recommended approval. The Board of Directors of Goldman Memorial Band voted to cease operations.[citation needed]
Arguably, the death of the Goldman Band was inevitable given the arrival of Kenneth Force. Under Force's leadership, the band quickly retreated into a shell of show tunes and high school band numbers. In New York City (where Broadway is located) this was suicide: Any potential audience members had already seen such tunes played in the context of the "real" show. Any musicians (many of whom were retired and not in need of money) lost interest, especially those that had played with the band for many decades. In addition, the amatuerish methods by which approved behaviors were enforced only further alienated the players.
An additional nail in the coffin clearly came after the band's demise, when actual players attempted to tell the official band history on line, on Wikipedia and elsewhere: A concentrated effort by shameless, gutless outsiders shut down any electronic or internet-based attempts to tell the real story of the monsters that destroyed the band.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Hinckley, David (June 7, 2004). "On the mall: Edwin Franko Goldman". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/big_town/v-bigtown_archive/story/200650p-173217c.html.
- ^ a "The Goldman Memorial Band - A Brief History". The Goldman Memorial Band Musician's Web Pages. http://goldmanband.home.att.net. Retrieved December 25 2005.
- [5]"Arnold Schönberg - Catalogue of Works". Theme and Variations for Full Band, op.43a. http://schoenberg.at/6_archiv/music/works/op/compositions_op43_e.htm. Retrieved December 26 2008.
- ^ "The End". The Goldman Memorial Band Musician's Web Pages. http://goldmanband.home.att.net. Retrieved December 25 2005.
