Samuel Barber Piano Concerto

Classical Music Milestone: September 24

The Piano Concerto, Op. 38, of Samuel Barber was first performed on September 24, 1962, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Lincoln Center, New York City.  John Browning, soloist, and Erich Leinsdorf, conducting. It was commissioned by the music publishing company G. Schirmer Inc. honouring the centenary of their founding. It was the opening festivities of the Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall), the first hall built at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

American composer Samuel Barber studied piano and conducting, and singing with his aunt, a famous contralto of her time. he later developed a good baritone voice. He began composing when still a child, and later studied at the Curtis Institute, Philadelphia, graduating in 1932.

Deep Purple (Song)

Song / Down Memory Lane

"Deep Purple" was the biggest hit written by pianist Peter DeRose. It was published in 1933 as a piano composition. In 1935 it was arranged by Domenico Savino and introduced by Paul Whiteman who had it scored for his "big band" orchestra on radio that was "making a lady out of jazz" in Whiteman's phrase. "Deep Purple" became popular in sheet music sales that Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1938, achieving further universality in popularity. The song is also popular among gypsy style musicians.  (I have a copy of the music sheet, refer below, which for sentimental reasons I've kept through the years ...)

Below, is a recording in a 1903 Haddorff upright piano that you hear, here, which probably hadn't been tuned in years. Well, perhaps we might consider this sound to be "authentic"-- complex and mellow.  As I say for this post's category, down memory lane.