Jack Beeson

with Susan Hawkshaw

New York, N.Y.

Dec. 1-2, 1999

Jan. 18, 2000

Feb. 16, 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS

December 1, 1999

Cassette Side a                                                                                                pp. 1-18

[Disc 1]

Muncie, Indiana: Robert Lynd’s books about “Middletown”--birth and family background--early illness--piano study with Luella Weimer--listening and playing along with Met Opera broadcasts--decision to become an opera composer--early “practice lessons”--concert with Lawrence Tibbett--first composition: March in F# Major--playing in Garrett’s Band--improvisation and sketches for piano--Popeye, two-piano music for a dance-skit (1936)--Beatrice Cenci--Redwing--Native American background--accounting of ethnic background of Columbia employees--sketches for Manfred--being released from high school in the afternoons to compose, improvise, study--organizing a German class in high school--study of counterpoint, harmony, and music history with Percival Owen and his assistant--earning certificates at the Royal Conservatory of Toronto--move to Rochester--decision to attend Eastman.

Cassette Side b                                                                                                pp. 18-30

Redoing of “Wach’ auf” from Die Meistersinger and Mozart Sonata for admission--study at Eastman--Allen Irvine McHose--Edward Royce--Burrill Phillips--different types of retentive memory--Leonard Bernstein--Bernard Rogers--piano concerto--piece on Gaelic magic for chorus and orchestra--Concerto Grosso--double notes--study with Bartók and his views on pianist-composers--scholarly studies of Beeson’s music--taking courses in English and philosophy--Howard Hanson--Henry Cowell.

Cassette Side c                                                                                                pp. 30-42

[Disc 2]

Hanson’s seminar--David Diamond--broadcast on CBS of Concerto Grosso--friendship with William Bergsma--preparation for being a conscientious objector--giving up the Ph.D. idea--Hanson and Copland: rebarring of Copland’s Music for the Theater--coming to New York--study with Bartók--New York performance of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with Koussevitzky--impossibility of teaching composition--reasons for admiration of Bartók--Hindemith on Bartók.

Cassette Side d                                                                                                pp. 42-60

[Disc 3]

Meeting Douglas Moore--moving to New York--meeting Otto Luening--meeting Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber--Beeson’s first performance in New York--being accepted into the ISCM Forum--invitation to work in Columbia Opera Workshop as piano coach--possibility of studying conducting with Rudolph Thomas--meeting Paul Henry Lang--assisting with Norman Lockwood’s opera The Scarecrow--Henry Cowell--Opera Workshop as a General Studies Course--Teresa Stich-Randall--James McCracken--Ditson Fund and its support of Bartók in l941--decision not to conduct Workshop operas--playing auditions for Thomson’s The Mother of Us All--sight-reading Handel--Menotti’s The Medium--Brander Matthews Theater.

Cassette Side e                                                                                                pp. 60-72

Brander Matthews Theater--invitation to teach in the Columbia Music Department--teaching theory and humanities at Columbia--Rome Prize (1948-1950)--Jonah--adapting Goodman play and submitting the opera to a competition in Italy--hearing Callas recording--placing fourth with Jonah--hearing Wozzeck at La Scala--Hello Out There--contact with William Saroyan--adapting the play for purposes of opera.

Cassette Side f                                                                                                pp. 72-79

[Disc 4]

First performance--John Kander--trouble with obtaining rights from Saroyan--performances on European television--recording of Hello Out There with John Reardon--“San Francisco” music.

December 2, 1999

Cassette Side g                                                                                                pp. 80-97

[Disc 5]

 

Noah and his Sons (chamber opera)--orchestration as part of composition--staging important in process of composition--Sweet Bye and Bye: arriving upon a subject--friendship with Douglas Moore--John Latouche--Ballad of Baby Doe--librettist Kenward Elmslie--submitting the libretto to a lawyer--production at the Juilliard School--mutual collaboration between composers and librettists of SB & B and Ballad of Baby Doe--Robert Ward--Beeson-Elmslie collaboration--appropriate use of vowels in particular operatic ranges—diphthongs.

Cassette Side h                                                                                                pp. 97-110

Teaching composition students about setting English--Virgil Thomson on setting English--Thomson’s book Music with Words--pitch of male and female voices when speaking--transition in opera between singing and speaking voice--Marc Blitzstein’s Regina--Kander and Ebb--more on setting English--Samuel Barber--recording opera--juxtaposition of serious and comic in SB & B--performance of the opera in Muncie, Indiana--Holy Rollers.

Cassette Side i                                                                                                pp. 110-114

[Disc 6]

Hearing Holy Rollers (continued)--more on juxtaposition of serious and comic in SB & B.

Cassette Side j                                                                                                pp. 114-133

[Disc 7]

Last aria of SB & B--Guggenheim year (l958-l959)--operatic characteristics of Symphony in A--Tristan chord--Trapeze piece--job as guest teacher at Juilliard (l961-l963)--Lizzie Borden--setting words--musical, verbal and dramatic time--first quintet in Lizzie--essence of counterpoint: rhythm--accompaniment to quintet--opening of quintet--verbal detail--finding words for the quintet--second quintet--Moore family parlor games--“Make it do” motive--chromaticism.

Cassette Side k                                                                                                pp. 133-145

Thomson’s opera Lord Byron--Berg and Lizzie--question of quotations from one’s own music--“dial tone”--parola scenica--repeating words in Lizzie--TV productions and recordings.

Cassette Side l                                                                                                pp. 145-163

[Disc 8]

Writing chromatically to characterize Andrew Borden--buying Wagner scores in Indianapolis--copying out a book on Wagner--leitmotive--being contrapuntal by nature--Lizzie: Mad Scene--opening hymn of the opera--unification of music in the opera--William Bergsma on Beeson’s melody--importance of operatic transitions--leave-taking of Margaret and the Captain--Lizzie in Europe--commissioning of My Heart’s in the Highlands--the play with Walter Matthau--adapting Saroyan--casting the opera--Armenian language in the opera--performance in Miller Theatre--folk tune--J. B. Courtney--Beeson’s interest in folk music--playing the part of the young husband--playing and singing opera--acting on Shelter Island--reasons for this opera not being performed at the City Opera.

Cassette Side m                                                                                                 pp. 163-174

Significance of the number eighteen--preparation of vocal and orchestral scores--being Chairman of the Columbia Music Dept (l968-l972)--offers of position of Dean of Columbia College and of Columbia School of the Arts--Charles Wuorinen--Marc Blitzstein award--Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines--Sheldon Harnick-Beeson collaboration--John Kander--attempt to get rights to Tennessee Williams play--work on the libretto of Captain Jinks--Harnick and Richard Rodgers working on Rex.

January 18, 2000

Cassette Side n                                                                                                 pp. 175-193

[Disc 9]

Redoing “Wach’ auf” from Meistersinger--false relations--dissonance usage--attempting to secure the rights for Tennessee Williams Camino Real--weak plays and strong libretti--Streetcar Named Desire--Lee Hoiby--magical unrealism in opera--teaming up with Sheldon Harnick for Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines--Sheldon Harnick-Jerry Bock collaboration--titles for the operatic numbers--making changes in the Clyde Fitch play--Harnick and Yip Harburg--RCA Recording--more on the “numbers”: symmetries--use of the 12-tone system in Jinks--compositional jokes: music that works forwards and backwards--reason for choosing particular parts of La Traviata to quote in Jinks--adding new counterpoints to the Traviata material--other inside jokes in Jinks.

Cassette Side o                                                                                                pp. 193-204

Working with Verdi's material--orchestration in Jinks--Central Park--Regina--twelve-tone usage in Jinks--“Death and Transition” and following prelude--tredicino ensemble--mezzo soprano as pianist at the dance rehearsal--opening tune from Jinks--its influence on the rest of the music--key structure.

Cassette Side p                                                                                                 pp. 204-223

[Disc 10]

 

Stylization of vocal parts in Jinks--quoting “Casta diva”--quotation of vocalise--trichord HCS: Harold C. Schonberg--Dr. Heidegger's Fountain of Youth--National Arts Club--rejecting the idea of writing an opera about Aaron Burr's trial for adultery--choosing and rejecting opera subjects--obtaining papers relating to Burr's divorce trial--finding the Hawthorne story on Dr. Heidegger--turning the story into a libretto--Watchtower songs--tragic death of son Christopher and its influence on the writing of Dr. Heidegger--quotations from Paracelsus--“To Youth” Quintet--use of twelve tone row--Berg's music--use of instruments--row usage--waltz song--ensembles--dissonance mitigated with voices--contrapuntal writing.

Cassette Side q                                                                                                 pp. 223-229

John Kander--rhyme--Sheldon Harnick loosening up shape of lyrics--performance of Dr. Heidegger--portraits of the composer--Cyrano--Lizzie Borden--translating  

Cyrano into German--deciding on the Rostand play.

Cassette side r                                                                                                 pp. 229-250

[Disc 11]

 

Jinks as “postmodern”--researching transplanting Cyrano to New Orleans in the 19th century--the Boosey score--pre-performance and performance--key structure--keys in The Sweet Bye and Bye and Dr. Heidegger--Cyrano-Valvert duel--symbology of keys--cross relations--use of traditional sonorities--choral writing--performance of excerpts in L.A.--Interlude and Arias from “Cyrano”--quotations from French folk songs--repeating music--Christian's music--clusters--Jacques de Buisson, etc.--looking for the subject for the next opera with Sheldon Harnick--Sorry,Wrong No.--getting the rights.

Cassette Side s                                                                                                 pp. 250-259

Movie of Sorry,Wrong No. with Barbara Stanwyck--Patricia Dell--setting the opening phone number--staging--use of traditional chords--characterization--rhythmic usage--harmonic usage--polytonality--aria in Sorry, Wrong No.--relationship to Puccini's Manon Lescaut--chord based in fifths at the end of Sorry--Lizzie Borden.

February 16, 2000

 

Cassette Side t                                                                                                pp. 260-278

[Disc 12]

 

Practice in the Art of Elocution--looking for a comic opera subject with Sheldon Harnick--Frances Hoyle-Pogle--Delsarte--deciding on the title--acting--humor--finding poetry--Four Forbidden Songs--spiral canon--grand rights for Elocution--Porgy and Bess--The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze--Ophelia Sings--original words of “Trapeze” song--David Daniels--adding words--Russell Oberlin.

Cassette Side u                                                                                                 pp. 278-297

Juilliard male soprano--instrumentation of Trapeze--[Disc 13]--text for Trapeze--composing habits--playing Bach’s Art of Fugue--Ophelia Sings--Teresa Stich-Randall--Lizzie mad scene--adapting the text for Ophelia Sings--sketching--importance of subtitle: A Mad Scene with Ditties--style--other mad scenes--coloratura--quote of untransposed Tristan chord.

Cassette Side v                                                                                                 pp. 297-318

Music of Ophelia Sings--giving it a shape--making some revisions--[Disc 14]--song composition--choosing texts--Peter Viereck--setting of Edna St. Vincent Millay: making changes--song accompaniments--Five Songs by Francis Quarles--making a cycle--relationship of piano and voice--Virgil Thomson--John Kirkpatrick and the Fifth Piano Sonata--composition of instrumental sonatas--Olga Samaroff Stokowski--publication of Fifth Piano Sonata.

Cassette Side w                                                                                                 pp. 318-340

Choral music: various titles--promoting Cyrano--problems of writing for choir--Knots--Magicke Pieces--Rounds and Rhymes--Homer’s Woe--dissonance in choral writing--Give The Poor Singer a Penny--Rounds and Rhymes--Hinx, Minx--From a Watchtower--poem: “Ruminations of a Dowager Villa”--“Heaven-Haven”--ballads in Watchtower cycle--[Disc 15]--Symphony No.1 in A--Transformations--numerical puzzle in Transformations--participation in musical organizations--Otto Luening.

Cassette Side x                                                                                                 pp. 340-352

American Music Center--Composers Recordings, Inc.--Ditson Fund--Columbia Press--American Recording Society--CRI--League of Composers--ISCM--Composers Forum--American Composers Alliance--ASCAP--American Academy of Arts and Letters--A Century of Arts and Letters--teaching at Columbia--Society of Senior Scholars--other job offers--administrative activities at Columbia.