Edwin Franko Goldman
Edwin Franko Goldman (born January 1, 1878 in Louisville , † February 21, 1956 in New York ) was an American composer , conductor and cornetist .
Life
He comes from a very musical family. When he was 9 years young, his father passed away and the family moved to New York. Together with one of his brothers, he was placed in a Jewish orphanage. His mother was a gifted pianist who performed with his brother and made a big impression on the young John Philip Sousa . When he was 9 years old, he studied cornet with George Weigand at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in New York City. He then studied with the great cornetist Jules Lévy .
In 1892 he refused a scholarship to study in Europe and preferred to study trumpet and cornet with Carl Sohst and harmony with Maurice Arnold at the National Conservatory of Music in New York . He played in the orchestra of the conservatory under the direction of Antonín Dvořák , who was the director of the conservatory at the time, and also under the direction of Victor Herbert , who was also a lecturer. He also studied composition with Dvořák .
During his studies he also played for a while in the orchestra of his uncle Nahan Franko . From this he took the name Franko to later combine it with his name Goldman . He did not manage to become a member of John Philip Sousa's band . He also turned down an offer from the Boston Symphony Orchestra . In 1901 he solo cornet player in the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera Company and remained there until 1909. In the Opera Orchestra of the Metropolitan uncle Nahan Franko was concertmaster . One of the most notable appearances with the Metropolitan Orchestra was the legendary Caruso Recital on November 23, 1903 and both Gustav Mahler and Arturo Toscanini as conductors.
After he left the Metropolitan Orchestra in 1909 - against the will of Arturo Toscanini - he was initially employed by a renowned music publisher, for whom he tested trumpets and wrote various articles for magazines. During this time he composed his first march, The Spirit of Peace , which of course was distributed by the publisher. He later wrote a cornet school, which is still famous today and which this publisher also published. But even before that, Goldman had only one dream: one day, one day, he would conduct a wind orchestra according to his ideas.
On July 8, 1907, he conducted a wind band for the first time in Corlear's Hook Park . On April 17, 1906 - during a concert tour of the Metropolitan Orchestra - he and his uncle were miraculously spared the consequences of the earthquake in San Francisco .
The Goldman band
As early as 1909 Goldman found that the summer concerts of the bands made up of members of the symphony orchestras and the Metropolitan orchestra, which they gave in the parks of New York, were not very serious. The bands hardly rehearsed, and the musicians ultimately saw the job as a convenient source of additional income. Therefore he founded the New York Military Band in 1911 , in which he united the best wind instruments of the orchestras in New York. Two years later, the band was firmly engaged for guest concerts at Columbia University . Thanks to the financial support of the Guggenheim family , he was able to put together a professional orchestra. His unique, popular and free open-air concerts in Central Park in Manhattan and in Prospect Park in Brooklyn were attended by more visitors and listeners at the time (12,000 in Central Park) than any other concert series in and outside the United States.
Later, when the band was established and already making a name for itself, it was renamed the Goldman Band in 1920 . The Goldman Band became one of the most famous bands and the name Goldman was synonymous with excellent music, also outside the USA. Concerts in Carnegie Hall and the New York Hippodrome followed quickly . In 1923 they appeared in the concert shell of The Mall in Central Park. When this concert shell was massively rebuilt in 1924 due to generous donations, that was reason enough to compose the March On the Mall out of gratitude. The donations from the Guggenheim family were repeatedly renewed and this resulted in the Guggenheim Foundation .
One spoke of a triumvirate of wind orchestra music in the USA and meant the conductors Patrick Gilmore (1829-1892), John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) and Edwin Franko Goldman.
On July 5, 1929, he co-founded and first president of the American Bandmasters Association (ABA). Also on the board were three former members of John Philip Sousa's band, Frank Somon , Arthur Pryor and Herbert Clarke . In 1934 he was made an honorary doctorate from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma ; the same honors were given to him in 1936 by Boston University and in 1953 by DePauw University .
On August 15, 1955 Goldman gave his last concert with the band named after him; it was the 2,146th with this ensemble.
His oeuvre alone comprises 106 marches and 37 solo concerts for cornet.
Works
Works for wind orchestra
- 1924 On the Mall
- 1931 Boy Scouts of America
- 1931 onward-upward
- 1934 The Children's March
- 1934 The Interlochen Bowl
- 1936 Bugles and Drums
- 1937 Chimes of Liberty
- 1937 Jubilee March
- 1953 March Illinois
- A bit of syncopation , character piece
- Cheerio
- Espanita for cornet solo and wind orchestra
- Jupiter for cornet solo and wind orchestra
- Kentucky
- On the Green , waltz interlude
- On the Hudson
- Springtime fancies , waltzes
- Star of the Evening , waltz interlude
- Sunshine and Shadows , waltz
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Goldman, Edwin Franko |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer and conductor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 1, 1878 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Louisville (Kentucky) |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 21, 1956 |
| Place of death | New York City |