Leroy Anderson | |
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![]() Anderson on the CD cover of The Best of Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride | |
Born | Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. | June 29, 1908
Died | May 18, 1975 66) Woodbury, Connecticut, U.S. | (aged
Occupation(s) | Composer, pianist, organist |
Spouse | Eleanor Firke (m. 1942) |
Leroy Anderson ( /ləˈrɔɪ/ lə-ROY) (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music." [1]
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Swedish parents, Anderson was given his first piano lessons by his mother, who was a church organist. He continued studying piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1925, Anderson entered Harvard College, where he studied musical harmony with Walter Spalding, counterpoint with Edward Ballantine, canon and fugue with William C. Heilman, orchestration with Edward B. Hill and Walter Piston, composition, also with Piston, and double bass with Gaston Dufresne. He also studied organ with Henry Gideon. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude in 1929 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. [2] At Harvard University Graduate School, he studied composition with Walter Piston and George Enescu and received a Master of Arts in Music in 1930. [3] He and his brother played in dance orchestras on Scandinavian cruise ships in the summers of 1930 and 1931.
Anderson continued studying at Harvard, working towards a PhD in German and Scandinavian languages; Anderson spoke English and Swedish during his youth, and eventually became fluent in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese.
At the time, he was working as organist and choir director at the East Milton Congregational Church, leading the Harvard University Band, and conducting and arranging for dance bands around Boston. In 1936 his arrangements came to the attention of Arthur Fiedler, who asked to see any original compositions that he could use in his concerts as the 18th conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra at Symphony Hall. [4] Anderson's first work was the 1938 "Jazz Pizzicato", but at just over ninety seconds, the piece was too short for a three-minute 78 rpm single of the period. [5] Fiedler suggested writing a companion piece, and Anderson wrote '"Jazz Legato" later that same year. The combined recording went on to become one of Anderson's signature compositions. [6]
In 1942, Anderson joined the United States Army, and was assigned in Iceland with the U.S. Counterintelligence Corps as a translator and interpreter, writing as well as monitoring local news media; [4] in 1945 he was reassigned to the Pentagon as Chief of the Scandinavian Desk of Military Intelligence. His duties did not, however, prevent him from composing, and in 1945 he wrote "The Syncopated Clock" [7] and "Promenade". Anderson became a reserve officer and was recalled to active duty for the Korean War. He wrote his first hit, "Blue Tango", in 1951, earning a Golden Disc and the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts.
External audio | |
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![]() "Sleigh Ride" "The Syncopated Clock" "Promenade" performed by the Leroy Anderson Pops Orchestra Here on archive.org |
His pieces and his recordings during the 1950s conducting a studio orchestra were immense commercial successes. "Blue Tango" was the first instrumental recording ever to sell one million copies. His most famous pieces are probably "Sleigh Ride" and "The Syncopated Clock". In February 1951, WCBS-TV in New York City selected "The Syncopated Clock" as the theme song for The Late Show, the WCBS late-night movie, using Percy Faith's recording. Mitchell Parish added words to "The Syncopated Clock", and later wrote lyrics for other Anderson tunes, including "Sleigh Ride", which was not written as a Christmas piece, but as a work that describes a winter event. Anderson started the work during a heat wave in August 1946. The Boston Pops' recording of it was the first pure orchestral piece to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Music chart. [8] From 1952 to 1961, Anderson's composition "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" was used as the theme for the CBS panel show I've Got a Secret .
Anderson's musical style employs creative instrumental effects and occasionally makes use of sound-generating items such as typewriters and sandpaper.
Anderson wrote his Piano Concerto in C in 1953 but withdrew it, feeling that it had weak spots. The Anderson family decided to publish the work in 1988. Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra released the first recording of this work; four other recordings, including one for piano and organ, have since been released.
In 1958, Anderson composed the music for the Broadway show Goldilocks with orchestrations by Philip J. Lang. Even though it earned two Tony awards, Goldilocks did not achieve commercial success. Anderson never wrote another musical, preferring instead to continue writing orchestral miniatures. His pieces, including "The Typewriter", "Bugler's Holiday", and "A Trumpeter's Lullaby" are performed by orchestras and bands ranging from school groups to professional organizations.
Anderson appeared with the Boston Pops on May 18, 1972, [9] which was broadcast by PBS. He conducted "The Typewriter" as an encore, and Arthur Fiedler played the carriage return percussive part. The Boston Pops used the audio of that performance along with some video in a tribute film to Fiedler. [10]
Anderson was initiated as an honorary member of the Gamma Omega chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at Indiana State University in 1969.
Anderson married Eleanor Jane Firke in 1942. They raised two sons and a daughter, while living in a custom-designed house in Woodbury, Connecticut.
In 1975, Anderson died of cancer in Woodbury, Connecticut and was buried there. He was 66. [3]
For his contribution to the recording industry, Leroy Anderson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1620 Vine Street. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame [11] in 1988, and his music continues to be a staple of "pops" orchestra repertoire. In 1995 the new headquarters of the Harvard University Band was named the Anderson Band Center in honor of Leroy Anderson. [12] The Leroy Anderson House in Woodbury, Connecticut has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. [13]
In 2006, one of his piano works, "Forgotten Dreams", written in 1954, became the background for a British TV advertisement for mobile phone company 3. Previously, Los Angeles station KABC-TV used the song as its sign-off theme at the end of broadcast days in the 1980s, and Mantovani's recording of the song had been the closing theme for WABC-TV's Eyewitness News for much of the 1970s. "Forgotten Dreams" was used as a recurring theme in the French film Populaire (2012).
"The Typewriter" was used as the theme song for Esto no tiene nombre, a Puerto Rican television comedy program – loosely based on the TV series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In – produced by Tommy Muñiz between the late 1960s and late 1970s. It is also the signature tune for the BBC Radio 4 series The News Quiz , which has been running since 1977.
American comedian Jerry Lewis, dressed in formal wear as "Pietro Del Canto," performed "The Typewriter" as the typist in a sketch in an early television program. He reprised his performance in the 1963 motion picture Who's Minding the Store?, "typing" on an imaginary typewriter.
The following is a selected discography of original recordings by Leroy Anderson. They were released from 1958 to 1962 on 331⁄3 rpm discs, and later, on digitally remastered compact discs released posthumously. 78 rpm and 45 rpm discs from 1945 to 1962, and releases of identical recordings on different labels in U.K., Germany, New Zealand and elsewhere, are not listed. [17]
Mitchell Parish was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen.
The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart.
Arthur Fiedler was an American conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the United States. Fiedler was sometimes criticized for over-popularizing music, particularly when adapting popular songs or editing portions of the classical repertoire, but he kept performances informal and sometimes self-mocking to attract a bigger audience.
Walter Hamor Piston, Jr., was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University.
Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by native Mexican cultures. Of his six symphonies, the second, or Sinfonía india, which uses native Yaqui percussion instruments, is probably the most popular.
"Blue Tango" is an instrumental composition by Leroy Anderson, written for orchestra in 1951 and published in 1952. It was later turned into a popular song with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. Numerous artists have since covered "Blue Tango".
Carmen Cavallaro was an American pianist. He established himself as one of the most accomplished and admired light music pianists of his generation.
"The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire.
A Trumpeter's Lullaby is a short composition for solo trumpet and orchestra, written by American composer Leroy Anderson in 1949. The two and a half minute piece was premiered on May 9, 1950, by the Boston Pops Orchestra with Arthur Fiedler conducting and French-born American Roger Voisin as trumpet soloist. It was composed at the request of Voisin, who was principal trumpeter of the Boston Pops Orchestra at the time. It was first recorded on June 18, 1950, with Fiedler conducting Roger Voisin and the Boston Pops. Three months later it was recorded with Anderson himself conducting and James F. Burke (Musician) as trumpet soloist. The first stereo recording was made in October 1956 with Frederick Fennell conducting the Eastman-Rochester Pops Orchestra, recorded in one take without rehearsal. The (uncredited) soloist was Sidney Mear.
Lillian Fuchs was an American violist, teacher and composer. She is considered to be among the finest instrumentalists of her time. She came from a musical family, and her brothers, Joseph Fuchs, a violinist, and Harry Fuchs, a cellist, performed with her on various recordings.
Stanley Black OBE was an English bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist. He wrote and arranged many film scores, recording prolifically for the Decca label. Beginning with jazz collaborations with American musicians such as Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter during the 1930s, he moved into arranging and recording in the Latin American music style and also won awards for his classical conducting.
"Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. He formed the idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and finished it in February 1948. Its first performance was by the Boston Pops Orchestra, with Arthur Fiedler conducting, on May 4, 1948.
Fiddle-Faddle is a musical composition in 2/2 time composed by Leroy Anderson. It is considered to be a "light" classical music composition, sometimes referred to as "classical pops" music.
Robert McBride was an American composer and instrumentalist.
"The Typewriter" is a short composition of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which features an actual typewriter as a percussion instrument.
Newton Hart Wayland was an American orchestral conductor, arranger, composer and keyboardist. The product of an elite musical education, Wayland was known for his dedication to performing for the broadest possible audience.
Jack K. Pleis was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, Pleis worked with many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Benny Goodman, Earl Grant, Brenda Lee, and Joe Williams. Between 1950 and 1976, more than 150 songs were arranged by Pleis. His surname is pronounced "Pleece".
Charles Albertine was an American musician, composer, and arranger of the space-age pop era. He is best known as an arranger for Les and Larry Elgart, Sammy Kaye, and The Three Suns, and as the composer of Bandstand Boogie. He also composed music for many television shows.
Sandpaper Ballet is a ballet choreographed by Mark Morris to music by Leroy Anderson. It was created for the San Francisco Ballet, and premiered on April 27, 1999, at the War Memorial Opera House.
James Francis Burke was an American cornet soloist. He was the principal cornet soloist with the Goldman Band from 1943 to 1974. He was also the principal trumpet with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1943 to 1949. Mr. Burke, who had the use of only one arm, was considered the greatest virtuoso of his time on the instrument, according to Ainslee Cox, conductor of the Guggenheim Memorial Band.