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Re: [ARSCLIST] RCA symphonic work competition - 1929
And I have a copy of the disc with a special "advance pressing" label signed 
by the
composer(s). Must have been a few of these around.
dl
Steven Smolian wrote:
 Is this a different competition?  My memory (again): I have "Song of the
 Bayou" by Rube Bloom and I foget the other piece, each on one side of a 
12"
 Victor record as well as the sheet music to the Bloom with a note about 
his
 prize on it.
 I'll dig out the rest of the data if anyone wants.
 Steve Smolian
 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "Alec McLane" <amclane@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
 To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
 Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 12:03 PM
 Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] RCA symphonic work competition - 1929
 > There were actually only 4 composers because Robert Russell Bennett was
 > awarded 2/5 of the prize. Here's from the liner notes to a Naxos 
recording
 > of Bennett's _Abraham Lincoln_ (quoted at
 >
 
http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.559004&catNum=559004&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English):
 >
 > __________________________
 > In Paris and Berlin in 1927-28, on a Guggenheim Scholarship, he noticed 
an
 > RCA Victor competition with a prize of 25,000 dollars for an outstanding
 > orchestral composition, with a small prize for a lighter piece of music.
 > He submitted the two works on this disc - the patriotic Abraham Lincoln
 > and the abstract orchestral painting of Sights and Sounds. Both pieces
 > were scored for an enormous band of musicians and are of large
 > proportions.
 >
 > RCA Victor's jury consisted of Leopold Stokowski, Serge Koussevitzky,
 > Frederick Stock, Rudolph Ganz and Olga Samaroff. They decided no work 
was
 > better than any other to win outright and awarded five prizes to Aaron
 > Copland's Dance Symphony, Louis Gruenberg's Symphony, Ernst Bloch's
 > Helvetia and two 5,000 dollar awards to Bennett's pieces.
 >
 > Despite their huge orchestral forces, Bennett's prizewinners were then
 > published. Abraham Lincoln was first performed by Stokowski and the
 > Philadelphia Orchestra in October 1931, with a second performance given 
a
 > fortnight later at the dedication of the Juilliard School's new
 > auditorium. For this, Bennett wrote his own programme notes, drawn from
 > below.
 > ___________________________
 >
 > Alec
 >
 > At 11:19 AM 4/17/2006, Paul Charosh wrote:
 >>
 >>
 >>In 1929, RCA Victor offered a prize of $25,000 for a new symphonic  
work.
 >>The
 >>prize was divided among five composers.  Copland was  one; he received
 >>$5,000
 >>for his submission.
 >>
 >>How to find out  who were the other four recipients?  Also, who at
 >>RCA/Victor
 >>was in  charge of the competition?  Can one find out who were the 
judges?
 >>Can
 >>one find out who submitted works?
 >>
 >>Paul Charosh
 >
 > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 > Alec McLane
 > Scores & Recordings/
 >  World Music Archives       Phone: (860) 685-3899
 > Olin Library                       Fax: (860) 685-2661
 > Wesleyan University          mailto:amclane@xxxxxxxxxxxx
 > Middletown, CT  06459       
http://www.wesleyan.edu/libr/srhome/srdir.htm
 >
 > --
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