Arthur Judson
Encyclopedia
Arthur Leon Judson was an artists' manager who also managed the New York Philharmonic
and Philadelphia Orchestra
. He co-founded the Handel Society of New York
with entrepreneur James Grayson in 1966.
in New York. At the age of nineteen, he became the dean of the music department at Denison University
, Granville, Ohio
from 1900 to 1907. In 1903 at Denison, he performed the Richard Strauss
Violin Sonata in what he called the first public performance in the United States. He returned to New York in 1907 to attempt a recital career. He also spent eight years on the staff of Musical America magazine, serving as advertising manager and critic. Disillusioned of a concert career (he said of this time "I was a good violinist, but no Kreisler or Heifetz"), Judson was pleased to be offered a lucrative management career.
at the National Broadcasting Company
for the radio program failed. Judson and his partners therefore purchased a low-power station owned by the Atlantic Broadcasting Company and by January 27, 1927 signed up a network of sixteen stations known as the United Independent Broadcasters to carry his program. William S. Paley
purchased this network on September 25, 1927 and it became the Columbia Broadcasting System, with Judson as the second largest stockholder.
In 1930, Judson became the president of Columbia Concerts Corporation (which is now Columbia Artists Management
). William S. Paley was chairman of the board. Judson amalgamated seven independent concert bureaus in what would become known as the "Judson Empire". These were the Wolfsohn Music Bureau, Haensel and Jones, The Metropolitan Musical Bureau, Evans and Salter, American Opera Company, and the Community Concert Service of Ward French. Also included in this amalgamation was Concert Management Arthur Judson. The new company managed 125 artists and organizations, approximately two-thirds of the top musicians in America.
Judson managed the Philadelphia Orchestra
from 1915 to 1935 and the New York Philharmonic
from 1922 to 1956.
Judson's zenith was reached between 1930 and 1935 when he simultaneously managed the New York Philharmonic
, Philadelphia Orchestra
, instituted and managed the summer New York Stadium concert series at Lewisohn Stadium
1920-1943 in New York and the summer Robin Hood Dell concerts in Philadelphia 1930-1935 as well as serving as president of Columbia Concerts Corporation. He also was the advisory manager of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
for five years (1924–1928). As an impresario, he advised many other organizations. When Theodore Spiering, conductor of the Oregon Symphony
, suddenly died in 1925 the orchestra called Judson. His recommendation, Willem van Hoogstraten
, was hired. When the Minneapolis Symphony (now the Minnesota Orchestra
) needed a conductor in 1931, Judson recommended Eugene Ormandy
. Judson also recommended the successors to Ormandy in Minneapolis: Dimitri Mitropoulos and Antal Doráti
. Some likened the Minneapolis orchestra to Judson's "farm team
".
Judson was not only big in the music world, he was also a physically big man described as six foot four, 200 pounds, possessing a massive head, barrel chest, and also huge hands useful for his favorite pastime of chopping wood. He had a ruddy complexion which he explained as a "permanent rage" induced by dealing with artists. He was impeccably groomed and worked standing at a high antique desk while he smoked cigars. He was surrounded by steel engravings, shelves of books, antique furnishings, and old pewter. He was always available to walk across the street to Carnegie Hall
to listen to an audition. He was extremely choosy when it came to pianists and violinists, accepting very few. He considered himself a "disappointed conductor" but made up for this by conducting the 100-piece summer orchestra at Ocean Grove, New Jersey
, beginning in 1898.
The Community Artists series made it possible for communities to obtain high quality artists without having to assume high financial risks since the concerts were prepaid. Artists had more opportunities too, but in return they paid a 20 percent commission to Judson's Columbia Concerts Corporation and another 20 percent to Community Artists. Many artists believed they were being exploited and not promoted. The only other company in this field, NBC Artists Service (which opened in 1928), shared the market and did not compete with Judson.
In 1939 Judson was called before the Federal Communications Commission
to testify. This was described in a highly unflattering Time magazine article on February 6, 1939 titled "Chain-Store Music". Readers were surprised to learn that music was organized just like any other business. Salesmen toured the country selling musicians to 376 communities involved in the Community Artists series. In order to get the big name artists, lesser known commodities also had to be purchased. There was plenty to choose from in the catalog: Columbia Concerts Corporation controlled two-thirds of the nation's musical artists and conductors. Impending government investigations into the concert management monopoly caused William S. Paley
to resign as chairman of the board and sell his interests to Judson in 1941. CBS and NBC also sold their agencies to their directors to avoid monopoly investigations. Judson renamed the company Columbia Artists Management. NBC became the National Concert Artists Corporation.
There were some musicians Judson did not represent. One was the conductor Artur Rodziński
. Judson attempted to stop Rodzinski from taking over the Cleveland Orchestra
in 1933 (an attempt that failed). Judson succeeded in stopping Rodzinski from taking over the New York Philharmonic
in 1936. In 1947, Rodzinski who had finally become the conductor of the New York Philharmonic
with Judson's short-term assistance battled with Judson over hiring and programming. Addressing the board, he called Judson (who was present) "a dictator who made musical progress impossible". Rodzinski requested that the orchestra board then choose between himself and Judson The board sided with Judson. Rodzinski also lost his next job as conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
over programming disputes, purportedly due to the influence of Judson.
Two other conductors who believed Judson damaged their careers were Eugène Aynsley Goossens
and Otto Klemperer
. Goossens decided, after twelve years, he no longer needed to pay Judson a commission. Judson forced him to pay in an out-of-court settlement, and then dumped him. Klemperer, engaged by Judson for the first fourteen weeks of the New York Philharmonic
's 1935-1936 season made the "mistake" of programming Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2
over Judson's objections. Judson thereafter abandoned Klemperer.
Strained relations with a major conductor and the impropriety and conflict of interest in managing artists and orchestras which then hired the same artists caused Judson to resign his orchestra management positions. He announced his resignation as Philadelphia's manager on October 8, 1934 (which became effective May 31, 1935). The cause was increasingly strained relations with its conductor Leopold Stokowski
. Although the two collaborated in later years, Stokowski said at the time "Mr. Judson is not my manager". New York Time's music critic Howard Taubman
's article "The New York Philharmonic—What's Wrong and Why?" appeared on April 29, 1956. Taubman alleged over-hiring of Columbia artists at the New York Philharmonic
and may have encouraged the seventy-five year old Judson to resign from that post.
One singer Arthur Judson did not represent (but probably should have) was Margaret Truman
, daughter of President Harry S. Truman
. In 1948, Margaret's agent, James A. Davidson, listened to her complaints about getting few bookings. She learned from Davidson that concerts in the U.S. were largely controlled by Columbia and the National Concert Artists Corporation. Margaret told her father what she had heard, and the president requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation
investigate. In October 1955, the United States Department of Justice
filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
. Columbia along with three other defendants were charged with restraint of interstate trade and commerce in the booking of artists, and also with monopolizing organized audience associations. The agencies pleaded no contest and were forced to release their monopoly position. By this time, Arthur Judson had been replaced at Columbia by Ward French.
Amongst the artists Judson presented and represented: Ruth St. Denis
, Marian Anderson
, John Barbirolli
, Robert Casadesus
, Van Cliburn
, Clifford Curzon
, Todd Duncan
, Nelson Eddy
, Benjamino Gigli, Mischa Elman, Zino Francescatti
, Gary Graffman
, Jascha Heifetz
, Vladimir Horowitz
, Jose Iturbi
, Lorin Maazel
, Yehudi Menuhin
, Eugene Ormandy
, Lily Pons
, Fritz Reiner
, Rudolf Serkin
and Helen Traubel
.
Awards included being elected an officer in the French Academy, 1920; an honorary Doctorate in Music from Denison University, 1931, and the Order of the Academie des Beaux Arts, 1941.
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
and Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
. He co-founded the Handel Society of New York
Handel Society of New York
The Handel Society of New York was a New York City based musical organization that presented concert and semi-staged performances of operas and oratorios by George Frideric Handel from 1966-1974. The group mainly performed out of Carnegie Hall and was responsible for presenting the American and...
with entrepreneur James Grayson in 1966.
Early life
Judson studied violin beginning at the age of eight, and continued his studies for one year as a teenager with the composer, conductor, violinist Max Bendix and the violinist Leopold LichtenbergLeopold Lichtenberg
Leopold Lichtenberg was a Jewish American violinist.-Biography:Lichtenberg was born in San Francisco, California. Lichtenberg studied under Beaujardin, and made his first appearance in concert when eight years of age. In his 12th year, he was asked by Henryk Wieniawski, then on a visit to...
in New York. At the age of nineteen, he became the dean of the music department at Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
, Granville, Ohio
Granville, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,167 people, 1,309 households, and 888 families residing in the village. The population density was 790.4 people per square mile . There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of 345.4 per square mile...
from 1900 to 1907. In 1903 at Denison, he performed the Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
Violin Sonata in what he called the first public performance in the United States. He returned to New York in 1907 to attempt a recital career. He also spent eight years on the staff of Musical America magazine, serving as advertising manager and critic. Disillusioned of a concert career (he said of this time "I was a good violinist, but no Kreisler or Heifetz"), Judson was pleased to be offered a lucrative management career.
Orchestra manager and artists' manager
A benefit of Judson's Musical America job was traveling to hear concerts and meeting the people who performed or attended the concerts. Judson was therefore already known for his knowledge of music and judgment on musicians of quality when he was appointed as the manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra in July 1915. Within months, he launched Concert Management Arthur Judson, Inc. in Philadelphia to manage artists, and commuted daily to his New York office where he set up a second artists’ management office. With three partners, he organized the Judson Radio Program as another venue for his artists in 1926. His attempt to get an exclusive contract with David SarnoffDavid Sarnoff
David Sarnoff was an American businessman and pioneer of American commercial radio and television. He founded the National Broadcasting Company and throughout most of his career he led the Radio Corporation of America in various capacities from shortly after its founding in 1919 until his...
at the National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
for the radio program failed. Judson and his partners therefore purchased a low-power station owned by the Atlantic Broadcasting Company and by January 27, 1927 signed up a network of sixteen stations known as the United Independent Broadcasters to carry his program. William S. Paley
William S. Paley
William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
purchased this network on September 25, 1927 and it became the Columbia Broadcasting System, with Judson as the second largest stockholder.
In 1930, Judson became the president of Columbia Concerts Corporation (which is now Columbia Artists Management
Columbia Artists Management
Columbia Artists Management is an international leader in managing the careers and touring activities of the world's most prominent performing artists and institutions.Led by Chairman and CEO Ronald A...
). William S. Paley was chairman of the board. Judson amalgamated seven independent concert bureaus in what would become known as the "Judson Empire". These were the Wolfsohn Music Bureau, Haensel and Jones, The Metropolitan Musical Bureau, Evans and Salter, American Opera Company, and the Community Concert Service of Ward French. Also included in this amalgamation was Concert Management Arthur Judson. The new company managed 125 artists and organizations, approximately two-thirds of the top musicians in America.
Judson managed the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
from 1915 to 1935 and the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
from 1922 to 1956.
Judson's zenith was reached between 1930 and 1935 when he simultaneously managed the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, instituted and managed the summer New York Stadium concert series at Lewisohn Stadium
Lewisohn Stadium
Lewisohn Stadium was an amphitheater and athletic facility built on the campus of the City College of New York. It opened in 1915 and was demolished in 1973.-History:...
1920-1943 in New York and the summer Robin Hood Dell concerts in Philadelphia 1930-1935 as well as serving as president of Columbia Concerts Corporation. He also was the advisory manager of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
for five years (1924–1928). As an impresario, he advised many other organizations. When Theodore Spiering, conductor of the Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
, suddenly died in 1925 the orchestra called Judson. His recommendation, Willem van Hoogstraten
Willem van Hoogstraten
Willem van Hoogstraten was a Dutch violinist and conductor.Van Hoogstraten was born in Utrecht, Netherlands, and studied the violin from age eight including studies with Alexander Schmuller, and enrolled at the conservatory in Cologne, Germany at age sixteen where he studied with Bram Eldering...
, was hired. When the Minneapolis Symphony (now the Minnesota Orchestra
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Emil Oberhoffer founded the orchestra as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, and it gave its first performance on November 5 of that year. In 1968 the orchestra changed to its name to the Minnesota Orchestra...
) needed a conductor in 1931, Judson recommended Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
. Judson also recommended the successors to Ormandy in Minneapolis: Dimitri Mitropoulos and Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti
Antal Doráti, KBE was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1947.-Biography:...
. Some likened the Minneapolis orchestra to Judson's "farm team
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
".
Judson was not only big in the music world, he was also a physically big man described as six foot four, 200 pounds, possessing a massive head, barrel chest, and also huge hands useful for his favorite pastime of chopping wood. He had a ruddy complexion which he explained as a "permanent rage" induced by dealing with artists. He was impeccably groomed and worked standing at a high antique desk while he smoked cigars. He was surrounded by steel engravings, shelves of books, antique furnishings, and old pewter. He was always available to walk across the street to Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
to listen to an audition. He was extremely choosy when it came to pianists and violinists, accepting very few. He considered himself a "disappointed conductor" but made up for this by conducting the 100-piece summer orchestra at Ocean Grove, New Jersey
Ocean Grove, New Jersey
Ocean Grove is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Neptune Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. It had a population of 3,342 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean Jersey Shore, between Asbury Park to the north and Bradley Beach to the south...
, beginning in 1898.
The Community Artists series made it possible for communities to obtain high quality artists without having to assume high financial risks since the concerts were prepaid. Artists had more opportunities too, but in return they paid a 20 percent commission to Judson's Columbia Concerts Corporation and another 20 percent to Community Artists. Many artists believed they were being exploited and not promoted. The only other company in this field, NBC Artists Service (which opened in 1928), shared the market and did not compete with Judson.
In 1939 Judson was called before the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to testify. This was described in a highly unflattering Time magazine article on February 6, 1939 titled "Chain-Store Music". Readers were surprised to learn that music was organized just like any other business. Salesmen toured the country selling musicians to 376 communities involved in the Community Artists series. In order to get the big name artists, lesser known commodities also had to be purchased. There was plenty to choose from in the catalog: Columbia Concerts Corporation controlled two-thirds of the nation's musical artists and conductors. Impending government investigations into the concert management monopoly caused William S. Paley
William S. Paley
William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
to resign as chairman of the board and sell his interests to Judson in 1941. CBS and NBC also sold their agencies to their directors to avoid monopoly investigations. Judson renamed the company Columbia Artists Management. NBC became the National Concert Artists Corporation.
There were some musicians Judson did not represent. One was the conductor Artur Rodziński
Artur Rodzinski
Artur Rodziński was a Polish conductor of opera and symphonic music. He is especially noted for his tenures as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic in the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
. Judson attempted to stop Rodzinski from taking over the Cleveland Orchestra
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
in 1933 (an attempt that failed). Judson succeeded in stopping Rodzinski from taking over the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
in 1936. In 1947, Rodzinski who had finally become the conductor of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
with Judson's short-term assistance battled with Judson over hiring and programming. Addressing the board, he called Judson (who was present) "a dictator who made musical progress impossible". Rodzinski requested that the orchestra board then choose between himself and Judson The board sided with Judson. Rodzinski also lost his next job as conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
over programming disputes, purportedly due to the influence of Judson.
Two other conductors who believed Judson damaged their careers were Eugène Aynsley Goossens
Eugène Aynsley Goossens
Sir Eugene Aynsley Goossens was an English conductor and composer.-Biography:He was born in Camden Town, London, the son of the Belgian conductor and violinist Eugène Goossens and the grandson of the conductor Eugène Goossens...
and Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
. Goossens decided, after twelve years, he no longer needed to pay Judson a commission. Judson forced him to pay in an out-of-court settlement, and then dumped him. Klemperer, engaged by Judson for the first fourteen weeks of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
's 1935-1936 season made the "mistake" of programming Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 2 by Gustav Mahler, known as the Resurrection, was written between 1888 and 1894, and first performed in 1895. Apart from the Eighth Symphony, this symphony was Mahler's most popular and successful work during his lifetime. It is his first major work that would eventually mark his...
over Judson's objections. Judson thereafter abandoned Klemperer.
Strained relations with a major conductor and the impropriety and conflict of interest in managing artists and orchestras which then hired the same artists caused Judson to resign his orchestra management positions. He announced his resignation as Philadelphia's manager on October 8, 1934 (which became effective May 31, 1935). The cause was increasingly strained relations with its conductor Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
. Although the two collaborated in later years, Stokowski said at the time "Mr. Judson is not my manager". New York Time's music critic Howard Taubman
Howard Taubman
Hyman Howard Taubman was an American music critic, theater critic, and author.-Biography:Born in Manhattan, Taubman attended DeWitt Clinton High School and then won a four-year scholarship to Cornell University, from which he graduated, as a Phi Beta Kappa member, in 1929.He then returned to New...
's article "The New York Philharmonic—What's Wrong and Why?" appeared on April 29, 1956. Taubman alleged over-hiring of Columbia artists at the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
and may have encouraged the seventy-five year old Judson to resign from that post.
One singer Arthur Judson did not represent (but probably should have) was Margaret Truman
Margaret Truman
Mary Margaret Truman Daniel , also known as Margaret Truman or Margaret Daniel, was an American singer who later became a successful writer. The only child of US President Harry S...
, daughter of President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
. In 1948, Margaret's agent, James A. Davidson, listened to her complaints about getting few bookings. She learned from Davidson that concerts in the U.S. were largely controlled by Columbia and the National Concert Artists Corporation. Margaret told her father what she had heard, and the president requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
investigate. In October 1955, the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
. Columbia along with three other defendants were charged with restraint of interstate trade and commerce in the booking of artists, and also with monopolizing organized audience associations. The agencies pleaded no contest and were forced to release their monopoly position. By this time, Arthur Judson had been replaced at Columbia by Ward French.
Amongst the artists Judson presented and represented: Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis was an early modern dance pioneer.-Biography:Ruth St. Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program in 1938 which was one of the first dance departments in an American university...
, Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
, John Barbirolli
John Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
, Robert Casadesus
Robert Casadesus
Robert Casadesus was a renowned 20th-century French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a famous musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus and Marius Casadesus, husband of Gaby Casadesus, and father of Jean Casadesus.-Biography:Robert Casadesus was born in Paris...
, Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
, Clifford Curzon
Clifford Curzon
Sir Clifford Michael Curzon, CBE was an English pianist.-Early life:Clifford Michael Siegenberg was born in London to Michael and Constance Mary Siegenberg...
, Todd Duncan
Todd Duncan
Robert Todd Duncan was an American baritone opera singer and actor.-Biography:Todd Duncan was born in Danville, Kentucky in 1903. He obtained his musical training at Butler University in Indianapolis with a B.A. in music followed by an M.A...
, Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
, Benjamino Gigli, Mischa Elman, Zino Francescatti
Zino Francescatti
René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was a French virtuoso violinist.Zino Francescatti was born in Marseilles, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had studied with Camillo Sivori. Zino studied violin from age three and was quickly recognized as a...
, Gary Graffman
Gary Graffman
Gary Graffman is an American classical pianist, teacher of piano and music administrator.Graffman was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish parents. Having started piano at age 3, Graffman entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age 7 in 1936 as a piano student of Isabelle Vengerova...
, Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
, Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
, Jose Iturbi
José Iturbi
José Iturbi was a Spanish conductor, harpsichordist and pianist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the 1943 musical, Thousands Cheer and in the 1945 film, Anchors Aweigh...
, Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
, Lily Pons
Lily Pons
Lily Pons was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer she specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire and was particularly associated with the title roles in Léo Delibes' Lakmé and Gaetano...
, Fritz Reiner
Fritz Reiner
Frederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...
, Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin , was a Bohemian-born pianist.-Life and early career:Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire to a Russian-Jewish family....
and Helen Traubel
Helen Traubel
Helen Francesca Traubel was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, she began her career as a concert singer and went on to sing at the Metropolitan...
.
Awards included being elected an officer in the French Academy, 1920; an honorary Doctorate in Music from Denison University, 1931, and the Order of the Academie des Beaux Arts, 1941.