by Peter Cates Listening to a pile of 78s After listening to a pile of 78s that are both long forgotten and musically captivating, I wish I could write about each and every one of them, but, for reasons of time and space, can only pick a few; hopefully they can be heard via YouTube. […]
by Peter Cates Maine Speaks anthology The 1987 Maine Speaks anthology contains what has elsewhere been often considered the most famous 20th century short story from our Pine Tree State – The Ledge, by Lawrence Sargent Hall (1915-1993). However, before today (February 2, 2025), I was totally unfamiliar with the story, and the writer, let […]
by Peter Cates Gershwin & Ravel Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue – Adolph Drescher, pianist; C.A. Bunte conducting the Pro Musica Symphony Orchestra. Ravel: Bolero – Samo Hubad conducting the Radio Symphony Orchestra. Sony Music Special Products BT 22444, cassette, 1991. The late 1980s tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet […]
by Peter Cates Gustav Mahler German composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) suffered three major traumas the summer of 1907 – His oldest daughter Maria died from diptheria. After a brilliant few years as music director of the Vienna Court Opera, Mahler was forced out by a combination of systemic anti-Semitism and sleazy underhandedness. Finally he was […]
by Peter Cates Former New York Gov. Thomas Dewey Former New York Governor Thomas Dewey (1902-1971) has been pretty much tossed in the dumpster of 20th century ancient American history, except for brief mentions as the Republican opponent of FDR – Franklin Delano Roosevelt – in 1944 and of Harry S Truman, in 1948, (the […]
by Peter Cates I Became Alone I Became Alone is a 1975 book by Judith Thurman on five major woman poets. They are Sappho from ancient Greece; Louise Labe of the 16th century French Renaissance; Anne Bradstreet, who wrote out of her own experience living among fellow Puritans in 17th century Boston; Juana Ines de […]
by Peter Cates Al Jolson Al Jolson – Tell That To The Marines (recorded September 10, 1918); Arthur Fields – You Can’t Beat Us (If It Takes Ten Million More, recorded September 19, 1918). Columbia A2657, ten-inch acoustic shellac disc. Born in Lithuania to a Jewish family, Asa Yoelson (1886-1950), better known as Al Jolson, […]
by Peter Cates Cab Callaway Cab Calloway and his Orchestra – Floogie Walk; The Ghost of Smoky Joe: Vocalion v4807, ten inch 78, recorded 1939. Cab Calloway (1907-1994) was a character in the truest sense of the word. For all his accomplishment as a well above average singer/musician, his claim to fame was his sardonic […]
by Peter Cates Fred Gaisberg For collectors of the early shellac 78s, the 1999 biography, Sound Revolutions by Jerrold Northrop Moore is a fascinating biography of recording pioneer Fred Gaisberg (1873-1951) who, from 1894 when he landed employment at the Berliner Gramophone Company (later to become EMI) to his retirement in 1939, would develop a […]
by Peter Cates Pietro Mascagni Italian composer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) experienced the most extraordinary success when, at the age of 28 in 1891, his opera Cavalliera Rusticana was premiered in Italy. It would receive over 14,000 productions between then and the beginning of World War I in 1914. It is one of my six currently […]