ERNEST HENRY
SCHELLING (BELVIDERE, NEW JERSEY, JULY 26, 1876 – MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY,
DECEMBER 8, 1939)
He was born in Belvidere, New Jersey on July 26, 1876. Schelling was a
child prodigy. His first teacher was his father. He made his debut at the
Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 4. At age 7, Schelling
traveled to Europe to study. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire. While
in Europe he worked with many great masters including Percy Goetschius, Hans
Huber, Richard Barth, Moritz Moszkowski and Theodor Leschetizky. At the age of
20 in 1896, he began studying with Ignace Paderewski and was his only pupil for
three years. He toured Europe and North and South America, gaining a reputation
as a remarkable pianist. His first wife was Lucie Howe Draper, whom he married
on May 3, 1905 in Manhattan, New York City. She died on February 4, 1938 at
their summer home in Lausanne, Switzerland. He married his second wife, Helen
Huntington “Peggy” Marshall, on August 11, 1939, when she was 21 and he was 63.
She was the stepdaughter of the philanthropist Brooke Astor, and a niece of
Vincent Astor. He died of a cerebral embolism at his home in Manhattan, New
York City on December 8, 1939. His bride of four months was at his deathbed
side. Schelling wrote numerous works for piano, orchestra and chamber groups
which were often performed during his lifetime, but have since fallen from the
repertoire. His most popular work was A Victory Ball, a symphonic poem for
orchestra based on an anti-war poem by Alfred Noyes. Willem Mengelberg and the
New York Philharmonic Orchestra made an early electrical recording of the music
for the Victor Talking Machine Company. He was elected an honorary member of
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity, the national fraternity for men in music, in
1917 by the fraternity’s Alpha chapter at the New England Conservatory of Music
in Boston, Massachusetts. Schelling was the first conductor of the Young
People’s Concerts of the New York Philharmonic. The first concert was held
March 27, 1924. The concerts were designed to encourage the love of music in
children. Schelling held these concerts in New York, and also took them on the
road. Such cities as Philadelphia, London, Rotterdam and Los Angeles hosted
them. From 1935 to 1937 he was the conductor of the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra.
TRACKLIST
5721 Duo-Art CHOPIN – Polonaise, Op. 53, Ab “Heroic”
5799 Duo-Art LISZT – Piano Sonata in b 3rd Mvt.
5839 Duo-Art CHOPIN – Nocturne, Op. 37, No. 2, G
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