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

No comments:
Post a Comment