U.S. CAREER 1924-1932
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U.S. CAREER 1924-1932
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| 1924 (age 38) | |
Arthur Judson (right) Fraser Gange's U.S. career was molded by concert manager
Arthur Judson, a controversial figure in classical music of the day.
Though Judson's machinations are out of the realm of this home page,
it's impossible to gain perspective on a the American career of a classical performer
of the time without factoring Judson into the equation.
Judson brought Fraser Gange over from England and promoted him until 1928 when--for reasons unknown--there was a parting of the ways. He also managed Amy Evans for one year of that span. | |
Jan 18
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Fraser Gange's North American debut, Aeolian Hall, NYC. |
| Feb 28 | FG/AE in joint recital, Harry Allen Russell, private home, Albany |
| Mar |
Full page ad in Musical America announces Fraser Gange as client of Concert Management Arthur Judson.Right: photo of Gange from an 1924 Arthur Judson ad taken out shortly after his New York debut. |
| Mar 5 | AE/FG - joint recital - Lotus Club (110 W. 57th) NYC |
| Mar | FG begins teaching 10-week course on singing at Mannes School of Music, NYC |
| Mar 19 |
Recital, Leopold Mannes accomp. At Mannes School "Mr Gange sang songs by Lully, Beethoven, Carissimi, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Strauss and others with a wealth of tonal beauty and irreproacchable artistry." - New York Times |
| April 13, 1924 - Gange's first performance with the New York Philharmonic | |
| Apr 13 & 17 |
13: Metropolitan Opera House; 17: Carnegie Hall:
Beethoven 9, Bach 57th Cantata in special performance for NY Philharmonic Orchestra Fund, Mengelberg cond - NY Phil, Schola Cantorum. Bach: Elizabeth Rethberg, sop; Gange, bar; Louis Robert, organist Beethoven: Rethberg, Gange, Merle Alcock, sop; Richard Crooks, ten |
| Jul 18 & 21 | Beethoven 9, van Hoogstraten, cond - NY Phil - Lewisohn Stadium. Ruth Rodgers, s, Helena Marsh,c; Charles Stratton, t, F. Gange, bar. 40k: JPG of Lewisohn Stadium during the July 18th concert. |
| Sep 17 |
FG sang arias from 2 Bach Cantatas at Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge's (photo on right) 7th Berkshire Chamber Festival, Harold Samuel, piano, George Enesco, violin - Stone Mountain, Pittsfield, MA"Mr. Samuel played the accompaniments, Mr. Enesco the violin obligatos, Ernest Hucheson acting as page turner for the former. The group was declared to be 'Bach as he ought to be given' and created something of a furor..." - Musical America |
| Sept 19 | FG sang songs at last concert of Berkshire Festival - Edith Bennett, s; Ruth Rodgers,s; Devora Nadworthy, c and FG - Stone Mountain, Pittsfield, MA |
| Dec 4 | Sang Elijah - Mendelssohn Choir, Ernest Lunt, cond - FG, bar, Arthur Kraft, t; Irene Garrison Bramblet, s; Alta Schulz, c. - Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsbg |
| Dec 25 | Messiah, Verbrugghen cond - FG's first app. with the Minneapolis SO. Announced soloists: Grace Kerns, Marjorie Squires, Judson House, Fraser Gange |
| Dec 31 | Party, Damrosch house, NYC |
| 1925 (age 38) | |
| Jan 11 | FG guest at closing reception at old Steinway Hall on 14th St, NYC |
| Jan 22 + 23 | Beethoven 9, Damrosch cond - NYSO, Carnegie Hall, NYC. Ruth Rogers, s; Helena Marsh, c; Charles Stratton, t; FG, bar |
| Feb 19 | Beethoven 9, Damrosch cond - NYSO, Phila Acad of Mus. Ruth Rogers, s; Helena Marsh, c; Charles Stratton, t; FG, bar |
| Feb 22 | FG sang several musical numbers at Damrosch 40th Anniv w/NYSO, George Barrere cond - Hotel Ambassador, NYC |
| Apr 16 | Beethoven 9, Two Bach Arias for Baritone. Minneapolis SO, Verbruggen cond. Soloists: Emily Stokes Hagar, s; Claire Brookhurst, c; Lewis James, t, Fraser Gange, bar. Minneapolis Sym Chorus |
| May | Spartanburg Festival, Spartanburg, NC |
| May 16 | Beethoven 9, Minneapolis SO on tour in Duluth, Verbruggen cond |
| Jul 20 & Jul 23 |
Beethoven 9, van Hoogstraten, cond - NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium. Ruth Rodgers, s; Irene Wilder, c; Charles Stratton, t; FG, bar; chor from Oratorio Soc & Schola Cantorum, |
| Aug 18 + 19 |
Verdi Requiem, van Hoogstraten, cond - NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium. FG, AE, Alma Beck, c; Lewis James, t; chorus from Oratorio Society and Schola Cantorum. First Verdi Requiem in statium series. |
| Oct 27 | Opening of Steinway Hall, NYC. FG sang on 1st half of program - Willem Mengelberg, cond - . Orch made up of members of NY Philharmonic; Josef Hofmann soloed on 2nd half. Broadcast on WJZ, WRC, WGY and WBZ. background and photo which shows several Steinway sons, Mengelberg, Gange and Hofmann |
| Nov 1 | Two pieces from Don Giovanni, Mengelberg cond, NY Phil, Brooklyn Academy of Music. |
| Nov 2 | FG Sang songs at second "opening" concert at Steinway Hall, Richard Hageman accomp. Steinway Hall, NYC. Ernest Hutcheson on 2nd half of concert. Broadcast on WJZ, WRC, WGY and WBZ |
| Nov 5 | Recital Harrisburg, PA |
| Nov 7 | Recital Buffalo, NY |
| Nov 9 | FG's Chicago debut recital, Frederick Schauwecker, accomp. Studebaker, Chicago |
| Nov 13 | Recital, Earl Mitchell accomp. Beaver Falls, PA |
| Nov 14 |
Recital - Soldier & Sailor Songs: Earl Mitchell, accompanist for most of recital.
Walter Damrosch (photo, right) accompanies FG singing Damrosch's Danny Deever and several other songs. Aeolian Hall, NYC."Mr. Damrosch had consented to accompany Mr Gange not only in the performance of his own 'Danny Deever' but also in songs by Charles Villers Stanford, 'The Little Admiral,' and Hamilton Harty's 'By the Bivouac's Flame.' The other songs and arias were Lully's 'Bois epais,' the 'Madamina' aria from 'Don Giovanni' a group by Strauss, Bach, Schumann and Schubert and a group of Scotch folk-songs arranged by Malcolm Lawson. Mr. Gange's interpretation are always musicianly and of an artistic character. He knows how to get the best from his voice. He understands the beauty and significance of the English language. He has a well-schooled technique and an understanding of music of widely differing characteristics. The audience was large and very appreciative." -New York Times |
| Dec 21 | Messiah, Apollo Musical Club, Harrison M. Wild cond - Orchestra Hall, Chicago. FG; Louis James, t; Olive June Lacey, s; Marie Morrisey, c |
| Dec 25 | FG and AE joint soloists, Messiah, Minneapolis SO, Verbruggen cond. Lyceum Theater, Minn. |
| 1926 (age 39) | |
| Mar 15 | FG sings German songs at Beethoven Association concert, Town Hall, NYC. Ernest Hutcheson accomp. London String quartet also on bill. |
| Apr 17 | Bach B-minor Mass with NY Oratorio Soc, Albert Stoessel, cond - FG; Olive Marshall, s; Grace Leslie, c; Lewis James, t; FG, bar. Mischa Mischakoff, solo violin; orch of the NY Symphony Society. NYSO, Carnegie Hall, NYC |
| Jul 21 & Thu Jul 22 | Beethoven 9, van Hoogstraten, cond. NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium. Two perfs planned , one rained out; - Fraser Gange, Amy Evans, Doris Doe, c; Lewis James, t; chorus from Oratorio Society and Schola Cantorum |
| Aug 19 | FG sang at Wagner night - NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium, Stock cond. - Helen Traubel, s; Mina Hager, c; Lewis James, t, FG bar; Wilfred Glenn bs, Oratorio Soc chorus. FG: one from Tannhauser; one ensemble from Meistersinger |
| Aug 25 & 26 | Stadium Verdi Requiem, van Hoogstraten, cond - NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium. FG, AE, Doris Doe, c; Lewis James, t; chorus from Oratorio Society and Schola Cantorum |
| Oct | Fraser Gange on faculty of Mannes School of Music, NYC for 1926-27 school year |
| before Dec 20 | FG and AE in short joint recital on Major Bowes, Capitol Orch, E. Rapee, cond. Broadcast: CBS??? |
| 1927 (age 40) | |
| Jan 21 | Beethoven Centennial program: Elegiac Song for Vocal Quartet and Strings, Op. 118; Benedictus from Missa Solemnis; 9th Symphony. Minneapolis SO, Verbrugghen cond. |
| Jan 31 | Same program as above, MSO, New Orleans. |
| Feb 5-6 |
Beethoven Symphony #9, Toscanini, cond - b'cast - NY Phil, Carnegie Hall.
Elisabeth Rethberg, s; Louise Homer, c; Richard Crooks, t; FG, bar. Beethoven Sym #1 opened program. Both performances were broadcast. At least one was recorded but because of conflicts between Arthur Judson (manager of the NY Phil and Gange) and the managers of the other 3 soloists, the vocal movement was not broadcast or recorded. |
| Feb 19 | FG/AE sing Bach Peasant Cantata - Albert Stoessel, cond - NYSO, Oratorio Soc NY, Carnegie Hall |
| Mar 11 | FG/AE to Tea for Fritz Busch at Damrosch's house |
| Mar 31 & Apr 1 | Brahms Requiem, cond Furtwaengler - NY Phil, Carnegie Hall. Elizabeth Rethburg, s; Fraser Gange, baritone. This was Furtwaengler's farewell to the New York Philharmonic. |
| May | Arthur Judson ad in The Musician shows FG on 1927-28 roster |
| July 19+20 | Beethoven 9, van Hoogstraten, cond - NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium. Louise Lerch, s, Doris Doe, c; Charles Stratton, t; FG, bar. Chorus from Choral Symphony Society of NY |
| Aug 2 | FG soloist in Pilgrim's Chorus from Tannhausser & Grieg's "Landerkennung," P. Boergermann cond. NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium |
| Aug 8+9? | Elijah, Pierre Monteux, cond - NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium. Fraser Gange, b; Dan Beddoe, t; Louise Lerch, s; Marjorie Nash, s; Elizabeth Lennox, c. Choral Symphony Society of NY |
| September 1927 - First of the US Columbia Recordings | |
| Sept | First US Columbia release 5070-M - On the Road to Mandalay / Two Grenadiers |
| Oct | Fraser Gange on faculty of Mannes School of Music, NYC for 1927-28 school year. |
| Oct | FG on list of soloists announced by new Columbia Broadcasting System, NYC. |
| Dec 15 | Mrs Fraser Gange on cast-list of Gretchen Damrosch Finletter comedy "Papa Haydn" cast with musical celebrities. Thursday Evening Club presentation. American Art Galleries, 30 E 57th St |
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December 18, 1927 - Fraser Gange's first performance with the Boston Symphony
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| Dec 18 & 19 |
BSO Pension Fund Benefit-Handel's Messiah, cond Koussevitsky - Boston Symphony Orchestra,
Symphony Hall, Boston.
Freida Hemple, s; Kathryn Meisle, a; Arthur Hacket, t, Handel & Haydn society chorus, cond Thompson Stone "Among soloists, Fraser Gange was the only one to catch fully the spirit of the new things that were going on about him, the only one to share with absolute fullness in the performance of a revitalized Messiah. He seems to be that rara avis: an ideal oratorio singer. For sheer beauty never could anything in oratorio excel his air, 'The people that walked in darkness'... Plasticity of voice and of interpretation is his to the nth degree." - Boston Transcript | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dec 21 |
Messiah, Apollo Musical Club, Harrison M. Wild cond -Orchestra Hall, Chicago.
FG; Louise Loring, s; Doris Doe, c; Allen McQuhae, t
| 1928 (age 41)
| Jan 10 |
FG's 1st recital of season, Town Hall, NYC: James Caskey accomp;
Harold Samuel accompanies FG in Samuel's composition "Diaphenia"; Also: Brahms op. 121 Vier ernste Gesange; Italian songs.
Drawing of Harold Samuel
| Feb |
US Columbia 5073-M - Fortune Teller: Gypsy Love Song/ Tannhauser: Song to Evening Star
| Feb 24-25 (b'cast) |
FG sang 3 baritone roles:
Creon, Tiresias and Messenger, in American premiere of Stravinsky's Oedipus rex, cond Koussevitzky - BSO, Symphony Hall, Boston.
| Arthur Hackett, t; Margaret Matzenauer, mz; FG, b, ; Paul Leyssac, Speaker, Harvard Glee Club. Mar 8 & 10 |
Reprise Stravinsky's Oedipus rex, cond Koussevitzky
| BSO, Carnegie, NYC. Same cast as Boston. Mar 21 |
FG/AE leave San Francisco for 10 weeks in N.Z. & 10 weeks in Australia (6 months in all)
| April-June |
10 week tour of New Zealand, Enid Conley-Williams, 1st accomp inNew Zealand,
writes about the tour in her biography "Clem and Me". Exact dates unknown.
| June |
release of US Columbia 144-M - Achal by the Sea / Lassie O' Mine
| Jul - Sep |
10 week tour of Australia. Exact dates unknown.
| Aug |
US Columbia 149-M - Bedouin Love Song / Nancy Lee
| Sept |
Fraser Gange absent from Arthur Judson's 1928-29 roster of artists
| Oct |
Fraser Gange absent from Mannes School faculty for 1928-29 school year
| Nov |
US Columbia 159-M - Annie Laurie/ Little Irish Girl
| Nov |
UK Columbia 5028 - reissue of Bedouin Love Song/ Nancy Lee
| Nov? |
Recital for Scottish Society, Waldorf Hotel
| Nov 18 |
Beethoven Symphony #9, BSO pension fund concert, cond Koussevitzky
- Symphony Hall, Boston - Jeannette Vreeland, s; Nevada Van Der Veer, c; Paul Althouse, t; Fraser Gange, bar;
Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society
| Dec 27 |
FG sang Die Schoene Muellerin at Beethoven Assn concert of Schubert chamber music. (accomp, Ernest Hutcheson) Town Hall, NYC
| 1929 (age 42)
| no date listed |
FG at after-panel dinner at Damrosch's
| Jan |
US Columbia 1885-D - Blind Ploughman/ Invictus
| UK Columbia reissue of 5141 - Achal by the Sea/ Lassie O' Mine Feb - UK Columbia reissue of 5172 - Annie Laurie / Little Irish Girl Feb 8 & 9 |
FG soloist w/Mendelssohn Choir, Wolf-Ferrari's "New Life",
Stanford's "Songs of the Fleet," Toronto
| Feb 8 |
Wolf-Ferrari’s 80 min cantata La vita nuova.
Fritz Reiner, Cincinnati Sym, Mendelssohn Choir Massey Hall, Toronto.
Rethburg, scheduled to join Gange in W-F gets flu.
Her place is taken by Mrs Gladys Read, sop soloist at Toronto’s Metropolitan Church.
| also Feb 8 |
Song recital, Healey Willan accomp. Cincinnati Symphony, Massey Hall, Toronto.
FG had to fill the time that would have been taken by a Bach cantata featuring Rethburg and the Choir.
He fills it with a group of songs, including an
unidentified “Italian air” and unidentified Schubert lied, Schumann’s Two Grenadiers and Strauss’s Morgen.
| Feb 9
Sat evening |
FG soloist, Stanford’s “Songs of the Fleet” Fritz Reiner, Mendelssohn Choir Cincinnati Sym
Massey Hall, Toronto
| Mar |
US Columbia 50117-D - Abide With Me/ Promise of Life
| Mar 29 & 30 |
Beethoven Symphony #9, cond Koussevitzky
- BSO, Sym. Hall, Boston - Ethyl Hayden, s; Devora Nadworney, c; Charles Stratton, t, Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society
| Apr |
US Columbia 50117-D -50126-D -
Hear me, Ye Winds & Waves/ Ombra Mai Fu (Xerxes)
| Apr 11 & 13 |
Beethoven Symphony #9, cond Koussevitzky
- BSO, Carnegie - NYC - Vreeland, s; van der Veer, c; Paul Althouse, t, FG, bass
| Jul 16 |
Fraser Gange's last official performance with the NY Phil:
Beethoven 9, cond Van Hoogstraten - NY Phil, Lewisohn Stadium, NYC. Vreeland, A. Hackett, s, N. Van der Veer,
c. Chor of the Choral Symphony Soc. of NY
| Oct 22 |
Sergei Koussevitzky double bass recital, Symphony Hall, Boston. Koussevitzky accompanies Fraser Gange in two pieces & encore. Piano accompanist: Pierre Luboshutz. Small orchestra made up of members of the Boston Symphony led by Richard Burgin.
| FG pieces on program "Per questa bella mano": Mozart's Bass Aria for Orchestra Kontrabass obligato K. 612, "Vier ernste Gesange," Brahms op. 121 Oct 25 |
FG joint recital with Amy Evans, Ethel Cave-Cole accomp, Town Hall, NYC.
Ad for this recital
| Nov |
US Columbia 1990-D - Heimliche Aufforderung/ Ruhe Meine Seele
| Nov 18 |
Concert for Beethoven Assn, Arthur Bergh accomp. Town Hall, NYC. Lener quartet also on bill
| Dec |
Ad in Musical Digest shows FG & AE as clients of Richard Copley.
| Dec 25 |
FG and step-daughter Gwen attend Christmas dinner at Walter Damrosch home.
| 1930 (age 43)
| Jan 15 |
Strauss Taillefer, cond Hugh Ross - NY Phil, Schola Cantorum, Carnegie Hall
| Feb 9 |
Friends of Music: FG soloist in Bach's Phoebus & Pan, cond Arthur Bodanzky - Little Theater Op Co. Mecca Aud., NYC.
| Edita Fleischer, s; Marion Telva, c; George Meader, t; Max Bloch, t all from Met; FG, bar; Dudley Warwick, bass Mar |
Fraser Gange's last US Columbia release 2097-D Border Ballad /Rolling Down to Rio.
Most of that series were re-issued by Columbia between 1930 and 1934.
| Mar 9 |
Amy Evans was first woman to sing at Harvard Club, Ethyl Cave Cole, accomp.
Harvard Club, 27w 44th St. NYC
| Mar 24 |
FG sings German Requiem, cond Koussevitzky - Brahms festival -
BSO, Sym. Hall, Boston. Janet Vreeland, s; Fraser Gange, bar; Harvard Glee Club; Radcliffe Choral Society
| July 25 |
FG/AE joint soloists, Beethoven 9, cond. Smallens - Philadelphia O, Robin Hood Dell, Fairmont Pk.
| Amy Evans, sop; Dorothea Flexer, contralto; Dan Gridley, tenor, FG, bar Dec 6 |
Beethoven Symphony #9, cond Koussevitzky - BSO, Wash DC.
Janet Vreeland, s; Nevada Van der Veer, c; Dan Gridley , t; FG, b; local chorus of 200
| Dec 21 |
Friends of Music: FG soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio (cut version), cond Artur Bodanzky
- Metropolitan Opera House, NYC. Ethyl Hayden,s Matzenauer, c; George Meader, t; FG, bar
| 1931 (age 44)
| Feb 6 |
Schubert's Dichterliebe, Cave Cole accomp - also on bill: Arthur Loesser/ Howard Brill, Budapest String Quartet
| Beethoven Association, Town Hall, NYC Mar 24-29 |
Bach Festival, B-minor Mass, Magnificat, 4 Cantatas, cond Koussevitzky -
BSO, Sym. Hall, Boston. Amy Evans, s; Margaret Matzenauer, c, Richard Crooks, t; FG, bar. Harvard & Radcliffe glee clubs.
| Apr 19 |
AE/FG, soloists at annual MacDowell Club Bach Evening, Philip James cond.
broadcast on WOR - Prog: prelude to Church CantataNo. 160, Peasant Cantata, motet "Jesu, meine Freude," for 5-pt chor. "Wir glauben all' an einen Gott."
| Apr 23, 24, 25 |
FG soloist at subscription series closing concert. Beethoven program: Edgemont Ov, Benedictus from Missa Solemnis, 9th Sym, cond Sokoloff - Cleveland O, Severance Hall.
| J. Vreeland, s; Nevada Van der Veer, m; Dan Gridley, t May 5? |
FG sings Brahms Requiem at opening concert of Cincinatti Symphony's 29th May Festival, Eugene Goosens cond., Cincinatti Sym,
| May 6 |
Bach's Phoebus & Pan and Mahler 8 at Cincinatti's May Festival, Goosens cond. - Cincinatti Sym,
| - Bach: J. Vreeland, Muriel Brunskill, Dan Gridley, Gange, Herbert Gould, Guy Harris - Mahler: Vreeland, Editha Fleischer, Eleanor Reynolds, Brunskill, Helene Kessing, Gridley, Gange, Gould May 7 |
FG sang Wolfram in Act 1 Tanhauser, Cincinatti's May Festival, Goosens cond. Cincinatti Sym.
| Coe Glade: Venus, Widdop: Tanhauser, Mary Conrey Thurman, Guy Harris, Robert J Thurman, George Mulhauser, Edward Woelters. Orpheus Club male voices May 9 |
FG sings Delius "Sea Drift" at closing concert of Cincinatti May Festival, Goosens cond. Cincinatti Sym,
| Nov. 25 |
Artists Recital - Series A - solo - Juilliard School - Ethel Cave-Cole accomp. 130 Claremont Ave. Cnct Hall, NYC
| Dec |
Announcement in Musical America of FG's appointment to Faculty at Peabody Conservatory, succeeding the late George Castelle. Baltimore, MD. He worked there until his retirement in 1957.
| Dec 13 |
Supplementary recital, George Bolek accomp, Peabody Conservatory
| 1932 (age 45)
| 1932 |
FG begins his teaching career at Peabody Conservatory, meanwhile maintaining his residence in NYC.
| Jan 16 |
Benefit recital, FG sharing bill with Stradivarius String Quartet, White Plains HS, NY
| Mar 27 |
Bach B-minor Mass, cond Koussevitzky - BSO, Symphony Hall, Boston. Amy Evans, s; Margaret Matzenauer, c, Richard Crooks, t; Fraser Gange, Bar. This was Gange's last appearance with the BSO.
| Apr 7, 8, 9 |
Sang the Old Sailor in Pierne's, "The Children's Crusade", cond. Sokoloff - Cleveland O. Gange's second and last appearance with Cleveland (despite 1936 listing in Cleveland Annals)
| Jun 1932 |
Fraser Gange appointed professor of voice on faculty of the newly established Juilliard Summer School.
| Jul 28 |
FG's first recital for Juilliard Summer School
| Oct 28 |
FG recital Peabody.
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Revised July 2005
