{"id":15181,"date":"2022-10-03T11:29:40","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T15:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/?p=15181"},"modified":"2026-01-23T11:27:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:27:54","slug":"oct3-oct9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/2022\/10\/oct3-oct9\/","title":{"rendered":"Oct 3rd – 9th: \u2019Evening at Eastman\u2019 makes its debut on the air"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1727463884333{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”]Published on Oct 3, 2022\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Back to This Week at Eastman<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1727463908622{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”1958: \u2019Evening at Eastman\u2019 makes its debut on the air” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1665078035187{border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;border-left-color: #dddddd !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #dddddd !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #dddddd !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top” gap=”10″ css=”.vc_custom_1665155685742{margin-bottom: -10px !important;padding-bottom: -30px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1727464013558{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Sixty-four years ago this week, on the evening of Monday, October 6th<\/sup>, 1958, a new radio program comprised explicitly of Eastman School content made its debut on station WVET-AM in Rochester.\u00a0 Co-sponsored by the University of Rochester and the Veterans Broadcasting Company (WVET), \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d was launched to be a nightly broadcast each weeknight from 9 pm until 10 pm.\u00a0 Documents in the Eastman School of Music Archives[1]<\/a><\/sup> confirm that \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d represented a well-planned initiative to bring to the Rochester community the high-caliber music-making of the Eastman School of Music.\u00a0 Development of the program had been informed by a one-and-a-half-year study and evaluation of the feasibility and possibilities of such an endeavor. \u00a0To mark the program\u2019s launch, several community leaders expressed their support in public statements, including Mr. Ervin F. Lyke, President of Veterans Broadcasting Company (WVET), co-sponsor of the program; Dr. C. W. de Kiewiet, President of the University of Rochester; Mr. John Louther, President of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists; and, Mr. Walter Lynch, President of Local 22, National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians.\u00a0 In the words of WVET\u2019s Ervin Lyke, \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d represented a \u201cnew concept in radio programming\u201d for the people of Rochester in that the entire performing forces of the Eastman School of Music would be brought to the airwaves and into the community\u2019s homes and places of business and wherever locals happened to be tuning in.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1727464099057{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]In format, each \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d nightly program consisted of selections of recorded music drawn from the master discs and tapes of Eastman School live concert recordings, supplemented by newly recorded commentary and conversation.\u00a0 All facets of performance were represented: large ensembles, chamber, solo instrumental and vocal, and operatic, featuring all of the Eastman School\u2019s ensembles and many solo performers, students and faculty members alike.\u00a0 Responsibility for the program\u2019s repertory was initially assumed by Director Howard Hanson, Professor Paul White (Conducting and Ensembles), and Professor Frederick Fennell (Conducting and Ensembles).\u00a0 Mr. Don Lyon, Director of Television and Radio for the University of Rochester, bore ultimate responsibility for programming.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”15182″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”15183″ img_size=”400×500″ add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css=”.vc_custom_1665156115121{padding-bottom: -30px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top” gap=”5″ css=”.vc_custom_1651867019372{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1727464113334{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]To underscore, \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d transmitted not music performed live in the moment, but instead, the previously made recordings of live performances, drawn from the collection that today we call the Eastman Audio Archive.\u00a0 As several writers have noted,[2]<\/a><\/sup> there had been live radio broadcasts from the Eastman School in earlier decades, beginning in 1922 via the newly established station WHAM, the apparatus of which was situated in the Eastman Theater.\u00a0 The first Eastman School event to be broadcast live was a Kilbourn Hall piano recital given by faculty member Raymond Wilson[3]<\/a> <\/sup>on July 11th, 1922.\u00a0 In the following decade, beginning on January 7th, 1931, the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra under conductor Samuel Belov[4]<\/a><\/sup> was heard in a series of half-hour concerts broadcast weekly by station WHAM and carried nationally on the NBC network, believed to be the first occasion when any student orchestra had presented a regular series of broadcasts over a national network. \u00a0In the spring of 1947, the NBC network resumed live broadcasts from the Eastman School with a series of fifteen programs of chamber music, featuring faculty members and students alike.\u00a0 There were still other live radio broadcasts besides these, all confirming the Eastman School\u2019s lively presence on the airwaves by means of the new medium of radio.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1727464232609{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d was on the air for at least four seasons, during which time a wide range of programming was presented, with students and faculty members receiving equal billing.\u00a0 The program\u2019s debut on air was in the same month that the Eastman Philharmonia made its debut concert appearance, and from the very start, Hanson ensured that the Philharmonia received exposure.\u00a0 Among the other ensembles appearing on \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d was Frederick Fennell\u2019s Eastman Chamber Orchestra, a summertime ensemble comprised of faculty members and students performing together.[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 One sample program was the \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d broadcast of March 24th, 1961, when the selections consisted of Pastorale <\/em>by Tartini (performed by the ECO on July 17th, 1958, Sonata for flute, violin, and viola <\/em>(performed on July 8th, 1958), and Concerto in B-flat major, <\/em>K. 456 by Mozart (performed on July 24th, 1958), with soloist Jos\u00e9 Ech\u00e1niz.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

In the 1960-61 season, Howard Hanson\u2019s American music interests were promoted on \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d with a series under the title \u201cHistory of American Orchestral Music\u201d that spanned twenty-one program installments.\u00a0 The bulk of the content represented recordings by the Eastman-Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Hanson\u2019s highly regarded recording ensemble that had been featured on recordings on the RCA Victor, Columbia, and Mercury Records labels.\u00a0 As Hanson had done in the concert hall, so he did on \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d\u2014that is, he lovingly presented to the audience not only the well-known audience favorites, but also many works heard less frequently.\u00a0 Thus, one program in that series featured works by Charles M. Loeffler and Charles Tomlinson Griffes, and another featured works by Herbert Elwell (these three not entirely household names in much of the nation). Still another program in Hanson\u2019s \u201cAmerican Orchestral Music\u201d series showcased pianist Eugene List[7]<\/a>,<\/sup> who was heard in George Gershwin\u2019s Concerto in F\u00a0 <\/em>and Rhapsody in Blue, <\/em>\u00a0with the chamber work The Winter\u2019s Past\u00a0 <\/em>by faculty member Wayne Barlow[8]<\/a> <\/sup>placed between them. Hanson\u2019s \u201cHistory of American Orchestral Music\u201d series received national recognition when the National Association of Educational Broadcasters selected it to be aired over its radio network.<\/p>\n

In addition, there was a periodic \u201cMeet the Faculty\u201d feature on \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d with focus on one particular faculty artist at a time.\u00a0 The broadcast of October 27th, 1961 profiled pianist Cecile Staub Genhart[9]<\/sup><\/a>, featuring three works that Mrs. Genhart had performed in a Kilbourn Hall recital earlier that year on February 3rd, 1961: the Bach-Busoni Chaconne <\/em>in D minor, Scenes from Childhood <\/em>by Robert Schumann, and the imposing Variations on a Theme by Handel <\/em>\u00a0by Johannes Brahms.\u00a0 (In her Kilbourn Hall recital she had also performed Ludwig van Beethoven\u2019s Sonata in F-sharp major, opus 78, which was not included in the \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d broadcast.)<\/p>\n

The letters of appreciation that Dr. Hanson received from listeners in the local community bear witness to the Rochester community\u2019s satisfaction and enjoyment.\u00a0 Although \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d did not remain on the air for an appreciably long length of time, it represented a first-of-its-kind broadcasting venture in Rochester, and one by which the Eastman School presented a diverse audio profile of itself to the outside community.\u00a0 Other initiatives involving the Eastman School on the air will be featured in future \u201cThis Week at Eastman\u201d entries.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top” gap=”10″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1664294037966{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_images_carousel images=”15186,15187″ img_size=”330×475″ css=”.vc_custom_1665076765056{margin-top: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=””]\u25baPrinted advertisements for WVET and WROC, two of Rochester\u2019s radio stations, which appeared in local concert programs. Both of these stations bore responsibility for transmission of \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d between 1958 and 1962. In the 1961-62 season the Veterans Broadcasting Company purchased WROC-TV\/FM. Besides the migration from callsign WVET to WROC, \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d underwent another major change during its run, which was the change in time slot from 9pm\/10pm to 7pm\/8pm. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1664294029820{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_images_carousel images=”15184,15185″ img_size=”330×475″ css=”.vc_custom_1665155988839{margin-top: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u25ba Publicity for \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d took the form of printed advertisements in local concert programs and in other publications, such as is seen here; in addition, the weekly program listings were published in the Rochester press at the start of each week. Eastman School concert program file. <\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1664294046691{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_images_carousel images=”15188,15189,15190″ img_size=”330×475″ css=”.vc_custom_1665077177457{margin-top: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=””]\u25ba Among Frederick Fennell\u2019s papers are some samples of \u201cEvening at Eastman\u201d programs.\u00a0 The two programs shown here are accompanied by a note to Dr. Fennell from Don Lyon, Director of Television and Radio for the University of Rochester, who bore ultimate responsibility for the programming.\u00a0 Frederick Fennell Papers, accession no. 993.9.\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1665156567790{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Primarily in the Howard Hanson Collection (accession no. 997.12), the Frederick Fennell Papers (accession no. 993.9), the Rochester Scrapbooks, and the Local Ephemera vertical file.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The content in this paragraph was informed by the writings of Charles Riker (1948), Blake McKelvey (1970), and Vincent Lenti (2021), and by Eastman School printed concert programs which bore indication of radio broadcast whenever applicable.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>\u00a0 Raymond Wilson (1888-1969), American concert pianist and teacher; served on the faculty of the Eastman School (1921-1953), where he was also Director of the Preparatory Department (1935-1953).<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>\u00a0 Samuel Belov (1884-1954), Russian-born violinist and violist; served on the faculty of the Eastman School (1921-1949), where he taught his two instruments and also conducted one of the student orchestras.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Frederick Fennell originated the Eastman Chamber Orchestra and served as its music director each summer for nine seasons (1954 through 1962).\u00a0 The ECO concert of July 26th, 1962 was the occasion of Maestro Fennell\u2019s last bow at Eastman before departing for his new post at the Minneapolis. Symphony Orchestra.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Jos\u00e9 Ech\u00e1niz (1905-1969), Cuban-born concert pianist, conductor, and teacher; served on the Eastman School faculty, 1944-1969.\u00a0 He was especially known for his interpretations of Spanish and Latin-American repertory.<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a>\u00a0 Eugene List (1918-1985), American concert pianist and teacher; served on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music, 1962-1975.\u00a0 While serving in the United States Army Mr. List had had the distinction of performing for assembled leaders Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Harry Truman at the post-War World II Potsdam conference in 1945.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a>\u00a0 Wayne Barlow (1912-1996), American composer and teacher; served on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music 1937-1978.\u00a0 While he composed dozens of works in various genres and for diverse performing forces, his most frequently performed work has remained The Winter\u2019s Past, <\/em>scored for oboe with chamber ensemble.<\/span><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a>\u00a0 Cecile Staub Genhart (1899-1983), Swiss-born concert pianist and teacher; served on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music 1928-1971, 1973-1983. She was known as a staunch advocate for the methods of English pianist-pedagogue Tobias Matthay.<\/span><\/p>\n

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