Henry Cowell (1897-1965)

Series

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

2015

A World Of Music

20151019

American composer Henry Cowell, one of the twentieth century's innovators, whose life is as extraordinary as his music.

Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character-assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his stepmother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music.

Across the week Donald Macleod is joined by Joel Sachs, conductor, pianist, professor at Juilliard School and author of a comprehensive biography of Henry Cowell. They begin by looking at Cowell's formative years. His unorthodox childhood fostered an independence of mind which fed into the musical ideas he developed later in pieces such as Fabric and The Harp of Life, the latter recorded by Joel Sachs specially for Composer of the Week. 'Old American Country Set' is Cowell's homage to the mid-West, where he and his mother lived temporarily with his aunt and there's a round-up of Cowell's musical preoccupations in the twenties to be experienced in his joyously brilliant Piano Concerto of 1928.

Henry Cowell, piano

Return

William Trigg, percussion

Kory Grossman, percussion

Rex Benincasa, percussion

Manhatten Chamber Orchestra

Richard Auldon Clark, conductor

Four Combinations for Three Instruments

Picasso Ensemble

Susan Brown, violin,

Karen Andrie, cello,

Josephine Gandolfi, piano

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

Jeremy Denk, piano

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor.

Donald Macleod looks at Henry Cowell's unorthodox childhood.

2015

Musical Pioneer

20151020

During the 1920s Henry Cowell becomes an international concert pianist yet his music continues to divide opinion.

Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music.

Cowell's concert appearances were not without controversy. European modernists like Schoenberg and Bartok took him seriously, but his use of tone clusters and direct manipulation of the piano's strings scandalized audiences and critics alike, a situation that made him both a figure of some notoriety and highly in demand. Donald Macleod is again joined by Joel Sachs, conductor, pianist, professor at Juilliard School and author of a comprehensive biography of Henry Cowell.

Polyphonica

Continuum

The Sleep Music of the Dagna

Tiger

Irish Suite for String Piano and Small Orchestra

Cheryl Seltzer, piano

Quartet Euphometric

Colorado Quartet

Julie Rosenfeld, violin

Deborah Redding, violin

Francesca Martin Silos, viola

Diane Chaplin, cello

Synchrony

San Francisco Symphony

Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor.

Donald Macleod details Cowell's concert appearances, which were not without controversy.

2015

A Life Interrupted

20151021

Henry Cowell's music-making is curtailed after he pleads guilty to a morals charge and is sent to San Quentin prison.

Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own brand of modernist pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936, when in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music.

In the third part of this week's series, Donald Macleod discusses the reasons behind Henry Cowell's incarceration in San Quentin with Joel Sachs, author of a comprehensive biography of the composer. Sachs, who knew Cowell's widow and had full access to Cowell's private papers, has done extensive research into the circumstances surrounding this extraordinary case, which even the prosecutor described as trivial.

Dance of Sport 'Competitive Sport

California Parallele Ensemble

Nicole Paiement, director

The Universal Flute

Ralph Samuelson, shakuhachi

Sound form No.1

Leta Miller, flute

Mark Brandenburg, clarinet

Jane Orzel, bassoon

Russell Greenberg, percussion

Michael Strunk, percussion

Where she lies

Mary Ann Hart, mezzo soprano

Jeanne Golan, piano

Deep Color

Symphony No. 11

The Louisville Orchestra

Robert S. Whitney, conductor.

Donald Macleod discusses Cowell's incarceration in San Quentin prison on a morals charge.

2015

Starting Over

20151022

Released from prison on parole, Henry Cowell moves to New York to begin the difficult task of rebuilding his musical career.

Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music.

The terms of parole required Cowell to have a sponsor. The composer Percy Grainger offered both a roof over his head and a small salary for work as his assistant. Working largely to commission, Cowell's compositions from the 1940s reflect his interest in writing for unusual combinations of instruments and an integration of modernist principles into larger form works, heard here in the Quartet and his Variations for Orchestra. Cowell expert, conductor and pianist Joel Sachs has recorded Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 6, a piece that's yet to be made available in published form, specially for Composer of the Week, and he joins Donald Macleod once again in discussion.

Rhumba from American Melting Pot,

Manhattan Chamber Orchestra

Richard Auldon Clark, conductor

Two Woofs

Hymn & Fuguing Tune No. 6

Pulse

The New Music Consort

Quartet for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord, 1st movement

Jayn Rosenfeld, flute

Marsha Heller, oboe

Maria Kitsopoulos, cello

Cheryl Seltzer, harpsichord

Polish National Radio Orchestra

William Strickland, conductor.

Donald Macleod explores Cowell's 1940s compositions, largely written to commission.

2015

05 LAST

The Extraordinary Entrepreneur

20151023

Henry Cowell embarks on an ambitious, year-long world tour and experiences the music of other cultures first-hand.

Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music.

For the last time Donald Macleod is joined by Joel Sachs, conductor, pianist, professor at Juilliard School and author of a comprehensive biography of Henry Cowell. Today they discuss Cowell's later projects, his life-long fascination with world music and his absorption of the rhythms and sounds he heard while undertaking a world tour with his wife, the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins. There's a rare opportunity to hear Cowell's 'Madras' Symphony, in a recording made by Joel Sachs with the New Juilliard Ensemble.

Firelight and Lamp

Robert Osborne, bass-baritone

Jeanne Golan, piano

Dynamic Motion

Henry Cowell, piano

Set of Five, Finale

Marily Dubow, violin

Gordon Gottlieb, percussion

Persian Set, 1st movement

Manhattan Chamber Orchestra

Richard Auldon-Clark, conductor

Symphony No.13 (Madras)

26 Simultaneous Mosaics

Jo-Ann Sternberg, clarinet

Deborah Redding, violin

Dorothy Lawson, cello

William Trigg, percussion

Amy Rubin, piano.

Donald Macleod explores Cowell's later projects.

Episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
2015	01	A World Of Music	20151019	American composer Henry Cowell, one of the twentieth century's innovators, whose life is as extraordinary as his music. Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character-assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his stepmother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music. Across the week Donald Macleod is joined by Joel Sachs, conductor, pianist, professor at Juilliard School and author of a comprehensive biography of Henry Cowell. They begin by looking at Cowell's formative years. His unorthodox childhood fostered an independence of mind which fed into the musical ideas he developed later in pieces such as Fabric and The Harp of Life, the latter recorded by Joel Sachs specially for Composer of the Week. 'Old American Country Set' is Cowell's homage to the mid-West, where he and his mother lived temporarily with his aunt and there's a round-up of Cowell's musical preoccupations in the twenties to be experienced in his joyously brilliant Piano Concerto of 1928. Henry Cowell, piano Return William Trigg, percussion Kory Grossman, percussion Rex Benincasa, percussion Manhatten Chamber Orchestra Richard Auldon Clark, conductor Four Combinations for Three Instruments Picasso Ensemble Susan Brown, violin, Karen Andrie, cello, Josephine Gandolfi, piano San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Jeremy Denk, piano Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor. Donald Macleod looks at Henry Cowell's unorthodox childhood.
2015	02	Musical Pioneer	20151020	During the 1920s Henry Cowell becomes an international concert pianist yet his music continues to divide opinion. Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music. Cowell's concert appearances were not without controversy. European modernists like Schoenberg and Bartok took him seriously, but his use of tone clusters and direct manipulation of the piano's strings scandalized audiences and critics alike, a situation that made him both a figure of some notoriety and highly in demand. Donald Macleod is again joined by Joel Sachs, conductor, pianist, professor at Juilliard School and author of a comprehensive biography of Henry Cowell. Polyphonica Continuum The Sleep Music of the Dagna Tiger Irish Suite for String Piano and Small Orchestra Cheryl Seltzer, piano Quartet Euphometric Colorado Quartet Julie Rosenfeld, violin Deborah Redding, violin Francesca Martin Silos, viola Diane Chaplin, cello Synchrony San Francisco Symphony Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor. Donald Macleod details Cowell's concert appearances, which were not without controversy.
2015	03	A Life Interrupted	20151021	Henry Cowell's music-making is curtailed after he pleads guilty to a morals charge and is sent to San Quentin prison. Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own brand of modernist pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936, when in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music. In the third part of this week's series, Donald Macleod discusses the reasons behind Henry Cowell's incarceration in San Quentin with Joel Sachs, author of a comprehensive biography of the composer. Sachs, who knew Cowell's widow and had full access to Cowell's private papers, has done extensive research into the circumstances surrounding this extraordinary case, which even the prosecutor described as trivial. Dance of Sport 'Competitive Sport California Parallele Ensemble Nicole Paiement, director The Universal Flute Ralph Samuelson, shakuhachi Sound form No.1 Leta Miller, flute Mark Brandenburg, clarinet Jane Orzel, bassoon Russell Greenberg, percussion Michael Strunk, percussion Where she lies Mary Ann Hart, mezzo soprano Jeanne Golan, piano Deep Color Symphony No. 11 The Louisville Orchestra Robert S. Whitney, conductor. Donald Macleod discusses Cowell's incarceration in San Quentin prison on a morals charge.
2015	04	Starting Over	20151022	Released from prison on parole, Henry Cowell moves to New York to begin the difficult task of rebuilding his musical career. Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music. The terms of parole required Cowell to have a sponsor. The composer Percy Grainger offered both a roof over his head and a small salary for work as his assistant. Working largely to commission, Cowell's compositions from the 1940s reflect his interest in writing for unusual combinations of instruments and an integration of modernist principles into larger form works, heard here in the Quartet and his Variations for Orchestra. Cowell expert, conductor and pianist Joel Sachs has recorded Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 6, a piece that's yet to be made available in published form, specially for Composer of the Week, and he joins Donald Macleod once again in discussion. Rhumba from American Melting Pot, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra Richard Auldon Clark, conductor Two Woofs Hymn & Fuguing Tune No. 6 Pulse The New Music Consort Quartet for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord, 1st movement Jayn Rosenfeld, flute Marsha Heller, oboe Maria Kitsopoulos, cello Cheryl Seltzer, harpsichord Polish National Radio Orchestra William Strickland, conductor. Donald Macleod explores Cowell's 1940s compositions, largely written to commission.
2015	05 LAST	The Extraordinary Entrepreneur	20151023	Henry Cowell embarks on an ambitious, year-long world tour and experiences the music of other cultures first-hand. Cowell's life is as unique as his music. Born in 1897 in Menlo Park, California his childhood was punctuated by periods of extreme poverty, which he alleviated by finding various means to earn money, including working as a cowherd and as a wildflower collector. Largely home schooled, his education was derived from his own natural curiosity. As a consequence Cowell acquired an encyclopaedic knowledge in diverse fields, yet he was unable to spell or do arithmetic with any degree of proficiency. A chance encounter with Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman led to the recognition of his exceptional mind, and to some funding for a more formalised education, including studying with Charles Seeger at Stanford. Cowell carved out a career as an international concert pianist, presenting his own avant-garde pieces, despite the occasional riot and character assassinating reviews. Cowell's musical activities were interrupted in 1936. Then in his late thirties, Cowell pleaded guilty to a morals charge and spent four years in San Quentin prison. It was due to the efforts of his step-mother Olive and the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins Robertson, who later became his wife, that he was released on parole in 1940. Two years later he received a pardon from the California governor, which allowed him to take up a position within the US Office of War Information and later on for Cowell to receive several awards and accolades in respect of his outstanding contribution to music. For the last time Donald Macleod is joined by Joel Sachs, conductor, pianist, professor at Juilliard School and author of a comprehensive biography of Henry Cowell. Today they discuss Cowell's later projects, his life-long fascination with world music and his absorption of the rhythms and sounds he heard while undertaking a world tour with his wife, the folk-music scholar Sidney Hawkins. There's a rare opportunity to hear Cowell's 'Madras' Symphony, in a recording made by Joel Sachs with the New Juilliard Ensemble. Firelight and Lamp Robert Osborne, bass-baritone Jeanne Golan, piano Dynamic Motion Henry Cowell, piano Set of Five, Finale Marily Dubow, violin Gordon Gottlieb, percussion Persian Set, 1st movement Manhattan Chamber Orchestra Richard Auldon-Clark, conductor Symphony No.13 (Madras) 26 Simultaneous Mosaics Jo-Ann Sternberg, clarinet Deborah Redding, violin Dorothy Lawson, cello William Trigg, percussion Amy Rubin, piano. Donald Macleod explores Cowell's later projects.