Boyce Lancaster talks with Maestro Albert-George Schram, former staff conductor of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, about the under-appreciated composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, an American composer and pianist. He was born to a Jewish businessman from London and a Creole mother in New Orleans, where he was exposed to a variety of musical traditions. [audio src="http://wosu.org/audio/classical/2006/Gottschalk.mp3"]
Highlights From This Interview:
Boyce: "One of the first big music stars in terms of performance was Gottschalk, really calling upon the (Caribbean) islands music." Albert-George: "And you realize that his stuff was written in 1836, and here we are doing it still, thinking 'Oh, my. This stuff really cooks.' They already rocked in 1836; we just didn't know about it." Boyce: "And a lot of people don't take him as seriously as they should. He really was a musical voice for America." Albert-George: " I agree. He was not primarily a symphonist. (Aaron) Copeland was not really a symphonist, either. It's in the same level: (their music) was really American, I think."