Edward Collins escapes to Wisconsin

Synopsis

In the 19th century, anybody who had the means would flee the stifling heat of the cities and head for someplace green and shady and cool: a country house, a spa perhaps, or maybe just a modest cabin by a lake.

In the 19th century, it was Brahms who set the fashion for composers to spend their summer months in the countryside working on their music. His violin concerto and Symphony No. 2 were the products of leisurely weeks spent in the lake district of Austria’s Carinthian Alps.

For American composer Edward Collins, the city to be escaped was Chicago, and his country refuge was Cedar Lake, Wisconsin. In 1931, Collins composed a concert piece for piano and orchestra. Like much of Collins’ music, it was premiered by the Chicago Symphony under conductor Frederick Stock, who encouraged young American talent, especially from a local boy like Collins, a native of Joliet, Illinois.

These days the music of Edward Collins has all but disappeared from American concert halls, but conductor Marin Alsop and the Concordia Orchestra recorded a sampling of his major orchestral works for a compact disc series funded by the late composer’s family.

Music Played in Today's Program

Edward J. Collins (1889-1951): Concert Piece in A minor; Leslie Stifelman, piano; Concordia Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor; Albany 267