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Leroy Anderson 1908 - 1975

Leroy Anderson of Woodbury, Litchfield County, CT was born on June 29, 1908 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts United States, and died at age 66 years old on May 18, 1975 in Woodbury, Litchfield County, CT. Leroy Anderson was buried on May 21, 1975 in Woodbury.

Leroy Anderson

Woodbury, Litchfield County, CT 06798

June 29, 1908

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States

May 18, 1975

Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, 06798, United States

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Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson (1908 - 1975)

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Leroy Anderson's History: 1908 - 1975

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Introduction

Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, of which many were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music." Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Swedish parents, Anderson was given his first piano lessons by his mother, who was a church organist. He continued studying piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1925 Anderson entered Harvard College, where he studied musical harmony with Walter Spalding, counterpoint with Edward Ballantine, canon and fugue with William C. Heilman, orchestration with Edward B. Hill and Walter Piston, composition, also with Piston, and double bass with Gaston Dufresne. He also studied organ with Henry Gideon. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude in 1929 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In Harvard University Graduate School, he studied composition with Walter Piston and George Enescu and received a Master of Arts in Music in 1930. Career Anderson continued studying at Harvard, working towards a PhD in German and Scandinavian languages; Anderson spoke English and Swedish during his youth, and eventually became fluent in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese. At the time he was working as organist and choir director at the East Milton Congregational Church, leading the Harvard University Band, and conducting and arranging for dance bands around Boston. In 1936 his arrangements came to the attention of Arthur Fiedler, who asked to see any original compositions that he could use in his concerts as the 18th conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra at Symphony Hall. Anderson's first work was the 1938 Jazz Pizzicato, but at just over ninety seconds the piece was too short for a three-minute 78 rpm single of the period. Fiedler suggested writing a companion piece, and Anderson wrote Jazz Legato later that same year. The combined recording went on to become one of Anderson's signature compositions. In 1942 Anderson joined the United States Army, and was assigned in Iceland with the U.S. Counterintelligence Corps as a translator and interpreter; in 1945 he was reassigned to the Pentagon as Chief of the Scandinavian Desk of Military Intelligence. His duties did not, however, prevent him from composing, and in 1945 he wrote "The Syncopated Clock" and "Promenade". Anderson became a reserve officer and was recalled to active duty for the Korean War. He wrote his first hit, "Blue Tango", in 1951, earning a Golden Disc and the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. His pieces and his recordings during the 1950s conducting a studio orchestra were immense commercial successes. "Blue Tango" was the first instrumental recording ever to sell one million copies. His most famous pieces are probably "Sleigh Ride" and "The Syncopated Clock". In February 1951, WCBS-TV in New York City selected "The Syncopated Clock" as the theme song for The Late Show, the WCBS late-night movie, using Percy Faith's recording. Mitchell Parish added words to "The Syncopated Clock", and later wrote lyrics for other Anderson tunes, including "Sleigh Ride", which was not written as a Christmas piece, but as a work that describes a winter event. Anderson started the work during a heat wave in August 1946. The Boston Pops' recording of it was the first pure orchestral piece to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Music chart. From 1952 to 1961, Anderson's composition "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" was used as the theme for the CBS panel show I've Got a Secret. Anderson's musical style employs creative instrumental effects and occasionally makes use of sound-generating items such as typewriters and sandpaper. Anderson wrote his Piano Concerto in C in 1953 but withdrew it, feeling that it had weak spots. The Anderson family decided to publish the work in 1988. Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra released the first recording of this work; four other recordings, including one for piano and organ, have since been released. In 1958, Anderson composed the music for the Broadway show Goldilocks with orchestrations by Philip J. Lang. Even though it earned two Tony awards, Goldilocks did not achieve commercial success. Anderson never wrote another musical, preferring instead to continue writing orchestral miniatures. His pieces, including "The Typewriter", "Bugler's Holiday", and "A Trumpeter's Lullaby" are performed by orchestras and bands ranging from school groups to professional organizations. Anderson would occasionally appear on the Boston Pops regular concerts on PBS to conduct his own music while Fiedler would sit on the sidelines. For "The Typewriter" Fiedler would don a green eyeshade, roll up his sleeves, and mime working on an old typewriter while the orchestra played. American film comedian Jerry Lewis recorded a sketch in black and white using the stage name Pietro Del Canto using a real typewriter and an even cleverer sketch in colour miming with an imaginary typewriter, both to the sound of this tune. Anderson was initiated as an honorary member of the Gamma Omega chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at Indiana State University in 1969. Death In 1975, Anderson died of cancer in Woodbury, Connecticut and was buried there.
06/29

1908

Birthday

June 29, 1908

Birthdate

Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts United States

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Swedish American. During WW2 he was stationed in Iceland as a TRANSLATOR.
Nationality & Locations

He spent most of his life in CT which is very close to New York City and Boston, Massachusetts.
Early Life & Education

In 1925 Anderson entered Harvard College, where he studied musical harmony with Walter Spalding, counterpoint with Edward Ballantine, canon and fugue with William C. Heilman, orchestration with Edward B. Hill and Walter Piston, composition, also with Piston, and double bass with Gaston Dufresne. He also studied organ with Henry Gideon. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude in 1929 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In Harvard University Graduate School, he studied composition with Walter Piston and George Enescu and received a Master of Arts in Music in 1930.
Religious Beliefs

Lutheran. His mother was a church organist.
Military Service

Doubting that he could achieve the musical career he wanted, he began studying for a Ph.D. degree in Scandinavian languages. But by 1935 he was again engaged in arranging, composing and conducting. In World War II, Mr. Anderson's language qualifications earned him an assignment to Iceland in 1942 and then to a Washington post in military intelligence. He was recalled to active duty in 1951, in the Korean war, in which his service alternated between running an officer's bar at Fort Bragg, N. C., and doing intelligence work. Anderson continued studying at Harvard, working towards a PhD in German and Scandinavian languages; Anderson spoke English and Swedish during his youth, and eventually became fluent in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese. In 1942 Anderson joined the United States Army, and was assigned in Iceland with the U.S. Counterintelligence Corps as a translator and interpreter; in 1945 he was reassigned to the Pentagon as Chief of the Scandinavian Desk of Military Intelligence. His duties did not, however, prevent him from composing, and in 1945 he wrote "The Syncopated Clock" and "Promenade". Anderson became a reserve officer and was recalled to active duty for the Korean War.
Professional Career

Discography The following is a selected discography of original recordings by Leroy Anderson. They were released from 1958 to 1962 on 331⁄3 rpm discs and on digitally remastered compact discs released posthumously. 78 rpm and 45 rpm discs from 1945 to 1962, and releases of identical recordings on different labels in U.K., Germany, New Zealand and elsewhere, are not listed. Recordings by Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson Conducts His Own Compositions (Decca DL 7509; 1950) Leroy Anderson Conducts His Own Compositions Vol. 2 (Decca DL 7519; 1951) Leroy Anderson's Irish Suite (Decca DL 4050; 1952) Christmas Carols (Decca DL-8193; 1955) Leroy Anderson conducts Blue Tango and Other Favorites (Decca DL 8121; 1958) A Christmas Festival (Decca DL 78925 (s); 1959) Leroy Anderson Conducts Leroy Anderson (Decca DL 78865 (s); 1959) Leroy Anderson Conducts His Music (Decca DL 78954 (s); 1960) The New Music of Leroy Anderson (Decca DL 74335 (s); 1962) The Leroy Anderson Collection (Digitally remastered from original Decca analog recordings) (MCA Classics MCAD2-9815-A & B; 1988) The Best of Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride (Digitally remastered from original Decca analog master recordings) (MCA Classics MCAD −11710; 1997) Honors and awards Phi Beta Kappa, elected June 17, 1929. Music Director, Harvard University Band 1929, 1931–1935[16] Gold Record, Blue Tango, 1952 Member, Board of Directors, ASCAP, New York, New York 1960–1964 Member, Music Department Committee, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1962–1968 Goldman Citation, American Bandmasters Association, March 10, 1966 Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Gamma Omega Chapter (honorary member), Indiana State University, 1969 Member of Board of Directors of symphony orchestras: New Haven, Connecticut 1969–1975
Personal Life & Family

The United States Army.
05/18

1975

Death

May 18, 1975

Death date

Cancer

Cause of death

Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut 06798, United States
Death location

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05/21

1975

Gravesite & Burial

May 21, 1975

Funeral date
Woodbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut 06798, United States
Burial location
Obituary

WOODBURY, Conn., May 18 (UPI)—Leroy Anderson, composer of popular music who wrote the wintertime standard “Sleigh Ride” during an August heat wave, as well as “Blue Tango,” died today of lung cancer at his home. He was 66 years old. “Blue Tango,” which sold more than a million records, was the first instrumental piece to reach the top of the Hit Parade. That was in 1952. All his hits were instrumentals and usually featured familiar sounds as in “The Syncopated Clock,” “The Typewriter,” which used a carriage bell; “The Waltzing Cat” and “The Sandpaper Ballet.” For the last, he used medium, fine and coarse sandpaper to duplicate the sound of vaudeville soft‐shoe dancers. Mr. Anderson was a longtime friend of Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops, who conducted many of his works. He was the son of Swedish immigrants, who settled in Cambridge, Mass., so that their son could attend Harvard. His mother was a church organist who taught him piano, “as soon as he was tall enough to reach the keyboard.” His father, a postal employe, taught his 12‐year‐old‐ son to play the trombone. As a student, he led the Harvard University band. He was fluent in nine languages and put this to use as a captain in the Army during World War II and in the Korean war. “I never aimed for success or money or fame,” Mr. Anderson once said. “I just did what I wanted to do. It turned out that people liked it.” He is survived by his widow, the former Eleanor Jane Firke; three sons, Eric, Rolf and Kurt: a daughter, Jane, and a brother, Russell. Won Music Scholarship Mr. Anderson came out of Harvard in 1929, having majored in music and studied composition under Walter Piston and Georges Enesco, and received a music scholarship that won him a master's degree in 1930. Doubting that he could achieve the musical career he wanted, he began studying for a Ph.D. degree in Scandinavian languages. But by 1935 he was again engaged in arranging, composing and conducting. In World War II, Mr. Anderson's language qualifications earned him an assignment to Iceland in 1942 and then to a Washington post in military in telligence. He was recalled to active duty in 1951, in the Korean war, in which his service alternated between running an officer's bar at Fort Bragg, N. C., and doing intelligence work. Editors’ Picks ‘Saturday Night Live’ Finds a New Joe Biden After Jim Carrey Exits Her Wrist Was Swollen and Excruciatingly Painful. Steroids Didn’t Help Much. What Books Should Biden Read? We Asked 22 Writers An unabashed composer of light music, Mr. Anderson was one of those credited with raising the standards and range of this field. When the Boston Symphony Orchestra toured Ireland in 1956, it performed the European premiere of his “Eire Suite,” based on traditional Irish airs. Guest Conductor in Park Mr. Anderson was often a guest conductor at the Guggenheim Memorial Concerts in Central Park, usually conducting some of his own compositions. At a 1954 concert of the upstate Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the conductor, Walter Hendel, got into the spirit of Mr. Anderson's “The Typewriter” by wheeling out a typewriter and “playing” it as a solo “instrument.” Among Mr. Anderson's other songs are “Fiddle Faddle,” “Jazz Legato,” “Jazz Pizzicato,” “The Penny Whistle Song,” “Forgotten Dreams,” “A Trumpeter's Lullaby,” “Sere nata,” “Promenade,” “China Doll” and “Saraband.” A study conducted by the American Symphony Orchestra League in 1953 found that Mr. Anderson was the American composer whose works were most frequently performed, followed by Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Samuel Barber and Richard Rodgers.

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