Hearing The Pulitzers

Episode 17 - 1959: John La Montaine, Piano Concerto No. 1

In this episode, Dave and Andrew discuss John La Montaine's first piano concerto, a work that made a splash in the late 1950s only to disappear from the repertoire. Similarly, La Montaine has faded from view, so what made this work catch the Pulitzer committee's attention?

If you'd like to learn more about John La Montaine, we recommend:

1. Frank Oteri's 2003 interview "Rediscovering John La Montaine"
2. Bruce Duffie's 1989 interview with John La Montaine

3. Erica Beth Weintraub's article “John La Montaine: Life on the Edge” in Music Educators Journal, vol 69, no. 7 (March 1983): 41-43

Episode 16 - 1958: Samuel Barber, Vanessa

In this episode, Dave and Andrew explore the fourth opera to win the Pulitzer Prize in the 1950s, Samuel Barber's Vanessa. In the mid-20th century United States, Samuel Barber was one of the most performed American composers, known especially for his beautiful vocal music that closely mirrored European models. But with the Pulitzer traditionally awarding works that are more "American" in sound, does Vanessa represent a departure from convention for Barber or the Pulitzer board?

If you'd like more information about Samuel Barber or Vanessa we recommend:

1. This fascinating background article in Pasatiempo by James M. Keller
2. Howard Pollack's article "Samuel Barber, Jean Sibelius, and the Making of an American Romantic" in The Musical Quarterly, vol. 84, vo. 2 (Summer, 2000): 175-205
3. Barbara B. Heyman's biography Samuel Barber: The Composer and His Music, 2nd edition (Oxford University Press, 2020) 
4. A synopsis of the opera