Alexander Lafayette Chew Wilder (February 16, 1907 – December 24, 1980)
was an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Def ...
.
Biography
Wilder was born in
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, United States,
to a prominent family; the
Wilder Building downtown (at the "Four Corners") bears the family's name and his maternal grandfather, and namesake, was prominent banker
Alexander Lafayette Chew. As a young boy, he traveled to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with his mother and stayed at the
Algonquin Hotel
The Algonquin Hotel is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett for the Puritan Realty Company. The hotel has hosted numer ...
. It would later be his home for the last 40 or so years of his life.
He attended several
prep schools, unhappily, as a teenager. Around this time, he hired a lawyer and essentially "divorced" himself from his family, gaining for himself some portion of the family fortune.
He was largely self-taught as a composer; he studied privately with the composers Herman Inch and Edward Royce, who taught at the
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.
It offers Bachelor of Music ...
in the 1920s, but never registered for classes and never received his degree. While there, he edited a humor magazine and scored music for short films directed by
James Sibley Watson
James Sibley Watson Jr. (August 10, 1894 – March 31, 1982) was an American medical doctor, philanthropist, publisher, editor, photographer, and early experimenter in motion pictures.
Early life
Born in Rochester, New York, James Sibley Watso ...
. Wilder was eventually awarded an honorary degree in 1973.
He was good friends with
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
,
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
,
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...
and others who helped develop the
American popular music
American popular music has had a profound effect on music across the world. The country has seen the rise of popular styles that have had a significant influence on global culture, including ragtime, blues, jazz, swing, rock, bluegrass, count ...
canon. Among the popular songs he wrote or co-wrote were "
I'll Be Around" (a hit for the
Mills Brothers), "While We're Young" (recorded by Peggy Lee and many others), "Blackberry Winter", "Where Do You Go?" (recorded by Sinatra) and "It's So Peaceful in the Country".
He also wrote many songs for the
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...
artist
Mabel Mercer
Mabel Mercer (3 February 1900 – 20 April 1984) was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned ...
, including one of her signature pieces, "Did You Ever Cross Over to Sneden's?". Wilder also occasionally wrote his own lyrics, including for his most famous song "I'll Be Around".
Other lyricists he worked with included
Loonis McGlohon
Loonis McGlohon (September 29, 1921 – January 26, 2002) was an American songwriter and jazz pianist.
McGlohon was born in Ayden, North Carolina, and graduated from East Carolina University. After a spell in the Air Force during World War II, h ...
,
William Engvick
William Engvick (July 1, 1914 – September 4, 2012) was an American lyricist, many of whose compositions appear in films.
Engvick graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1937. He is best known for his collaborations with co ...
,
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...
and
Fran Landesman
Fran Landesman (October 21, 1927 – July 23, 2011) was an American lyricist and poet. She grew up in New York City and lived for years in St. Louis, Missouri, where her husband Jay Landesman operated the Crystal Palace nightclub. One of her bes ...
.
In addition to writing popular songs, Wilder also composed
classical pieces for unique combinations of orchestral instruments.
The Alec Wilder Octet, including Eastman classmate
Mitch Miller
Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...
on oboe, recorded several of his originals for
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916.
History
From 1916
Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...
in 1938-40. His classical numbers, which often had off-beat, humorous titles ("The Hotel Detective Registers"), were strongly influenced by
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
. He wrote eleven
operas
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libret ...
; one of which, ''Miss Chicken Little'' (1953), was commissioned for television by
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
. Wilder also arranged a series of
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...
s for
Tubachristmas
TubaChristmas is a music concert held in cities worldwide that celebrates those who play, teach, and compose music for instruments in the tuba family, including the tuba, sousaphone, baritone, and euphonium, though some participants bring rarer me ...
.
Sinatra
conducted
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...
the Columbia String Orchestra on ''
Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder'', an album of Wilder's classical music (1946). Wilder also contributed two tone poems, "Grey" and "Blue", to the 1956 album, ''
Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color
''Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color'' is a 1956 album of short tone poems by eight notable mid-20th century Hollywood composers.
The album was conducted by Sinatra and marked the first musical collaboration between Sinatra and Gordon J ...
''.
Wilder wrote the definitive book ''American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950'' (1972).
He was also featured in a radio series based on the book, broadcast in the middle to late 1970s. With lyricist
Loonis McGlohon
Loonis McGlohon (September 29, 1921 – January 26, 2002) was an American songwriter and jazz pianist.
McGlohon was born in Ayden, North Carolina, and graduated from East Carolina University. After a spell in the Air Force during World War II, h ...
(his co-host on the radio series) he composed songs for the
Land of Oz
The Land of Oz is a fantasy world, magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, W. W. Denslow.
Oz consists of four vast quadrants, th ...
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
in
Banner Elk, North Carolina
Banner Elk is a town in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,028 at the 2010 census. Banner Elk is home to Lees–McRae College.
History
The area surrounding the Elk River was inhabited by the Cherokee before weste ...
.
Wilder loved puzzles: he created his own cryptic crosswords, and could spend hours with a
jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete picture.
In t ...
. He also loved to talk (he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the world) and most of all, laugh. Displeased with how Peggy Lee improvised the ending of "While We're Young", he wrote her a note: "The next time you come to the bridge
f the song jump!" Pianist
Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...
told the story of this "alleged" comment to
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...
, on her "Piano Jazz" radio show in 2004.
Wilder died in
Gainesville,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
, from lung cancer in December 1980,
and is buried in a Catholic cemetery in
Avon, New York
Avon () is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. It is south of Rochester. The town population was 7,146 at the 2010 census.
The town was named after the River Avon in England.
The village of Avon is in the northwest part of ...
, outside Rochester.
Selected works
;Opera
*3 children's operas: ''
The Churkendoose''; ''Rachetty Pachetty House'', ''Herman Ermine in Rabbit Town'' (1942)
[Slominsky, Nicolas (1988). ]
The Concise Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
'. New York: Schirmer Books. p. 1360. .
*''The Lowland Sea'' (1952)
*''Miss Chicken Little'' (1953)
*''Sunday Excursion'' (1953)
*''Kittiwake Island'' (1954)
*''The Long Way'' (1955)
*''The Impossible Forest'' (1958)
*''The Truth about Windmills'' (1973)
*''The Tattooed Countess'' (1974)
*''The Opening'' (1975)
;Musicals
*''Pinocchio'' (1957)
*''Hansel and Gretel'' (1958)
*''Miss Chicken Little'' (1953).
*''Nobody’s Earnest'' (1978).
;Film music
*''
The Fall of the House of Usher
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in ''Burton's Gentleman's Magazine'', then included in the collection ''Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque'' in 1840. The short story ...
'' (1928)
*''
Lot in Sodom'' (1933)
*''
Make Mine Music
''Make Mine Music'' is a 1946 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eighth Disney feature animated film, released on April 20, 1946.
During World War II, much of Walt Disn ...
'' (1946)
*''
Albert Schweitzer
Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...
'' (1957), documentary by
Jerome Hill
James Jerome Hill II (March 2, 1905 – November 21, 1972) was an American filmmaker and artist known for his award-winning documentary and experimental films.
Career
Hill was the child of railroad executive Louis W. Hill.
He was educated at Y ...
*''The Sand Castle'' (1961), directed by Jerome Hill
*''Open the Door and See All the People'' (1964), directed by Jerome Hill
;Large ensemble
*''A Child’s Introduction to the Orchestra'' (1954). Text by Marshall Barer. A musical primer. Eighteen movements featuring individual instruments of the orchestra.
udlow*''
Names from the War
''Names from the War'' is a long poem about the American Civil War by Civil War historian Bruce Catton, published in 1960. The context is the Civil War Centennial. It was set to music by Alec Wilder, using folk melodies from Carl Sandburg's Am ...
'' (1961), for narrator, chorus, brass quintet, and woodwind quintet
*''Children’s Plea for Peace'' (1968). Children's SSAA chorus, narrator and wind ensemble. Text by Wilder, adapted from writings of Avon, New York schoolchildren. Dedicated to Rev. Henry Atwell.
argun Argun may refer to:
* Argun (surname)
* Argun, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran
*Argun Urban Okrug, a municipal formation which the town of republic significance of Argun in the Chechen Republic, Russia is incorporated as
* Argun, ...
;Songs (selected list)
*"
A Child Is Born" (lyrics only)
*"A Long Night"
*"Be a Child"
*"Blackberry Winter"
*"Ellen"
*"Give Me Time"
*"
I'll Be Around"
*"It's So Peaceful in The Country"
*"Lovers and Losers"
*"Mimosa and Me"
*"Moon and Sand"
*"Rain Rain"
*"That's My Girl"
*"The April Age"
*"The Rose on The Wind"
*"The Starlighter"
*"The Winter of My Discontent"
*"Trouble is A Man"
*"Walk Pretty"
*"Where Do You Go"
*"While We're Young"
*"Who Can I Turn To"
;Chamber music and solo instruments
*Air for Bassoon and Strings (1945). For Harold Goltzer
*Air for Flute and Strings (1945). For Julius Baker.
*Air for Oboe and Strings (1945). For Mitch Miller.
*Brass Quintets: No 1 (1959) For the New York Brass Quintet; No 2 (1961); No. 3 (1970); No. 4 (1973) For Harvey Phillips; No. 5 (1975) For the Tidewater Brass Quintet; No. 6 (1977) For the Tidewater Brass Quintet; No. 7 (1978) For Frances Miller; No. 8 (1980) For Frances Miller.
*Concerto No. 1 for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble (1967). For Doc Severinson.
*Concerto for Euphonium and Wind Orchestra (1981; written in 1971). For Barry Kilpatrick
*Effie Suite (1960) for Tuba, Vibraphone, Piano and Drums. For Harvey Phillips
*Fantasy for Piano and Wind Ensemble (1974). For Marian McPartland
*Jazz Suite for Four Horns (1951). Four horns with harpsichord, guitar, bass, drums.
*Octets (1939–41) Flute/Clarinet 2, oboe/English horn/, clarinet 1, bass clarinet, bassoon, harpsichord, bass, drums: Bull Fiddle In A China Shop; The Children Met the Train; Concerning Etchings; Dance Man Buys A Farm; A Debutante's Diary; Her Old Man Was Suspicious; His First Long Pants; House Detective Registers; It's Silk, Feel It!; Kindergarten Flower Pageant; Little Girl Grows Up; Neurotic Goldfish; She'll Be Seven In May; Such A Tender Night; Walking Home In Spring.
*Seven Duets for Horn and Bassoon.
*Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1960). For Donald Sinta.
*Sonata for Bass Trombone and Piano (1969). For George Roberts
*Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (1963). For Glenn Bowen.
*Sonata for Euphonium and Piano (1968)
*Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (1963). For Joe Wilder.
*Sonata for Viola and Piano (1965)
*Suite for Unaccompanied Flute (1975). For Virginia Nanzetta.
*Suite No. 2 for Tenor Saxophone and Strings (1966). For
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...
.
argun Argun may refer to:
* Argun (surname)
* Argun, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran
*Argun Urban Okrug, a municipal formation which the town of republic significance of Argun in the Chechen Republic, Russia is incorporated as
* Argun, ...
*Suites for Tuba and Piano: Suite No. 1 (1960) for Harvey Phillips; Suite No. 2 (Jesse Suite), *Suite No. 3 (Suite for Little Harvey) and Suite No. 4 (Thomas Suite)
*Three Ballads for Stan
lso exists in Wilder's piano reduction as Suite No. 1 for Tenor Saxophone and Piano(1963). For Stan Getz.
argun Argun may refer to:
* Argun (surname)
* Argun, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran
*Argun Urban Okrug, a municipal formation which the town of republic significance of Argun in the Chechen Republic, Russia is incorporated as
* Argun, ...
*Twelve Duets for Horn and Bassoon.
*Woodwind Quintets: No. 1 (1954) For the
New York Woodwind Quintet; No. 2 (1956); No. 3 (1958); No. 4 (1959) For Bernard Garfield; No. 5 (1959); No. 6 (1960); No. 7 (1964); No. 8 (1966) [also known as Suite For Non-Voting Quintet; No. 9 (1969); No. 10 (ca. 1968); No. 11 (1971) For John Barrows; No. 12 (1975) For the Wingra Quintet; No. 13
Discography
''Alec Wilder Octet'' (Columbia, 1951)
Albums as composer
By Bob Brookmeyer
*''7 x Wilder'' (Verve, 1961)
By Jackie Cain and Roy Kral
*''An Alec Wilder Collection'' (Audiophile, 1990)
By Meredith D’Ambrosio
*''Another Time'' (Palo Alto, 1981)
By Valerie Errante and Robert Wason
*''Songs of Alec Wilder'' (Troy)
By
Eileen Farrell
Eileen Farrell (February 13, 1920 – March 23, 2002) was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed ...
*''Eileen Farrell Sings Alec Wilder'' (Reference)
By
Ghost Train Orchestra
*''Book of Rhapsodies'' (Accurate, 2013)
*''Book of Rhapsodies Vol. II'' (Accurate, 2017)
By
Roland Hanna
Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher.
Biography
Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...
*''Roland Hanna Plays the Music of Alec Wilder'' (Tokuma
apan
Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km².
Overview
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247.
It was an important site in the W ...
1978)
By
Vic Juris
Victor Edward Jurusz Jr. (September 26, 1953 – December 31, 2019), known professionally as Vic Juris, was an American jazz guitarist.
Music career
Juris was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but he moved with his family to Parsippany early in ...
*''Music of Alec Wilder'' (Double Time, 1996)
By Bob Levy
*''Blackberry Winter: Songs by Alec Wilder'' (Mark)
By
Dave Liebman
David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach.
In June 2010, he received ...
*''Lieb Plays Wilder'' (Daybreak, 2003)
By
Mundell Lowe
James Mundell Lowe (April 21, 1922 – December 2, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician.
He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the '' Billy Jack'' soundtra ...
*''
New Music of Alec Wilder'' (Riverside, 1956)
By
Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...
*''Marian McPartland Plays the Music of Alec Wilder'' (Jazz Alliance)
By Diana Robinson
*''Music of Alec Wilder'' (Multi Media Library)
By
Bob Rockwell
Bob Rockwell (born May 1945 in Miami, Oklahoma) is a jazz saxophonist. He was born in the U.S. but emigrated to Denmark in 1983.
Biography
Rockwell was raised in Minneapolis, and in his early career he toured the U.S. in rock and rhythm and b ...
*''Bob’s Wilder'' (Stunt, 2003)
By
Ben Sidran
Ben Hirsh Sidran (born August 14, 1943) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer. Early in his career he was a member of the Steve Miller Band and is the father of Grammy-nominated musician, composer an ...
*''Walk Pretty: The Songs of Alec Wilder'' (Go Jazz, 2002)
By
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
*''
Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder'' (Columbia, 1946)
By
Marlene VerPlanck
Marlene Paula VerPlanck ''(née'' Pampinella; November 11, 1933 – January 14, 2018) was an American jazz and pop vocalist whose body of work centered on big band jazz, the American songbook, and cabaret.
Life and career
VerPlanck was born and r ...
*''Marlene VerPlanck Sings Alec Wilder'' (Audiophile)
References
Sources
*Wilder, Alec, ''American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900–1950,'' ed. James T. Maher. (New York: Oxford Press, 1972; paperback ed., Oxford Press, 1975), xxxix, 536 pp.
*Wilder, Alec, David Demsey editor, ''Letters I Never Mailed'' Annotated Edition (University of Rochester Press, 2006).
*Stone, Desmond, ''Alec Wilder In Spite of Himself: A Life of the Composer'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 244 pp.
*Demsey, David and Ronald Prather, ''Alec Wilder: A Bio-Bibliography'' (Greenwood Press, 1993) Bio-Bibliographies in Music, No. 45.
*Zeltsman, Nancy, ed., ''Alec Wilder: An Introduction to the Man and His Music'' (Newton, MA: Margun Music, 1991).
Alec Wilder page from Classical Net*
*
ttps://www.esm.rochester.edu/sibley/files/Alec-Wilder-Archive.pdf Alec Wilder Archive at Eastman School of Musicbr>
Alec Wilder Centennial site100 records to celebrate 100 years of Alec Wilder...and more!
External links
Alec Wilder Music and LifeLinks to music and articlesAlec Wilder exhibit at Songwriters Hall Of FameAlec Wilder at Art of SongAlec Wilder papers, 1909-2000Music Division, The New York Public Library.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, Alec
1907 births
1980 deaths
Chew family
Musicians from Rochester, New York
American male classical composers
American classical composers
20th-century classical composers
Deaths from lung cancer in Florida
American opera composers
Male opera composers
Eastman School of Music alumni
20th-century American composers
Classical musicians from New York (state)
20th-century American male musicians