Joseph Charles Rosario Bourdon (March 6, 1885 – April 24, 1961) was a
French Canadian cellist,
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
ist,
conductor, arranger and
composer. He was a
child prodigy skilled with many
musical instruments. Bourdon worked much of his life for the
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
where he exerted considerable influence.
Childhood
Bourdon was born in
Longueuil, Quebec
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...
into a family with musical talents. His father was an amateur singer.
Louis-Honoré Bourdon, his
half-brother
A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child.
While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separa ...
was a renowned
impresario
An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer.
His ...
. Caroline Derome, his mother, began Bourdon's musical instruction with the cello when he was seven.
She would later marry
Jean-Baptiste Dubois, a professional cellist who would further instruct Bourdon in the instrument. Around this same time Bourdon learned to play the
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
.
In 1897, Bourdon was invited to attend the
Ghent Conservatory
The Royal Conservatory of Ghent (Dutch: Koninklijk Conservatorium Gent) is a royally chartered musical institution. It is now a part of the University College Ghent.
History
The Royal Conservatory of Ghent is a royally chartered musical instituti ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
There he continued his training on the cello under
Joseph Jacob. He did well, winning a "first prize with great distinction" in a school competition after spending only eight months there. He was touring Europe shortly thereafter. In 1899 he returned to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
to tour, and was received well in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
and
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
.
Career
Bourdon moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
seeking better career opportunities than he could find in Canada.
From 1902 until 1904 he played with the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...
. He travelled back to Quebec during the summer of 1903 to perform ''
Le Désir'' with the
Quebec Symphony Orchestra on the opening of the
Auditorium de Québec on August 31, 1903.
In 1904 he moved to
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
where he played with the
Philadelphia Orchestra.
In 1905 he made his first recording for the
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
. In 1908 he moved, this time to
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
. In 1909, the Victor Company hired Bourdon as the "in-house" cellist, and he performed number of different tasks during his career with the company. He performed on piano and cello as an accompanist for Victor artists. He served as a conductor for the
Victor Concert Orchestra, the
Victor Symphony Orchestra, and occasionally the
Victor Salon Orchestra and
Sousa's Band.
Thousands of Victor recordings for which Bourdon was the conductor or an instrumentalist are documented on the EDVR (Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings). In 1920, he was promoted to musical co-director at Victor, a position he shared with
Josef Pasternack. In 1922, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Bourdon left RCA Victor in 1931.
He worked in a number of jobs in the music industry during his post-Victor career. He directed musical scores for films by
Laurel and Hardy and
Mickey Mouse cartoons by
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
. From 1927 until 1938 he directed ''
Cities Service Concerts
The ''Cities Service Concerts'' were musical broadcasts which had a long three-decade run on radio from 1925 to 1956, encompassing a variety of vocalists and musicians sponsored by Cities Service.
The concerts began with trial broadcasts in the Ne ...
'' on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
radio. The program had been on the air for only half a year before Bourdon took over directing; it went on another 11 seasons and was very successful.
He worked as a musical director at
Muzak
Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingho ...
,
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 ...
, and the
Thesaurus
A thesaurus (plural ''thesauri'' or ''thesauruses'') or synonym dictionary is a reference work for finding synonyms and sometimes antonyms of words. They are often used by writers to help find the best word to express an idea:
Synonym dictionar ...
radio transcription service. Bourdon was hired to conduct the newly formed
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal
The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Maison symphonique de Montréal, Montreal Symphony House at Plac ...
, which gave their first concert on January 14, 1935 at
Plateau Hall.
He retained that position for many years. In 1944, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...
.
Bourdon died in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
on April 24, 1961.
References
External links
Rosario Bourdon's recordings on the Virtual GramophoneRosario Bourdon recordingsat the
Discography of American Historical Recordings.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourdon, Rosario
Canadian classical cellists
Male conductors (music)
Canadian classical violinists
Male classical violinists
Child classical musicians
French Quebecers
People from Longueuil
1885 births
1961 deaths
20th-century Canadian conductors (music)
20th-century classical violinists
20th-century Canadian male musicians
20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers
Canadian male violinists and fiddlers
20th-century cellists