Sylvan Levin (190310 August 1996) was an American concert pianist and conductor. He served as the assistant conductor of the
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
and the
New York City Symphony under
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...
for many years. He also founded the
Philadelphia Opera Company The Philadelphia Opera Company was the name of two different American opera companies active during the twentieth century in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first company was founded by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I in 1908. That company disbanded ...
in 1938, serving as its director for six years.
Biography
Born in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Levin won a scholarship to study piano at the
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...
at the young age of 12, studying there for several years. He continued with further piano and conducting studies at the
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship.
Hi ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. While still a student, Levin began to work as a concert pianist. He appeared several times as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, notably playing the American premiere of
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
's ''Piano Concerto in G'' with the orchestra in 1932 under the baton of Stokowski.
After graduating from Curtis he became highly active in Philadelphia's musical scene, notably becoming a principal conductor with the
Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
The Philadelphia Grand Opera Company was the name of four different American opera companies active at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the twentieth century. The last and best known of the four was founded in November 195 ...
and becoming the assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In the 1940s, Levin was musical director for the
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
on radio. Additionally, he was the conductor for ''Great Moments in Music'' on
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 Entertainmen ...
.
[DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 164-165.]
During the 1940s and 1950s, Levin served as music director for a number of
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musicals and musicals on tour in the United States. He notably led the
U.S. State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
sponsored European and South American tours of
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
's ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...
'' from 1954 to 1956. He also served as the music director for two
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
productions, ''
The Girl in Pink Tights
''The Girl in Pink Tights'' is a musical comedy with music by Sigmund Romberg; lyrics by Leo Robin; and a musical book by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields. The musical opened on Broadway on March 5, 1954 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre where it ra ...
'' (1954) and ''
The Wayward Saint'' (1955). In 1957 he conducted the national road company performances of
Lerner and Loewe
Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...
's ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
''.
After retiring from conducting, Levin joined the music faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music. He also taught as a voice teacher in Philadelphia throughout his career. Among his notable pupils was
Natalie Bodanya
Natalie Bodanya (August 23, 1908 – March 4, 2007) was an American operatic soprano who had an active international career from the late 1920s through the 1940s. She notably sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 through 1942 ...
. He died in 1996 at his home in
Great Neck, New York
Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...
at the age of 93.
He conducted
Jan Peerce
Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway theatre, Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recordi ...
's 1945 best-selling recording of
Sandor Harmati
Sandor Harmati (9 July 18924 April 1936) was a Hungarian-American violinist, conductor and composer, best known for his song "Bluebird of Happiness" written in 1934 for Jan Peerce.
Biography
Sandor Harmati (''Harmati Sándor'' in Hungarian orthog ...
and
Edward Heyman
Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films.
Biogr ...
's song "
Bluebird of Happiness
The symbol of a bluebird as the harbinger of happiness is found in many cultures and may date back thousands of years.
Origins of idiom Chinese mythology
One of the oldest examples of a blue bird in myth (found on oracle bone inscriptions of th ...
", which outsold all Peerce's many operatic recordings, and became second only to
Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
's recording of
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer.
Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...
's "
Over There
"Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song i ...
" among the best-selling records made by opera and concert singers.
NME
/ref>
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Sylvan
1903 births
1996 deaths
American male conductors (music)
Curtis Institute of Music alumni
Curtis Institute of Music faculty
Piano pedagogues
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American pianists
American male pianists
20th-century American male musicians