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 Sergei Rachmaninov
Monday, February 1932
Third of the Events in The Town Hall Endowment Series 1931-32
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
A Russian composer, pianist and conductor. He is noted for his command of the emotional gesture conceived as lyrical melody extended from small motifs, the concealment behind this of subtleties in orchestration and structure, the broad sweep of his lines and forms, the predominant melancholy and nostalgia, the loyalty to the finer Russian Romanticism inherited from Tchaikovsky and his teachers. His orchestral works include three symphonies, four piano concertos and three symphonic poems.
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 Fydor Chaliapan
Wednesday, December 7, 1932
First Event in the Town Hall Endowment Series 1932-33
Assisting artist: John Corigliano, violinist
Fydor Chaliapan (1873-1938)
Widely considered the greatest singing actor of his day, he was largely self-taught and his talents included painting and sculpture as well. As far as his own make-up, costuming and musical and dramatic preparation were concerned, he was a perfectionist and he was untiring in his attention to the staging of the operas in which he took part.
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 Ruth Slenczynski
Saturday, November 25, 1935
Eight Year Old Pianist
Ruth Slencynsk1 (1925-)
Pianist, made her debut at age five and was acclaimed by European critics as a "prodigy of nature." She had to cease public appearances at the age of 15, as her father became obsessive with the promotion of her career. After she received her degree in psychology from the University of California, she resumed her career. Her book of memoirs Forbidden Child recounts the troubles of a child prodigy's life.
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 Rosalyn Turek, piano recital
Friday, October 18, 1935
Recipient of the The Town Hall Young Artists Award
Rosalyn Tureck (1914-2003)
A concert artist and educator. She was the recipient of the first Town Hall Endowment Award, and the first woman invited to conduct the New York Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony and Oklahoma Symphony. She is the author of An Introduction to the Performance of Bach, 3 volumes.
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 Kirsten Flagstad
Saturday, December 21, 1935
Sixth Town Hall Endowment Series, Fourth Event, Season 1935-36
Mr. Edwin Scheuher at the piano
Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962)
Norwegian operatic soprano best remembered for her interpretation of Wagnerian roles. Kirsten Flagstad flashed across New York's operatic firmament like a yet unknown comet. Almost at once she was hailed as the Diva of the Century, with a voice of immense power and clarity. She was the first director of the Royal Norwegian Opera.
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 Marian Anderson
Monday, December 30, 1935
Kosti Vehanen at the piano
Marian Anderson (1897-1993)
World famous contralto. After being denied an operatic career because of discrimination against African-Americans, Anderson made her New York debut at The Town Hall. Famous for her 1939 concert at Lincoln Memorial (after being denied access to Washington's Constitution Hall), she was the first African-American to perform at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Her numerous awards include: The Congressional Gold Medal and the American Freedom Medal. Her autobiography is called My Lord, What A Morning.
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 Town Meeting: Young America
Looks Forward
February 27, 1936
Moderator: George V. Denny, Jr.
Chairman: Eleanor Roosevelt
Speakers: Homer P. Rainey, Richard Brown, Mrs. Eugene Meyer and John Long
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)
An American author, diplomat and humanitarian, who was widely admired for her support of liberal causes and humanitarian concerns. The wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she was active in the Democratic Party. A delegate to the United Nations, and chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights, she helped to draft and secured adoption of the universal declaration of human Rights. Author of the syndicated column, My Day and the books This Is My Story, The Moral Basis of Democracy and On My Own.
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 Alice Tully
Saturday, November 28, 1936
Arpad Spandor at the piano
Alice Tully (1902-1993)
An American mezzo-soprano who made her debut in Paris with the Pasdeloup Orchestra. Her Town Hall recital received critical praise for her interpretation of French songs. She gave up her artistic ambition and devoted herself to various philanthropic endeavors. Her major gift was to Lincoln Center in NY for the construction of a chamber music hall, which was dedicated to her in 1969.
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 Song Recital: Lily Pons
Wednesday, January 26, 1938
Frank LaForge, composer-pianist at the piano
Assisted by Frances Blaisdell, flautist and The Renaissance Quintet
Lily Pons (1904-1976)
A French-American coloratura soprano. Known as the reigning diva at the Metropolitan Opera for 25 years, her chief roles included Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rosina in The Barber of Seville and Gilda in Rigoletto. She was particularly noted for her performances in Delibes's Lakmé and Ponizetti's Daughter of the Regiment.
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 Issac Stern, violinist
Saturday, February 18, 1939
Assisted by Wolfgang Rebner at the piano
Program: Brahms' Sonata in D Major, Opus 108, Bach's Partita No 2 in De minor (for violin alone), Chauson's Poeme, Szymanowski's Romance, Paganini's Caprice No. 15 (for violin alone) and Novacek's Perpetuum Mobile.
Issac Stern (1920-)
A Russian-American concert violinist. Following his debut at the age of 11 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, he made his New York debut at age 17 on the Town Hall stage on October 12, 1937. Stern could perform a concert from memory lasting sixteen hours, as his repertoire included fourteen concertos, fifteen sonatas and 100 smaller pieces.
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 Town Meeting: What is Humanity's Greatest Need Today?
May 8, 1938
Moderator: George V. Denny, Jr.
Speakers: Pearl Buck, Carl Sandburg, Forest Ray Moulton and Frank Kingdon
Pearl Buck (1892-1973)
An American novelist awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1938. Novels include: The Good Earth (Pulitzer Prize), Sons, A House Divided, The House of Earth, The Exile, Fighting Angel, The Patriot, Other Gods, Dragon Seed, Dragon Fish, Peony, Imperial Women and Living Reed.
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 Bela Bartok and Ditta Pasztory
Sunday, November 24, 1940
Program: Mozart's Sonata in De Major, Debussy's En Blanc et Noir,
Bach's Two Fuges from "Kunst der Fuge," Bartok's excerpts from "Mkrokosmos"
and Brahms' Sonata in F Minor
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Hungarian composer and collector of folk music. Utilizing folk elements, atonality, and traditional techniques, he achieved an original modern style that has had great influence on 20th-Century music. Bartók became known for his compositions for piano. In 1940, he emigrated to the U.S. and was commissioned by Columbia University to transcribe a large collection of Yugoslavian folk melodies.
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