composers and the colonies
NEWLIN, DIKA
ON MUSIC By Dika Newlin Composers and the Colonies Every June or July or August— or, if we are lucky enough to have the free time, even in the winter—some of us who are composers or...
...It was the childish mispronunciation of "shadow" (she was impressed by the shadows of the mighty pines) by one of the children that gave the estate the fanciful name of Yaddo, which still intrigues visitors today...
...What kind of people come to the colonies...
...Many more could be named— but suffice to say a great proportion of those of name and fame in American composition have found a happy working environment in the colonies...
...curiosity-seekers suddenly turn up to have a look at those strange beings, the artists...
...Lukas Foss, Wunderkind of his day, who delighted in playing, singing, thumping, whistling, humming, and choreographing (all simultaneously, it seemed) his latest opus, and did not much care for rival performers...
...Harold Shapero, neo-classicist de luxe (he always used to pat Beethoven's bust on the head in a fatherly fashion...
...No one is allowed to visit his studio uninvited between 9 and 4 (and at Yaddo, you are not even supposed to invite...
...Among composers, one finds well-known figures in addition to those who are either beginning or are well on in their careers, have merit, but who may not have received as much public recognition as the others...
...Then, as a rule, it's back to work until the later afternoon when the guests turn to other activities—perhaps shopping in town, or tennis (there is a good court on the estate) or swimming, or one of the many parties that take place before dinner...
...At MacDowell, these are scattered throughout the woods...
...MacDowell, himself harassed by the Columbia administration's lack of understanding of a composer's needs, was concerned that such a refuge be made available for other creative artists who found themselves in his situation...
...ON MUSIC By Dika Newlin Composers and the Colonies Every June or July or August— or, if we are lucky enough to have the free time, even in the winter—some of us who are composers or writers on music, or both, happily pack our bags for the trek to Peterborough...
...Its function is similar to that of the others, though unlike them, in the field of music it accepts composers only, not musicologists...
...on Yaddo weekdays) and chooses a chatty group or a taciturn group to sit with, as taste dictates...
...A new one (still in use today) was completed on its site in 1893...
...Lunch is a simple basket affair —often sandwiches and fruit and a thermos...
...The unique combination of ideal working conditions, fellowship and fun which the colonies, at their best, afford, can produce immeasurable results...
...Dinner itself is taken together, and after it, again, there are a variety of activities...
...Douglas Allanbrook, delightful partner in four-hand piano music (to play Mozart or Schubert with him is a joy), called by some "the Mendelssohn of modern music"— which he rightly takes as a compliment...
...Some personalities who have stuck in my mind over the years are Barbara Pentland, individualistic Canadian composer who makes concessions to nobody and writes music of strength...
...And her dream was fulfilled...
...At MacDowell, the spectrum has reached all the way from that representative of a genteel tradition, Mrs...
...His devoted wife Marian found the perfect solution...
...MacDowell's day, the studios were not electrified and it was not possible to work in them at night, but this has now been changed...
...Breakfast is informal...
...I once said to a friend at Yaddo, "This is the way one ought always to live," and many guests feel that conviction very keenly...
...His establishment became famous for its delicious trout suppers which were enjoyed by, among others, Edgar Allan Poe...
...By enhancing the physical and spiritual well-being of the artist they increase his receptivity and productivity...
...It was Katrina Trask's idea to convert the estate into a haven for artists...
...A recent brochure advertising Saratoga's tourist attractions spoke feelingly of "Yaddo, forest primeval for creative artists...
...Misfortune, however, began to plague the Trask family...
...This exalted plan was put into effect in spite of many setbacks—not the least of which was the sudden death of Spencer Trask in a railroad crash (he was the only one killed) on December 31, 1909...
...Further tragedy impended...
...Its site was originally the farm of Jacobus Barhyte, a Revolutionary War veteran...
...Yaddo has different, though equally fascinating, origins...
...H. H. A. Beach, to "far-out" Ralph Shapey...
...At MacDowell, a special "Silent Table" is even provided for the benefit of morning grouches...
...The composer Edward MacDowell, during the period of his professorship of music at Columbia, found himself in desperate need of a summer refuge where he could recover from the exacerbating cares of his academic duties and concentrate on his creative work...
...They alone, through the power of their personalities and work, ultimately make the colony what it should be: a conclave of composers, writers, artists, thinkers, gathered in full freedom of expression and movement...
...Also unlike the others, it is under the direction of a composer...
...or Pacific Palisades, California...
...John Vincent...
...Some prefer sports— croquet is a great favorite at both MacDowell and Yaddo...
...Much new music found its first hearing there...
...In 1881 the Barhyte estate was bought by Spencer Trask, banker and philanthropist, who, among other things, was mainly responsible for the development of Saratoga's famed mineral springs...
...One wanders in (not later than 9 a.m...
...Or one may simply prefer to go to his room and continue the work of the day...
...After breakfast, we disperse to our studios...
...You have it where you like—at Yaddo, many enjoy eating it around the beautiful swimming pool which is one of the estate's latest amenities...
...The Trasks' four children all died—two of diphtheria within the same week...
...In Mrs...
...Youngest of the group, it was established in 1949...
...Wherever an artist works, though, he is reasonably certain to be undisturbed...
...Of the Huntington Hartford Foundation I can speak with the least knowledge, for it is the only one of the three colonies I have not personally visited...
...The daily routine of the colonies is designed to make working conditions as easy as possible...
...Its first executive director was, and remains today, Elizabeth Ames, who, with grace and distinction, keeps the Yaddo estate functioning solely for the artists' benefit, and is ably seconded in this task by the poet Pauline Hanson...
...Why, then, are there not more such colonies...
...The first artist-guests came in the summer of 1926, and the estate has been functioning as an artists' workshop-retreat ever since...
...And, of course, the talents to populate it...
...Some readers of that document may turn up expecting primitive dances...
...MacDowell conceived a plan for the Colony, and after his death she extended it—literally "playing together" (in her recitals of MacDowell's music) the money to keep it going...
...Saratoga Springs, New York...
...With the exception of an interruption caused by the great hurricane of 1938, the Colony has been going strong ever since— though forever in need of money...
...Wynn York, an Eastman School product who avoids most of the Eastman clichés and goes his own way regardless of current fashion (his latest work, The Perennial Philosophy, is an oratorio, grandiose in a style that owes something to Handel but more to York...
...Well, they cannot be legislated into existence...
...The Yaddo Music Periods, for example, were presented intermittently from 1932 to 1952...
...What then would become of the estate after the deaths of the Trasks themselves...
...At Yaddo, composers often perform their works, or writers read, for those who would care to hear...
...as a former pupil of Roger Sessions, I like to recall that the American première of his First Piano Sonata took place in one of these concerts...
...The first of these, the MacDowell Colony, grew from the need of one man and the vision of one woman...
...April 30, 1932...
...During his lifetime, Mrs...
...For these are the locales of the three great "colonies"—the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the Huntington Hartford Foundation— which in our time have done so much for the composer, the artist and the writer...
...Alvin Etler, professor of music at Smith College, especially adept in the writing of woodwind music...
...Of course, the unforeseen sometimes occurs...
...Douglas Moore, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson are some names known to all...
...New Hampshire...
...In the woods near their farm, "Hillcrest," she designed and had built a log cabin where he could work absolutely undisturbed...
...the painters have a small gallery off the main hall of the mansion in which they exhibit their work...
...A splendid mansion was built for him, his gifted wife Katrina, herself a prolific writer of fiction and verse, and their four children...
...At Yaddo, some studios are isolated in the woods while others are included in the spacious residential quarters...
...The resurgence of Yaddo from the flames is commemorated in the striking "Phoenix" mosaic, designed by Louis Tiffany, framing the fireplace of the great hall where guests now assemble before and after dinner...
...In 1891 the mansion was destroyed by fire...
...Even those who have not been guests have often been performed in the public concerts which such places sometimes offer...
...There has to be the right constellation: the man or woman of vision to undertake the project, the proper physical locale to create surroundings of comfort and beauty, and the money to make the thing go...
...If we are very ambitious, we might even take in all three in the course of a year...
Vol. 47 • August 1964 • No. 16
