Robert Russell Bennett

[JerryMurp]

I have researched Bennett for many years and after much effort, I have been unable to discover the score for his 4th symphony , Symphony on college tunes. This was written on commission for WOR radio and was performed on November 24, 1941 on his program Russell Bennett notebook. Can anyone help to  find the score or 78 or record the station prepared for the extended play for WOR radio. Does anyone have any information?

[Alan Howe]

I'm assuming that Bennett's style fits here. Can anyone help?

[Double-A]

To the best of my searching ability this particular Bennett is new to the forum.  In addition to the fitness of his style it could you introduce him to us?  You have obviously more knowledge about him than you share here.

There is one cue of course:  People who write symphonies with nostalgic titles ("on College Tunes") tend to be on the conservative side.

[MartinH]

Having died in 1981, Bennett is outside the usual boundaries of discussion here, despite his solidly conservative writing style. Good luck getting hold of his unpublished music. I tried for several years to get hold of his Cowboy Overture with no luck. The Bennett Estate is so messy, scattered, and the legal hoops so formidable I gave up. I also tried getting the Dodgers Symphony - William Steinberg of all people conducted the premier. No luck. The work you're interested in, the College Themes Symphony, I can't even find any hint of where it's located. Bennett would be a good candidate for some enterprising outfit to resurrect his music both for performance and recording. But given the dismal state of interest in lost/forgotten American composers I don't think that's likely.

[matesic]

His Porgy and Bess - A Symphonic Picture is an old LP favourite of mine, played by The Boston Pops under Arthur Fiedler although I've currently got the original recording by Reiner and the Pittsburgh SO playing on youtube. The coupling on my LP was a synthesis of numbers from West Side Story that predates Bernstein's Symphonic Dances. Strange that Bennett's version doesn't get mentioned in his wikipedia biography.

[minacciosa]

Doesn't matter when he died; stylistically, Bennet fits comfortably within the self-imposed remit.

[Alan Howe]

Exactly.

[jerfilm]

He had symphonic pieces based on Jerome Kern's music, also a Stephen Foster Commemorative Symphony and his Violin Concerto was on an old LP.

Jerry

[Gareth Vaughan]

Most of his MSS appear to be in the vaults of the Philadelphia National Bank!!!  So not very easy of access.

[cypressdome]

It actually appears that the records formerly held by that bank were donated to Northwestern University in 2002. There is a finding aid for the collection.  I see the Cowboy Overture but not the Symphony on College Tunes.  I always greatly enjoyed the music Bennett and Richard Rodgers wrote for the documentary series Victory at Sea.

[Gareth Vaughan]

That's better then.

[Mark Thomas]

Ah, so Bennett wrote "Victory at Sea"? That always strikes me as a singularly impressive score, and particularly his evocation of a seascape in the title theme.

[MartinH]

cypressdome: thank you very much for providing that information. The Philadelphia National Bank was taken over by some other outfit, then they were taken over by Wells Fargo and I had no idea where anything went. Maybe a trip to Chicago is needed to look over the archives. Thanks again!