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Alec Wilder Background Information
“An unclassifiable ‘American original,’ Wilder drew on a wide variety of personal musical influences. In his best works he was able to forge a style uniquely his own, distinguished by those elements he most cherished in other composers: an absence of clutter, honest sentiment, unexpectedness, singing melodies and sinuous phrases.” --Gunther Schuller |
Biographical Overview
- 1907: Born February 16 in Rochester, NY
- 1925-1930s: Briefly studied at Eastman School of Music before he began working in New York as a songwriter and arranger while staying at the Algonquin Hotel
- 1945: Sinatra convinces Columbia Records to record some of Wilder’s works for winds with strings (Classical Net). During his lifetime, Wilder rote over 300 published compositions in folk, popular, classical, and jazz styles.
- 1972: American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 co-written by Wilder and James T. Maher is published. The book traces American songwriting from 1890s ragtime through to 1950s popular songs.
- 1980: Died of lung cancer on December 24 in Gainesville, FL
- 1983: Inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame
- 2005: Letters I Never Mailed – a collection of Wilder’s letters and writings – is published.
"In the 1960s and 1970s, Wilder became an important generative force in the lives of many young American musicians he knew both professionally and personally. He was their conscience artistically, and sometimes their father confessor too. The striking thing about that conscience was the range of it: from formal music to jazz, and through the great middle ground of popular music.” |
Historical Context
- Wilder had written Sonata No. 1 for Tuba and Piano – “Effie the Elephant” Suite that Ralph Childs (now studio and rock bassist for Don McLean) asked him to orchestrate for his senior recital at Eastman in the spring of 1968
- The morning after the recital (Wilder unable to attend the concert), Emory “The Chief” Remington was pulling “hall duty” and sitting around in the lobby to the recital hall to visit with students
- He was visiting at the time with Mr. Russ Schultz – then an Eastman senior – when the two were joined by Wilder
- When asked by Wilder about last night’s concert, Remington jokingly inquired as to when he was going to write a bass trombone composition. Wilder mentioned that George Roberts said something regarding a bass trombone composition as well.
- Remington’s reply: (points at Schultz) “If you write it, he’ll play it on his senior recital.”
- The piece was received with almost no markings whatsoever. Aside from the notes and rhythms, the only markings were the tempo for Movement IV and the style marking for Movement V as “swing”. It premiered in the Spring of 1969.