Martin Bookspan had life-long friendships with two great classical music geniuses, Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.
As the voice of the PBS television series Live from Lincoln Center from 1976 to 2006, Martin Bookspan riveted audiences with his eloquently distinctive voice and extensive knowledge of classical music. The N.Y. Times (May 24, 2006) described Bookspan as “One half erudite informer, the other half grandfatherly guide, [who kept audiences] tuned in during intermissions with easy-to-digest program notes and anecdotes.”
Today Martin Bookspan would have been turning 95, he passed away earlier this year in Aprilat his home in Aventura, FL. In celebration of his life, we wanted to share these video clips taken during a lecture he gave in 2013 at FAU Libraries.
My Friends: Leonard Bernstein & Aaron Copland Lecture
Presented by Martin Bookspan at FAU’s Wimberly Library on March 5, 2013
You can also listen to Martin Bookspan narrating Copland: A Lincoln Portrait on the Recorded Sound Archives website by clicking here.
Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45-second snippet.
If you are a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings, please visit the Recorded Sound Archives website to apply for Research Station Access by click here.
Did you know that FAU Libraries has a sound archive which you can access and listen to recordings for research from the comforts of your own home?
Last year, the Recorded Sound Archives digitized 2,018 albums along with 2,235 songs for those to access reaching over 140 countries, and receiving 183,962 hits from all over the world.
As a New Year’s gift and a welcome to the FAU community we wanted to share a few staff favorites from 2020.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Recorded Sound Archives is exploring music through portraits. This week discover and learn more about Mexican Singer and Composer Chucho Martinez Gil in the video below.
If you enjoyed learning about you can listen to one of his recordings in the Recorded Sound Archives: https://rsa.fau.edu/artist/5077.
Please feel free to download a coloring page we created of Chucho Martinez Gil that you can color and hang up in celebration of Hispanic heritage month and join us this week to find out which Latino musician we end up exploring next.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Recorded Sound Archives is exploring music through portraits. This week discover and learn more about Cuban American Musician and Bandleader – Desi Arnaz in the video below.
If you enjoyed learning about Desi Arnaz you can listen to five of his recordings in the Recorded Sound Archives: https://rsa.fau.edu/desi-arnaz
Please feel free to download a coloring page we created of Desi Arnaz that you can color and hang up in celebration of Hispanic heritage month and join us next week to find out which Latino musician we end up exploring next.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Recorded Sound Archives is exploring music through portraits. Enjoy the first of four videos created in celebration of Hispanic/Latino artists. This week discover and learn more about Cuban composer and pianist – Ernesto Lecuona and Lecuona’s Cuban Boys in the video below.
If you enjoyed learning about Ernesto Lecuona you can listen to two of his recordings in the Recorded Sound Archives: https://rsa.fau.edu/ernesto-lecuona
Please feel free to download a coloring page we created of Ernesto Lecuona that you can color and hang up in celebration of Hispanic heritage month and join us next week to find out which Latino musician we end up exploring next.
Do you think player pianos are a thing of the past? Join Ben Roth-Aroni as he shares some new and old tunes on his player piano at home during National Piano month!
Here at the Recorded Sound Archives, we listen to A LOT of music, while digitizing and scanning recordings for research.
With the library being closed, we’ve had to get a little creative in how our department works since we’re so dependent on the physical recordings. So we’ve been working hard behind the scenes doing quality control on recordings and meta data since we haven’t been recording as much these days.
This week, we wanted to start by sharing and highlighting some RSA Staff’s Favorite Eddy Duchin Songs!
Check out the list below and let us know some of your favorites.
Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.
Are you a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings? Visit the Recorded Sound Archives website to apply for Research Station Access by click here.
Eddy Duchin never pretended to be a great musician.
One of the members of Eddy Duchin’s orchestra once said “…Many people didn’t listen to him as much as they looked at him, he was the only musician I’ve ever known who could play a thirty-two-bar solo with thirty-two mistakes and get an ovation afterwards…”
So how did Eddy Duchin become the Reisman Orchestra Leader by 1932? Well, While enrolled at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy near Cambridge at the age of nineteen Eddy Duchin auditioned for a part in Leo Reisman’s Orchestra as a pianist. Which he got enjoying tremendous popularity in New York’s Central Park Casino. His effortless technique and charming personality not only won him the job. But also made him stand out among the long list of those aspiring to join. Three years later, his personality and flashy style had captured customers and Duchin had himself taken over the engagement becoming the leader of the Reisman Orchestra.
Throughout the 1930s, Duchin’s Orchestra played primarily in hotels like the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and appeared on quite a few radio series along with in two films.
He went on to get married and have a son, named Peter who went on to follow in his father’s musical footsteps. During the war, Duchin joined a commission in the Navy where he paid little attention to music. By the end of the war his popularity had declined and so had his health. In 1951, he passed away from leukemia.
Discover more recordings at Recorded Sound Archives
Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.
Are you a Researcher or Educator in need of full access to these recordings? Visit the Recorded Sound Archives website to apply for Research Station Access by click here.
With over 100 recordings for you to choose from between our Chanukah and Christmas collections, the Recorded Sound Archives staff has put together a list of our favorite songs for you to listen to with family and friends.
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Martin Bookspan had life-long friendships with two great classical music geniuses, Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland.
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