'On An Overgrown Path': 'Parallel paths of Philippa Schuyler'

[Philippa Duke Schuyler]

Bob Shingleton sends his latest post on Philippa Duke Schuyler. He links to a BBC Radio 3 program description, from which we present an excerpt, and two earlier posts On An Overgrown Path:

Friday, October 07, 2011

“Parallel paths of Philippa Schuyler

A synopsis of BBC Radio 3's Philippa Schuyler profile Colour of genius is now available. As recounted earlier the BBC had told me they were developing this programme following my August articles. But despite this the similarities in wording are.... striking.”

BBC Radio 3

Friday, 20:25 on BBC Radio 3

Synopsis [Excerpt]

“Ella Spira tells the story of a forgotten American genius, a flag-bearer for gender and racial equality whose career as pianist and composer was destroyed by prejudice and a mother who sculpted her life as a genetic experiment. And what starts out as a simple story ends with an extraordinary and unanticipated connection between presenter and subject.

“Philippa Schuyler's life should have been one of fame and reward. Fêted by composer Leonard Bernstein, her work was performed by five leading American orchestras in her teens. She was ranked alongside Aaron Copland, and is rumoured to be the subject of a forthcoming Hollywood movie starring Alicia Keys. But in reality it was a deeply traumatic career, defined by her mixed race and the mother who viewed her as the product of a genetic experiment.

“For Ella Spira she is a fascinating enigma, a kindred spirit as a woman in a man's world. But can her talent ever be separated from the complexities which surrounded it, a life as a 'prodigy puppet' ruled by tarot cards and failed love affairs, and her bizarre death in a helicopter accident over Vietnam after recasting herself from black to white?”

Recordings of Music of Philippa Duke Schuyler by John McLaughlin Williams to Air on BBC-Radio 3 on Oct. 14

[Philippa Duke Schuyler; John McLaughlin Williams]

Bob Shingleton of the classical music blog On An Overgrown Path, based in the U.K. has long been an intrepid explorer of neglected music history of composers and musicians of African descent. Today he sends exciting news on this year's recordings of piano music of Philippa Duke Schuyler by the conductor and pianist John McLaughlin Williams:

"Bill, good news - BBC Radio 3 is broadcasting a profile of the black American composer and pianist Philippa Schuyler."

Monday, October 03, 2011

Young, gifted, black and now on the BBC

Surprising where these paths lead. A fascination with Philippa Schuyler led to John McLaughlin Williams' priceless recordings and analysis of her early piano music. And now that path leads to a BBC Radio 3 programme.

My two paths in August celebrating the 80th anniversary of the birth of the black American musician sparked an email from BBC producer Michael Surcombe asking if I would have any objections to a radio feature on Philippa Schuyler being developed using John McLaughlin Williams as a contributor. To which my immediate response was, of course there would be no objections.

The BBC programme has been made with my agreement, but I have no other involvement in it. It will be broadcast on Radio 3 at 8.25pm on October 14 during the interval of a concert of American music. The 20 minute feature is titled The Colour of Genius and the presenter is the composer Ella Spira who has worked with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Ministry of Sound and the Royal Ballet. John McLaughlin Williams' contribution was recorded in WRCJ-FM in Detroit, Michigan and the recordings of Philippa's piano music made by him for An Overgrown Path are being used by the BBC.

Kathryn Talalay, who wrote the definitive life of Philippa, is also a contributor and a rare copy of the pianist's quasi-autobiography Adventures in Black and White has been found by BBC researchers. I know that John has tracked down a copy of Philippa's only commercial recording; this is of music by Turina, Mussorgsky, Liszt and Copland and has been out of the catalogue for decades, but I do not know if it features in the programme.

I have invited the BBC to contribute a guest post on the making of the programme and hope that this will be written by Ella Spira - more details when they are available from the BBC. For my part it is very rewarding to see the diabolus in musica again refreshing the parts other media cannot reach.

Violinist Tai Murray in First Year as 'BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist'

While her former colleagues in the Ritz Chamber Players have presented concerts observing Black History Month in the U.S., violinist Tai Murray has been performing frequently in a variety of venues in the United Kingdom. On Feb. 18, Tai will be performing in Manchester, England. Then on Feb. 25 she will be in concert in Cardiff with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales:

MySpace.com

About Tai Murray 

“Violinist Tai Murray, currently in her first year as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, much in demand as both a concert soloist and chamber musician, has been heard on such concerto stages as Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, New York’s Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, and Shanghai’s Concert Hall. She has collaborated with a wide range of conductors including James Judd, Daniel Hege, Alan Gilbert, James Depreist, Giordano Bellincampi, and Marin Alsop. A debut in Atlanta, re-engagements in Chicago and St. Louis among many others, critical acclaim, and a burgeoning fan base, paint Tai a rising star on the concerto stage. In the 08/09 season, Tai returns to Cincinnati, and makes her debut with the Stamford, and Stockton Symphonies. Along with the BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, among others. Recent past engagements include the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Santa Barbara, and Syracuse Symphonies. Tai is also an avid recitalist having presented programs in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York along with pianist Gilles Vonsattel. She returns this season to Philadelphia in collaboration with pianist Lambert Orkis. In addition, she will make her debut with City of London Festival, and appear at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. A dedicated chamber musician, Tai is a former member of the Ritz Chamber Players, and works with the conductor-less string orchestra ECCO. She has been on tour numerous times with Musicians from Marlboro, and was a member of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society II during the 2004-06 seasons. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004, Tai performs on a violin dated 2007, made for her by distinguished and extraordinary luthier, Mario Miralles.”  [Maestro James DePreist (b. 1936) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]