All Topics  
Deems Taylor

 
Deems Taylor

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Deems Taylor
 
 
  Topics Deems Taylor Topic Home

Deems Taylor (born Joseph Taylor) (22 December 1885 - July 3, 1966) was a U.S. composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
, music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 critic
Critic

The word critic comes from the Greek language ' , "able to discern", which in turn derives from the word ' , meaning a person who offers reasoned judgment or analysis, value judgment, interpretation, or observation....
, and promoter of classical music
Classical music

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western art history Religious music and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times....
.

Taylor was born in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 and educated at New York University
New York University

New York University is a private university, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan....
 (NYU). He initially planned to become an architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
; however, despite minimal musical training he soon took to music composition.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Deems Taylor'
Start a new discussion about 'Deems Taylor'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Deems Taylor
Deems Taylor (born Joseph Taylor) (22 December 1885 - July 3, 1966) was a U.S. composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
, music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 critic
Critic

The word critic comes from the Greek language ' , "able to discern", which in turn derives from the word ' , meaning a person who offers reasoned judgment or analysis, value judgment, interpretation, or observation....
, and promoter of classical music
Classical music

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western art history Religious music and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times....
.

Taylor was born in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 and educated at New York University
New York University

New York University is a private university, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan....
 (NYU). He initially planned to become an architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
; however, despite minimal musical training he soon took to music composition. The result was a series of works for orchestra and/or voices. In 1916 he wrote the cantata
Cantata

A cantata is a vocal music music composition with an musical instrument accompaniment and often containing more than one movement ....
 The Chambered Nautilus, followed by Through the Looking-Glass (for orchestra) in 1918, earning him public praise and recognition.

Taylor was also a friend of the Algonquin Round Table
Algonquin Round Table

The Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle," as they dubbed themselves, gathered for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until roughly 1929....
, a group of writers, actors and critics that met almost daily from 1919-1929 at Manhattan's Algonquin Hotel
Algonquin Hotel

The Algonquin Hotel is a Hotel#Historic hotels located at 59 West 44th Street in Manhattan . The hotel has been designated as a New York City Historic Landmark....
. He briefly dated Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American writer and poet, best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles.From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group she later...
.

In 1921 he secured a job as music critic for the New York World
New York World

The New York World was a newspaper published in New York from 1860 until 1931. It played a major role in the history of American newspapers....
, a post he held when approached by the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager and James Levine is music director....
 to suggest a composer to write a new opera. He put forth his own name, and was accepted, the result being The King's Henchman, with the libretto
Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, sacred or secular oratorio and cantata, Musical theater, and ballet....
 by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American lyric poetry and playwright and the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. She was also known for her unconventional, Bohemianism lifestyle and her many love affairs....
. Peter Ibbetson
Peter Ibbetson (opera)

Peter Ibbetson is an opera in three acts by American composer Deems Taylor from a libretto by Constance Collier and Deems Taylor based on the 1891 novel by George du Maurier....
 followed in 1929.

Taylor was a promoter of classical music throughout his life, working in broadcasting, and as intermission commentator for the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic is the oldest active symphony orchestra in the United States, organized during 1842. Based in New York City, the Philharmonic performs most of its concerts at Avery Fisher Hall....
. He appeared in Walt Disney
Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
's 1940 film Fantasia
Fantasia (film)

Fantasia is a 1940 in film List of animated feature-length films produced by Walt Disney, and is the third film in the List of Disney theatrical animated features#official canon....
 as the film's master of ceremonies
Master of Ceremonies

A Master or Mistress of Ceremonies or MC , sometimes called a comp?re or an MJ for "microphone jockey," is the Host of an official public or private staged event or other performance....
. He provided the commentary of the technical story behind the recording of actual cannon fire and carillon
Carillon

A carillon is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bell s which are played one after the other or sounded together ....
 for the famous recording (by Mercury, in 1954) of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
1812 Overture

Ouverture Solennelle, L'Ann?e 1812, Op. 49 , better known as the 1812 Overture, is a classical Opus number written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky....
 — still one of the most highly regarded recordings of that piece. He was also a frequent guest on the radio quiz program Information Please
Information Please

Information Please was an American radio quiz show, created by Dan Golenpaul, which aired on NBC from May 17, 1938 to June 25, 1948. The title phrase was contemporarily used to request information such as directory assistance and time of day from telephone operator....
.

Taylor also served as the president of ASCAP for six years. The ASCAP Deems Taylor Awards were established in 1967 to honor his memory. The Deems Taylor Award "recognizes books, articles, broadcasts and websites on the subject of music selected for their excellence."

Footnotes


External links