(the unrecorded American) Ernest Richard Kroeger [1862-1934]

Started by Scion7, November 29, 2020, 05:51:22 AM

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Scion7

You won't find a listing in the print New Grove - hopefully corrected now?
Born in St. Louis on August 10th, 1862 and died on April 7th 1934.
His orchestral suite "Lalla Rookh" and symphonic poem "The Mississippi" were widely performed during the first decades of the 20th century.
While his keyboard and vocal pieces were published in the U.S. and Europe, much remains in manuscript.
Kroeger was Director of the Kroeger School of Music from December, 1904 until his death.
He was Director of the Department of Music Extension at Washington University from 1924-1930 and the Director of the Music Department at Forest Park College for many years as well.

" Kroeger was appointed "Master of Programs" on the Bureau of Music of the St. Louis World's Fair (1904) giving him complete supervision of the musical programming at the fair. He organized brass bands and band contests which were the popular form of concerts. But he also invited the world's greatest organists to give recitals, planned a series of great orchestral and choral concerts and arranged for competitions in all forms for musical composition. The music at the 1904 fair was considered by many to be one of the outstanding attractions of the event and for his work in that capacity Kroeger was elected an Officer of the French Academy. He was a member of the National Institute of Arts of Letters, and a Founder Member of the American Guild of Organists. "

This is one for rediscovery by Naxos or some other label. Nothing but amateur piano recordings on YT.
Currently, there are no recordings beyond some historical mono stuff in libraries from the early 20th century.  He was deemed important in his time, and has a long chapter in Hughes & Elson.

(incomplete works list)

Chamber Music
-Fantasie - for the Flute and Pianoforte [flute and piano]
-First Quartet in F major for String Instruments [string quartet, score]
-Second String Quartet - in G minor
-Second Trio for violin, cello and piano
-Polonaise in A minor for Violin and Piano [violin and piano]
-Quartet in F minor [string quartet]
-Piano Quartette in D minor
-String Quintet for String Instruments [2 violins, 2 violas, 1 cello]
-Piano Quintet in F minor [piano, 2 violins, viola, cello]
-String Quartet F Major
-String Quartet in D minor
-String Quartet in G minor
-Sonata in C minor [violin and piano]
-Sonata in F Major  [violin and piano]
-Sonata Pastorale for Viola and Pianoforte

Orchestral Music
-Piano Concerto in E Flat
-Symphony in B Flat
-Hiawatha - Symphonic Overture
-Endymion - Overture for Orchestra
-Lalla Rookh - Suite for Orchestra
-March of the Indian Phantoms, Op.80
-March of the Pioneers [orchestra]
-Lalla Rookh (Suite) [band]
-The Mississippi - Symphonic Poem for Orchestra
-"Missouri" Festival Overture
-Overture "Endymion" [orchestra]
-Overture "Sardanapalus" [orchestra]
-Overture "Thanatopsis" [orchestra]
-Suite in C Major - for Orchestra

Piano Music
-Piano Sonate
-Song of Triumph
-Tarantelle - Pianoforte Duet for 4 hands
-Tarantelle Brillante 
-Three Characteristic Dances
-Three Characteristic Dances for the Piano, Book 2
-Trois Legendes
-Twelve Album Leaves
-Two Nocturnes
-Valse (based upon the whole tone scale)
-Valse-Impromptu 
-Waltzer
-Zwolf Concert-Etuden - fur Pianoforte, Op.30
-10 Charakterstucke
-6 Lieder Ohne Worte (Songs Without Words - fur das Pianoforte)
-Allegro Symphonique - pour l'orgue [organ]
-American Character Sketches, No.6
-By the Mountain Stream
-Characteristic Dance, No.3 for Four Hands
-Colombine - Valse de Ballet
-Dans les Bois (In the Forest) - Etude pour Piano
-Dialogue pour Piano
-Eight Pieces
-Esmeralda - Caprice en forme de variations pour Piano
-Exaltation - for the piano
-Fantasie Symphonique - a quatre mains [piano, four hands]
-Five Character Sketches for the Piano
-Forest Murmers - for the pianoforte
-Four Character Sketches, No.1
-Four Mazurkas
-In the Grotto
-Intermezzo
-Invocation
-Marche Grotesque
-Novelette
-Recollection - Impromptu
-Reminiscence
-Romance
-Romance Orientale
-Scherzo
-Piano Sonata No.2 in D Major
-A Paean - Rhapsody-Ballad for the piano
-Pastorale

Vocal
-Another Lassie [voice and piano]
-At Dusk - The Fox Woman's Song [voice and piano]
-Babe O-Mine [voice and piano]
-The Fox Woman's Dance [voice and piano]
-I Saw Thee on thy Bridal Day [voice and piano]
-My Cardinal [voice and piano]
-A Quiet World [voice and piano]
-The Singers [voice and piano]
-Somewhere! [voice and piano]
-Songs of the Fox Woman [voice and piano]
-Spring Loveliness (4) [voice and piano]
-The Stranger (3) [voice and piano]
-Tomorrow [voice and piano]

Choral
-God Is Our Refuge and Strength [choir SATB and organ]
-A Masque of Dead Florentines [chorus]
-The Storm King's Choice [men's chorus (and piano)]

When, a few months before his death, Rachmaninov lamented that he no longer had the "strength and fire" to compose, friends reminded him of the Symphonic Dances, so charged with fire and strength. "Yes," he admitted. "I don't know how that happened. That was probably my last flicker."