Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Spring 5-15-2020 Oscar Levant: Pianist, Gershwinite, Middlebrow Media Star Caleb Taylor Boyd Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons, Music Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Boyd, Caleb Taylor, "Oscar Levant: Pianist, Gershwinite, Middlebrow Media Star" (2020). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2169. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/2169 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of Music Dissertation Examination Committee: Todd Decker, Chair Ben Duane Howard Pollack Alexander Stefaniak Gaylyn Studlar Oscar Levant: Pianist, Gershwinite, Middlebrow Media Star by Caleb T. Boyd A dissertation presented to The Graduate School of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2020 St. Louis, Missouri © 2020, Caleb T. Boyd Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... ix Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 The Contiguous Careers of a Brooklyn Composer and a Pittsburgh Pianist ............... 1 1.1 Levant in Pittsburgh, 1906-1922: Classical Piano Student and Performer ...................... 3 1.2 Gershwin in New York, 1898-1922: Student and Aspiring Composer.......................... 10 1.3 Levant in New York, 1922-1924: Classical Piano Student and Dance Band Pianist .... 19 1.4 Gershwin, 1923-1924: Composer of “Serious Jazz” ...................................................... 26 1.5 Levant, 1925-Summer 1927: From Cellar Rat to Dance Band Cat ............................... 31 1.6 Gershwin, 1925-1927: The Concerto in F and the Piano Preludes ................................ 43 1.7 Levant, Summer 1927-1930: Broadway Actor and Hollywood Musician..................... 47 1.8 Gershwin, 1927-1929: European Success and An American in Paris ........................... 56 1.9 Levant and Gershwin, 1930-1934: Close Friends .......................................................... 60 1.9.1 Two Levant Works: Sonatina (1932) and “Blame It on My Youth” (1934) ....................... 68 1.10 Levant, 1935-1936: Further Work in Hollywood and Studies with Schoenberg ........... 75 1.11 Levant and Gershwin, 1936-1937: The Final Months in Hollywood ............................ 77 1.12 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 81 Chapter 2 The Musical Middlebrow and Oscar Levant as Radio Pianist ................................... 82 2.1 Highbrow, Lowbrow, and Middlebrow Culture............................................................. 83 2.2 Listening to Classical Music on the Radio: A Middlebrow Activity ............................. 87 2.3 Oscar Levant as Radio Pianist ........................................................................................ 92 2.3.1 Levant on Radio with Ben Bernie, 1925-1927 .................................................................... 93 2.3.2 Levant on Radio with Bill Daly, 1932-1934 ....................................................................... 96 2.3.3 Levant on Radio with Sigmund Romberg, Late 1934 ....................................................... 103 2.3.4 Information Please, 1938-1947 ......................................................................................... 105 2.3.5 Levant as Leading Gershwinite: Appearances on Various Radio Shows, 1938-1942 ...... 114 2.3.6 Levant on Kraft Music Hall, 1947-1949 ........................................................................... 118 ii 2.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 133 Chapter 3 The American Concert Industry and Oscar Levant as Touring Pianist.................... 135 3.1 Levant and the Concert Industry Boom of the 1940s................................................... 136 3.2 Other Touring Pianists ................................................................................................. 143 3.2.1 Sergei Rachmaninoff......................................................................................................... 143 3.2.2 Vladimir Horowitz ............................................................................................................ 144 3.2.3 Arthur Rubinstein .............................................................................................................. 147 3.2.4 Rudolf Serkin .................................................................................................................... 150 3.2.5 Other Pianists Who Played Gershwin ............................................................................... 152 3.2.6 Other Humorous Pianists: Vladimir de Pachmann ........................................................... 154 3.2.7 Other Humorous Pianists: Victor Borge ........................................................................... 157 3.3 Levant’s Publicity ........................................................................................................ 159 3.4 Levant’s “Talking” Recitals ......................................................................................... 164 3.5 Levant’s Appearances with Symphony Orchestras ...................................................... 172 3.5.1 Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue ........................................................................................... 176 3.5.2 Gershwin’s Concerto in F ................................................................................................. 185 3.5.3 Levant’s Piano Concerto ................................................................................................... 188 3.5.4 Grieg’s A Minor Piano Concerto ...................................................................................... 194 3.5.5 Tchaikovsky’s B-flat Major Piano Concerto .................................................................... 195 3.5.6 Khachaturian’s D-flat Major Piano Concerto ................................................................... 197 3.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 201 Chapter 4 New York’s Lewisohn Stadium and Oscar Levant at the Gershwin Nights ............ 203 4.1 The Lewisohn Stadium Summer Concert Series.......................................................... 205 4.2 Audiences at Lewisohn Stadium .................................................................................. 209 4.3 The Lewisohn Stadium Gershwin Nights .................................................................... 212 4.4 Oscar Levant at Lewisohn Stadium ............................................................................. 216 4.4.1 Levant, the Radio Celebrity, Live at Lewisohn ................................................................ 221 4.4.2 Levant’s Attendance Draw ................................................................................................ 223 4.4.3 Levant as Gershwin Night Gershwinite ............................................................................ 228 4.5 Other Gershwin Pianists at Lewisohn .......................................................................... 231 4.6 The Repertoire at Lewisohn Gershwin Nights ............................................................. 233 iii 4.6.1 Strike up the Band Overture .............................................................................................. 235 4.6.2 An American in Paris ........................................................................................................ 236 4.6.3 Rhapsody in Blue .............................................................................................................. 236 4.6.4 Concerto in F ..................................................................................................................... 239 4.6.5 Second Rhapsody .............................................................................................................. 242 4.6.6 Cuban Overture................................................................................................................. 243 4.6.7 Porgy and Bess.................................................................................................................. 245 4.6.8 The Piano Preludes............................................................................................................ 249 4.6 The Effects of