Florence Kopleff
Encyclopedia
Florence Kopleff is an American contralto
.
She was born in New York City.
She began her career in 1941 when she was in her senior year of high school. She has been very active as a concert and oratorio singer, appearing and recording with many of the great conductors of her era, particularly as a soloist with the Robert Shaw Chorale
. She was also a frequent soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, of which Robert Shaw was the conductor. Time magazine once called her the "greatest living alto."
She taught at Georgia State University
starting in 1968, when she became a professor and the school's first artist-in-residence. The school's recital hall is named for her.
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
.
She was born in New York City.
She began her career in 1941 when she was in her senior year of high school. She has been very active as a concert and oratorio singer, appearing and recording with many of the great conductors of her era, particularly as a soloist with the Robert Shaw Chorale
Robert Shaw Chorale
The Robert Shaw Chorale was a professional chorus founded in New York City in 1948 by Robert Shaw, a Californian who had been drafted out of college a decade earlier by Fred Waring to conduct his Glee Club in radio broadcasts...
. She was also a frequent soloist with the Atlanta Symphony, of which Robert Shaw was the conductor. Time magazine once called her the "greatest living alto."
She taught at Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
starting in 1968, when she became a professor and the school's first artist-in-residence. The school's recital hall is named for her.
Recordings
- BachBạchBạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
: Mass in B minor with Robert Shaw, RCA Victor, GrammyGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winner, 1962 - Beethoven: 9th Symphony with Fritz ReinerFritz ReinerFrederick Martin “Fritz” Reiner was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century.-Biography:...
, RCA Victor - Berlioz: L'Enfance du ChristL'enfance du ChristL'enfance du Christ , Opus 25, is an oratorio by the French composer Hector Berlioz, based on the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. Berlioz wrote his own words for the piece. Most of it was composed in 1853 and 1854, but it also incorporates an earlier work La fuite en Egypte...
, with Charles MünchCharles MünchCharles Munch was an Alsatian symphonic conductor and violinist. Noted for his mastery of the French orchestral repertoire, he is best known as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.-Biography:...
, RCA Victor (now available in a multi-album reissue set Munch Conducts Berlioz) A 1966 video of a live performance, also conducted by Munch, has been issued as Video Artists Int'l DVD, Catalog #4303. - Mahler: Symphony No. 2 with Maurice AbravanelMaurice AbravanelMaurice Abravanel was aSwiss-American Jewish conductor of classical music. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra for over 30 years.-Life:...
, VanguardVanguard RecordsVanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary... - HandelHANDELHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
: Messiah with Robert Shaw, RCA Victor, Grammy winner, 1967