Herbert Grossman
Encyclopedia
Herbert Grossman was an American conductor
who was chiefly known for his work within opera
and musical theatre
.
, Grossman was the son of a businessman. He studied piano and trombone in his youth before entering Queens College, City University of New York
in 1942. There he continued to pursue studies in both instruments and was a student of Karol Rathaus and Curt Sachs
. His studies were interrupted by World War II
, and he served in the United States Navy
in the South Pacific
from 1944-1946. After returning home in 1946, he returned to Queens College to finish his degree; reorienting his studies at that time towards a concentration in conducting. In the summers of 1947 and 1948 he was a student of conducting at the Tanglewood Music Center
, studying under such greats as Leonard Bernstein
, Boris Goldovsky
, and Serge Koussevitzky
.
(NBCOT). In 1952 he took a leave of absence from that organization to further hone his conducting skills in Europe. He spent the next two years conducting operas at the Bavarian State Opera
and working as an associate conductor of the Munich Philharmonic. He returned to the NBCOT in 1954 when he was appointed the company's new associate conductor, and in 1956 he was promoted to conductor at the NBCOT. He conducted several operas for television for NBC up until the company disbanded in 1964, including the world premieres of Philip Bezanson
's Golden Child (1960) and Gian Carlo Menotti
's Labyrinth
(1962) and the 1963 film of Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors
.
While working for the NBCOT, Grossman joined the conducting staff of the New York City Opera
(NYCO) in 1955. His first opera with the company was a production of Georges Bizet
's Carmen
with Gloria Lane as the title heroine. He conducted only periodically at the NYCO over the next several years, leading performances of mainly contemporary works like The Medium
and The Triumph of St. Joan
. In 1956 a successful guest conducting job with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
led to further contracts with that orchestra, and ultimately the appointment of the post of associate conductor of that orchestra in 1959. He remained in that post until his resignation in April 1962, after which he served as associate conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
under conductor William Steinberg
in 1962-1963. From 1972-1985 he was conductor of the Great Neck Symphony.
In 1958 Grossman conducted a production of Menotti's The Consul
at the New Orleans Opera
. That same year he worked for the first time on Broadway
as the music director of Menotti's Maria Golovin
; a work which he later conducted at the NYCO in 1959. He went on to conduct for several more original Broadway productions, including The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (1965), Drat! The Cat!
(1965), Walking Happy
(1966-1967), and Cry for Us All
(1970). His last conducting job on Broadway was for the 1972 musical Ambassador
.
Grossman was also a frequent conductor at the San Francisco Opera
(SFO) during the 1960s. He first conducted for the SFO in 1964, leading a production of Carlisle Floyd
's Susannah
starring Lee Venora
in the title role and Richard Cassilly
as Sam. Other operas he conducted at the SFO were Madama Butterfly
(1965), The Crucible
(1965), Carry Nation
(1966), The Turn of the Screw
(1966), The Magic Flute
(1967), Manon Lescaut
(1967), Cavalleria Rusticana
(1967), Pagliacci
(1967), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1967). He also served as the Music Director of SFO's Western Opera Theater from 1966–1968.
Grossman was married to writer and opera translator Anne Chotzinoff Grossman, who was the daughter of pianist, critic, and NBCOT founder Samuel Chotzinoff and the niece of violinist Jascha Heifetz
. Anne worked as an associate producer at the NBCOT and it was there that the couple met. They married in 1951, and their marriage of 51 years came to an end upon Anne's death of lung cancer in 2002. The couple notably collaborated on translating Puccini's Gianni Schicchi
into the English language; a translation which has been widely used (including by the Metropolitan Opera
) and is included in the published score by Ricordi
. Grossman died in 2010 at the age of 83 in West Gilgo Beach, New York. The cause was kidney failure.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
who was chiefly known for his work within opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
Early life and education
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Grossman was the son of a businessman. He studied piano and trombone in his youth before entering Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
in 1942. There he continued to pursue studies in both instruments and was a student of Karol Rathaus and Curt Sachs
Curt Sachs
Curt Sachs was a German-born but American-domiciled musicologist. He was one of the founders of modern organology , and is probably best remembered today for co-authoring the Sachs-Hornbostel scheme of musical instrument classification with his fellow scholar Erich von Hornbostel.Born in Berlin,...
. His studies were interrupted by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and he served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
from 1944-1946. After returning home in 1946, he returned to Queens College to finish his degree; reorienting his studies at that time towards a concentration in conducting. In the summers of 1947 and 1948 he was a student of conducting at the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
, studying under such greats as Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, Boris Goldovsky
Boris Goldovsky
Boris Goldovsky was a Russian conductor and broadcast commentator, active in the United States. He has been called an important "popularizer" of opera in America...
, and Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky , was a Russian-born Jewish conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.-Early career:...
.
Career
In 1949 Grossman joined the conducting staff of the newly formed NBC Opera TheatreNBC Opera Theatre
The NBC Opera Theatre was an American opera company operated by the National Broadcasting Company from 1949 to 1964. The company was established specifically for the purpose of filming both established and new operas for television...
(NBCOT). In 1952 he took a leave of absence from that organization to further hone his conducting skills in Europe. He spent the next two years conducting operas at the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
and working as an associate conductor of the Munich Philharmonic. He returned to the NBCOT in 1954 when he was appointed the company's new associate conductor, and in 1956 he was promoted to conductor at the NBCOT. He conducted several operas for television for NBC up until the company disbanded in 1964, including the world premieres of Philip Bezanson
Philip Bezanson
Philip Thomas Bezanson was an American composer and educator.-Life:Born in Athol, Massachusetts, he graduated from Yale University School of music in 1940 and after war services enrolled in the graduate program of composition at the State University of Iowa were he joined its faculty eight years...
's Golden Child (1960) and Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
's Labyrinth
Labyrinth (opera)
Labyrinth is an opera in one act by composer Gian Carlo Menotti. The work was commissioned for television by the NBC Opera Theatre and uses an English language libretto by the composer. Unlike Menotti's previous television operas, such as Amahl and the Night Visitors, this opera was written with...
(1962) and the 1963 film of Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors
Amahl and the Night Visitors
Amahl and the Night Visitors is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer. It was commissioned by NBC and first performed by the NBC Opera Theatre on December 24, 1951, in New York City at NBC studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, where it was broadcast...
.
While working for the NBCOT, Grossman joined the conducting staff of the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
(NYCO) in 1955. His first opera with the company was a production of Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
with Gloria Lane as the title heroine. He conducted only periodically at the NYCO over the next several years, leading performances of mainly contemporary works like The Medium
The Medium
The Medium is a short two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946. The opera's first professional production was presented on a double bill with Menotti's The Telephone at the Heckscher...
and The Triumph of St. Joan
The Triumph of St. Joan
The Triumph of St. Joan was originally an opera in three acts by Norman Dello Joio to an English language libretto on the subject of the martyrdom of Joan of Arc by Dello Joio and Joseph Machilis. It was premiered at Sarah Lawrence College on May 9, 1950. Although the opera was received positively,...
. In 1956 a successful guest conducting job with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
led to further contracts with that orchestra, and ultimately the appointment of the post of associate conductor of that orchestra in 1959. He remained in that post until his resignation in April 1962, after which he served as associate conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District.-History:...
under conductor William Steinberg
William Steinberg
William Steinberg was a German-American conductor.- Biography :Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, conducting his own choral/ orchestral composition at age 13...
in 1962-1963. From 1972-1985 he was conductor of the Great Neck Symphony.
In 1958 Grossman conducted a production of Menotti's The Consul
The Consul
The Consul is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera. Its first performance was on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway as the lead heroine Magda Sorel, Gloria Lane as the secretary of the consulate,...
at the New Orleans Opera
New Orleans Opera
Opera has long been part of the musical culture of New Orleans, Louisiana. Operas have regularly been performed in the city since the 1790s, and for the majority of the city's history since the early 19th century, New Orleans has had a resident company regularly performing opera in addition to...
. That same year he worked for the first time on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
as the music director of Menotti's Maria Golovin
Maria Golovin
Maria Golovin is an English language opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti. It is through-composed and centers on a romantic encounter between a blind recluse named Donato and the title character, a married woman living in a European country a few years after a recent war...
; a work which he later conducted at the NYCO in 1959. He went on to conduct for several more original Broadway productions, including The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (1965), Drat! The Cat!
Drat! The Cat!
Drat! The Cat! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Ira Levin and music by Milton Schafer.Originally called Cat and Mouse, this spoof of late-Victorian melodrama has at its core Alice Van Guilder, who wants to be a career girl at a time when nice young ladies marry well instead of having careers...
(1965), Walking Happy
Walking Happy
Walking Happy is a musical with music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by Roger O. Hirson and Ketti Frings. The story is based on the play Hobson's Choice by Harold Brighouse...
(1966-1967), and Cry for Us All
Cry for Us All
Cry for Us All is a musical with a book by William Alfred and Albert Marre, lyrics by Alfred and Phyllis Robinson, and music by Mitch Leigh. In response to poor advance sales, the title was...
(1970). His last conducting job on Broadway was for the 1972 musical Ambassador
Ambassador (musical)
Ambassador is a musical with a book by Don Ettlinger and Anna Marie Barlow, lyrics by Hal Hackady, and music by Don Gohman. It is based on the 1903 Henry James novel The Ambassadors....
.
Grossman was also a frequent conductor at the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
(SFO) during the 1960s. He first conducted for the SFO in 1964, leading a production of Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...
's Susannah
Susannah
Susannah is an opera in two acts by American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the Elders, though the latter story has a more positive ending...
starring Lee Venora
Lee Venora
Lee Venora is an American operatic soprano and stage actress. She was highly active with the New York City Opera between 1957 and 1967 and was also a regular performer at the San Francisco Opera between 1961 and 1966. She also appeared in a few Broadway musicals, Lincoln Center Revivals, and...
in the title role and Richard Cassilly
Richard Cassilly
Richard Cassilly was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954 and 1990...
as Sam. Other operas he conducted at the SFO were Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
(1965), The Crucible
The Crucible (opera)
The Crucible is an English language opera written by Robert Ward based on the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller. It won both the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the New York Music Critics Circle Citation. The libretto was lightly adapted from Miller's text by Bernard Stambler.Ward received a...
(1965), Carry Nation
Carry Nation (opera)
Carry Nation is an opera in a prologue and 2 acts by composer Douglas Moore which is based on the life of temperance activist Carrie Nation. The work uses an English-language libretto by W. N. Jayme. The opera was commissioned by the University of Kansas in commemoration of the school's 100th...
(1966), The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw (opera)
The Turn of the Screw is a 20th century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, "wife of the artist John Piper, who had been a friend of the composer since 1935 and had provided designs for several of the operas". The libretto is based on the novella...
(1966), The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
(1967), Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité . It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication...
(1967), Cavalleria Rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
(1967), Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
(1967), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1967). He also served as the Music Director of SFO's Western Opera Theater from 1966–1968.
Grossman was married to writer and opera translator Anne Chotzinoff Grossman, who was the daughter of pianist, critic, and NBCOT founder Samuel Chotzinoff and the niece of violinist Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz was a violinist, born in Vilnius, then Russian Empire, now Lithuania. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.- Early life :...
. Anne worked as an associate producer at the NBCOT and it was there that the couple met. They married in 1951, and their marriage of 51 years came to an end upon Anne's death of lung cancer in 2002. The couple notably collaborated on translating Puccini's Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
into the English language; a translation which has been widely used (including by the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
) and is included in the published score by Ricordi
Casa Ricordi
Casa Ricordi is a classical music publishing company founded in 1808 as G. Ricordi & Co. by violinist Giovanni Ricordi in Milan, Italy...
. Grossman died in 2010 at the age of 83 in West Gilgo Beach, New York. The cause was kidney failure.
Recordings
- Hugo WeisgallHugo WeisgallHugo David Weisgall was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions...
's The Tenor - Vienna State Opera OrchestraVienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
- Richard CassillyRichard CassillyRichard Cassilly was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954 and 1990...
, Richard CrossRichard Cross (bass-baritone)Richard Cross is an American bass-baritone who had an active international opera career from the late 1950s through the 1990s. Possessing a rich and warm voice, Cross sang a broad repertoire that encompassed works from a wide variety of musical periods and styles...
, Doris Young