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Price: $85.00 |
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SMALL TEAR TOP RIGHT, ELSE FINE CONDITION |
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Rare, original glossy 8” x 10” photograph of the Hungarian born, American conductor, New York, 5 April, 1943. The short lived conductor, (1891-1945) was one of the busiest in the business during the first half of the Twentieth Century. Rapée began his musical career as a concert pianist, attended the Budapest Conservatory and studied with List pupil Emil Sauer. Shortly after his graduation, he became the assistant conductor to Ernst von Schuch at Dresden, while touring as a concert pianist. He composed a piano concerto and performed it with the Vienna Philharmonic. Shortly thereafter, he came to the U.S. on tour as a conductor and decided to stay, signing with the Hungarian Opera Company in 1912. He also had another side and appeared as a popular pianist and conductor at the Rialto Theatre in Manhattan and was motivated by Hugo Riesenfeld to compose music for the silent screen. He was hired by the famous “Roxy” (Samuel Rothafel) to conduct the large orchestra of the Capitol Theatre. While at the Capitol, he conducted, arranged, composed and pioneered radio broadcasts from the Theatre. He also hired a young countryman, Eugene Ormandy to be his concertmaster. Rapée later went to Philadelphia and then Berlin, conducting his own orchestras, before returning to the U.S. in 1926 as the Music Director of the Roxy Theatre. His Sunday afternoon concerts were legendary. In 1932, Roxy moved to Radio City Music Hall and took Rapée with him as his Music Director and Chief Conductor. Rapée held the position until his early death in 1945. Rapée, known as a stern taskmaster by his orchestra, was none-the-less beloved for his musicality. In his position as Music Director of Radio City, he composed a massive number of arrangements for his orchestra. This led to his work as Musical Director for over 36 films and composer for 18 of those. The photograph is interesting in that the conductor is without a baton, something very new in the 1940’s. |
ERNÖ RAPÉE - CONDUCTOR |
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Phone: 212-860-5541 * Fax: 917-677-8247
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