In Memorium, Conductor and Composer Gerhard Samuel

Joshua Kosman "Conductor, composer Gerhard Samuel dies at 83" San Francisco Chronicle March 29, 2008

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I was fortunate to have heard Gerhard Samuel conduct the Oakland Symphony Orchestra in Lou Harrison's Symphony on G. I was not fortunate enough to have heard Maestro Samuel conduct Charles Ives' Symphony #5 (Universe Symphony).

I hope that Samuel's opera based upon Thomas Mann's "The Blood of the Walsungs" will be able to be completed; and that the MET Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the New York City Opera, or the Seattle Opera will give the work a fully-staged production (and will record it).

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Photo credit: Gerhard Samuel courtesy of www.corbettarts.com. All rights reserved. With thanks.

For Thomas Mann 1937 photograph:

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Van Vechten Collection, reproduction number LC-USZ62-42522 DLC (b&w film copy neg.).

"As the restrictions on this collection expired in 1986, the Library of Congress believes this image is in the public domain. However, the Carl Van Vechten estate has asked that use of Van Vechten's photographs "preserve the integrity" of his work, i.e, that photographs not be colorized or cropped, and that proper credit is given to the photographer."

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Classical WETA-FM, so-called public radio in the Nation's Capital.