Wayne Barlow
Synopsis
Today we note the birthday anniversary of American composer and teacher Wayne Barlow, who was born in Elyria, Ohio on today\u2019s date in 1912, and died in Rochester, New York, in 1996.
As a composer, Barlow is mostly remembered for a single work: a rhapsody for oboe and strings entitled The Winter\u2019s Past, first performed at the Eastman School of Music in 1938 by the Rochester Civic Orchestra under the direction of another noted American composer, Howard Hanson, with Eastman faculty oboist Robert Sprenkle as the soloist.
Barlow received his bachelor\u2019s, master\u2019s and doctorate degrees from Eastman and taught there for over 40 years, eventually becoming chairman of the composition department, director of the school\u2019s electronic music studio, and dean of graduate studies. He also served as organist and choirmaster at two churches in Rochester and composed a set of hymn voluntaries for organ, covering the church year.
Barlow once said, \u201cWhile it\u2019s impossible to know everything involved in the art of music, it\u2019s just as impossible to be a totally successful teacher, or composer, or musicologist, or theorist, or performer or conductor without knowing something about how all these pieces of the art fit together.\u201d
Music Played in Today's Program
Wayne Barlow (1912-1996): The Winter\u2019s Past; Humbert Lucarelli, oboe; Brooklyn Philharmonic; Michael Barrett, conductor; Koch 7187